Ronnie Spector
Ronnie Spector (born Veronica Yvette Bennett; August 10, 1943) is an American rock and roll singer known as "The Bad Girl of Rock & Roll". Spector was the lead singer of the rock/pop vocal girl group the Ronettes, who had a string of hits during the early to mid–1960s such as "Be My Baby", "Baby, I Love You", and "The Best Part of Breakin' Up". Subsequently, Spector launched her solo career and has since released five studio albums ("Siren" in 1980, "Unfinished Business" in 1987, "Something's Gonna Happen" in 2003, "Last of the Rock Stars" in 2006, and "English Heart" in 2016) and one extended play ("She Talks to Rainbows" in 1999).
The Ronettes
Furthering their interest in show business, Estelle was enrolled at Startime, a popular dancing school in the 1950s, while Ronnie became fascinated with Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. In 1957, Ronnie formed the group which would later become known as the Ronettes. Composed of Ronnie, her sister Estelle, and their cousins Nedra, Diane, and Elaine, the five girls learned how to perfect their harmonies first at their grandmother's house, and they became proficient in songs such as “Goodnight Sweetheart” and “Red Red Robin”. Emulating Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, the girls added their male cousin Ira to the group and signed up for a Wednesday night amateur show at the Apollo Theatre run by a friend of Ronnie and Estelle's mother. The show started out as a disaster; when the house band started playing Frankie Lymon's "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", Ira did not sing a word, so Ronnie took over. "I strutted out across the stage, singing as loud as I could," Ronnie later recalled. "When I finally heard a few hands of scattered applause, I sang even louder. That brought a little more applause, which was all I needed."