(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up
However, according to Ronnie Spector, the group's lead singer, producer Phil Spector had already begun to somewhat lose enthusiasm for the Ronettes in early 1964. The group had recorded the Phil Spector, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich song "Chapel of Love" in early 1964, but Spector refused to release it. "It doesn't sound like a hit," he told the group, so The Dixie Cups recorded their version of the song, which peaked at number one on the Billboard top 100, a position never held by the Ronettes.
The Velvelettes
Motown released two additional singles, "Lonely Lonely Girl Am I" and "A Bird In The Hand" on their V.I.P. imprint. Both singles did not reach the same chart levels as their predecessors. The Velvelettes continued to record new material until September 1967, with the Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson song "Bring Back The Sunshine", which was retitled "Dark Side Of The World" when Diana Ross later released a version of the song. The final Velvelettes single release (after an internal label change to Motown's Soul subsidiary) was "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You", which made #43 on the US R&B Charts.
Carolyn Gill began dating Richard Street, lead singer of The Monitors, who would later join The Temptations. Sandra Tilley joined Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, replacing Rosalind Ashford. Carolyn married Street in November 1969 and he dissuaded her from continuing with the Velvelettes (preferring that his wife care for the home) so Gill decided to break up the group and it disbanded.