(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.
Phil Spector
His second marriage was to Veronica Bennett, later known as Ronnie Spector. Bennett was the lead singer of the girl group the Ronettes (another group Spector managed and produced). Their marriage lasted from 1968 to 1974. They adopted three children, Donté Phillip Spector (born March 23, 1969), Louis Phillip Spector, and Gary Phillip Spector (twins, born May 12, 1966). In later years, Bennett stated that Spector had kept her imprisoned in their California mansion and subjected her to verbal abuse. She left the home in 1972. Later, Gary and Donte stated that their father kept them captive as children and were forced to simulate sex acts with his girlfriend.