Monday, January 17, 2022

Just Like Ronnie Sang #MusicMovesMe

Rock and roll heaven has two new inductees. 

Who are the Music Moves Me bloggers? We are bloggers who blog about music each Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please!)   First, there is XmasDolly.  Her co-hosts are: Stacy of Stacy Uncorked, Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, and me. 

We'd love more music lovers to join us.  It's easy! All you have to do is join the linky above with a music post that contains at least one music video (there must be a music video).

Each month, except December, we have a guest conductor. For January, our guest conductor is our very own Cathy at Curious as a Cathy.

Cathy has chosen the theme for this week:  You Pick.

Ronnie Spector, born Veronica Bennett, passed away January 12, from cancer, at the age of 78.

I am saddened by the passing of still another piece of my early childhood.  Along with her sister and a cousin, she formed a group called The Ronettes in 1957.  They became famous for beehive hairdos, heavy eye makeup, tight clothing and may have been the original "bad girls" of rock n'roll.  But soon they were on the way to fame.  In 1963, they auditioned for the late infamous record producer Phil Spector, who signed them (and, eventually, married Veronica Bennett).

Their first album, released in 1964, produced five hits on the Billboard charts.  Here are three:

Be My Baby. 

Baby, I Love You, from the same album. 

 

Walking in the Rain.

Ronnie divorced from Phil in 1974 after enduring unbelievable abuse from her husband.  Her ex husband ended up in prison for a murder he committed in 2003.



Ronnie's cover (with the E Street Band) of Billy Joel's Say Goodbye to Hollywood.

In 1986, she sang as the featured vocalist with singer Eddie Money on a song "Take Me Home Tonight" where she responds to Eddie's "Listen, honey, just like Ronnie sang" by singing  "Be my little baby, baby my darling...."


 I never got to see Ronnie Spector, but I did see Eddie Money in concert once.

The other inductee is Fred Parris of the doo-wop group The Five Satins, who died Thursday, at the age of 85.  Fred Parris was the co-founder of this group and the writer of their big hit "In The Still of the Night".  

The song was recorded in the basement of a church in New Haven, Connecticut and charted in 1956.  It charte again in 1960 and 1961.  It's since been covered by many artists and was featured in at least two movies.  Rolling Stone magazine named the song as one of its Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

RIP Ronnie and Fred.

And that's a wrap!

Join me again next Monday, same time, same place, for another episode of Music Moves Me!


10 comments:

  1. Alana,

    You and Robin are on the same page with your musical tributes to Ronnie. I had no idea that her vocals were featured on your two later song picks. Old talent is passing away one by one which is indeed sad but we're in that season of life where those we grew up admiring are making their departure from this world. It's part of the hard reality of how fast the years go by. Have a boogietastic week, my dear. Oh yeah, we got 1-2 inches of snow last night and it's really cold this morning with temperatures currently 28º. Brrr!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm listening to a playlist of my favorites from Year of Wonder: Classical Music for Every Day on Spotify today.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Always love your glimpses into the music world, Alana! I loved the Ronettes and was shocked to hear of Ronnie's terrible difficulties. Bless her forever! With her and Fred stepping out on the stage in Heaven, things just got a little 'cooler' there!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ah, my childhood memories. I remember walking the track around Camp Polono Ramona with my girlfriend [name withheld to protect the (almost) innocent] for hours- until curfew. (And, then, sneaking out of my bunk, crossing the border between the boys and girls camps, and visiting...)
    Again, thanks rekindling those fond memories.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ronnie Spector was a great talent. A month ago I heard an interview with her on NPR's Bullseye and they talked about how her Christmas songs are still popular.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great choices! The Ronettes sounded as good as they looked.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting! Your comments mean a lot to me, and I appreciate your comment and your visit. These comments are moderated, so they may not post for several hours. If you are spam, you will find your comments in my compost heap. I do not respond to comments similar to "nice blog! Please visit my blog" generally ignore these.