DrBenway
Headphoneus Supremus
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The New York Times reports that Estelle Bennett has died. Along with her sister Veronica (later Ronnie Spector), and their cousin, Nedra Talley, Estelle founded the legendary Ronettes. She was 67 at the time of her death.
An incululable influence on generations of rockers, including the Rolling Stones (once their opening act) and the Ramones, the Ronettes, more than any other "girl group," crystalized the sound most often credited to their producer, Phil Spector.
As her Times obit recounts, Estelle was not the lead singer of the group, but she was instrumental in developing the trio's visual style, an unapologetically sexy combination of tight clothes, big hair, and synchronized dance moves that has echoed down through the decades. Amazing, when you consider what social conditions were like in the US in 1963.
As a young woman, she was as promising as anyone could possibly be. She attended New York's Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), and lent her edgy (for the time) style sense to the clothes, makeup, and hair that these three young women brazenly wore onstage. No other group looked remotely like them.
When they toured England, the Rolling Stones opened for them.
After the Ronettes broke up in the late 1960s, she was devastated, and already evident mental health issues became ever more serious. Her later life was difficult, to put it mildly.
I prefer to remember her as one of the brilliant artists who gave us "Walking in the Rain," "Be My Baby," "Baby I Love You" and "The Best Part of Breaking Up," among many others.
GOD BLESS YOU ESTELLE.
Rest in peace.
An incululable influence on generations of rockers, including the Rolling Stones (once their opening act) and the Ramones, the Ronettes, more than any other "girl group," crystalized the sound most often credited to their producer, Phil Spector.
As her Times obit recounts, Estelle was not the lead singer of the group, but she was instrumental in developing the trio's visual style, an unapologetically sexy combination of tight clothes, big hair, and synchronized dance moves that has echoed down through the decades. Amazing, when you consider what social conditions were like in the US in 1963.
As a young woman, she was as promising as anyone could possibly be. She attended New York's Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), and lent her edgy (for the time) style sense to the clothes, makeup, and hair that these three young women brazenly wore onstage. No other group looked remotely like them.
When they toured England, the Rolling Stones opened for them.
After the Ronettes broke up in the late 1960s, she was devastated, and already evident mental health issues became ever more serious. Her later life was difficult, to put it mildly.
I prefer to remember her as one of the brilliant artists who gave us "Walking in the Rain," "Be My Baby," "Baby I Love You" and "The Best Part of Breaking Up," among many others.
GOD BLESS YOU ESTELLE.
Rest in peace.
