Remembering Ronnie Spector: She Survived Like Tina Turner
It’s been a rough start to 2022 with one celebrity death after another. Sixties pop sensation Ronnie Spector is the latest. The “Be My Baby” singer suffered from cancer and passed away at 78 on January 12.
Spector’s life mirrored Tina Turner’s. Both were victims of physical and mental abuse at the hands of their husbands. Phil Spector and Ike Turner were Svengali producers who boosted the careers of Ronnie, with the Ronettes, and Tina, with Ike & Tina Turner, with terrific songs, but at great expense to their personal lives. Both were lead singers in somebody else’s group. It would take years to emancipate themselves.
Things probably worked out better for Tina than Ronnie. Tina had a huge comeback in 1984 and won a bunch of Grammy awards. Two years after that, Ronnie returned to radio, reprising “Be My Baby” on Eddie Money’s “Take Me Home Tonight.”
On her last album in 2016, English Heart, Spector covered songs like “Tired of Waiting” and “Tell Her No.”
