Nedra Talley Ross, the last surviving member of the 1960s pop band the Ronettes, has died aged 80.
Talley Ross, who was one part of the band with her cousins Ronnie Spector and Estelle Bennett, died at home on Sunday morning, her daughter Nedra K Ross announced on social media.
“At approximately 8:30 this morning our mother Nedra Talley Ross went home to be with the Lord,” she wrote. “She was safe in her own bed at home with her family close, knowing she was loved. Thank you Lord.”
Born in Manhattan in 1946, Talley Ross first began performing with her cousins Ronnie (born Veronica Bennett) and Estelle when they were teenagers. Ronnie formed the Ronettes in 1957. They earned a residency at a local club and a record deal, but early singles failed to chart.
Their careers took off in 1963 after Estelle cold-called the office of producer Phil Spector, who recently had a run of huge hits. According to Ronnie Spector’s memoir, when the trio launched into a version of Frankie Lymon’s Why Do Fools Fall In Love, Phil Spector jumped from his piano and exclaimed, “That’s the voice I’ve been looking for!”
Though the Ronettes released just one studio album, they were both popular and enduring. Sporting an iconic look including beehive hairdos, they had their first big hit with Be My Baby (which also reached the UK top five), followed by others that didn’t quite match its commercial success but still reached the US Top 40 and deepened their legend, including Walking in the Rain, Baby, I Love You, and Do I Love You? “Our songs sang to boys, where other girl groups sang about boys,” Talley later said when asked about the group’s appeal.
Be My Baby was famously used in many films including Mean Streets and Dirty Dancing; the songwriters’ agency BMI once calculated that Be My Baby had been played in 3.9m feature presentations on radio and television since 1963, or “the equivalent of 17 years back to back”.
The Ronettes had three songs included, alongside other Spector-produced acts, on the 1963 festive compilation A Christmas Gift for You, including their rendition of Sleigh Ride, which was a US No 8 hit.
The Rolling Stones were their support act on a 1964 UK tour – Talley briefly dated Brian Jones. “They could sing all their way right through a wall of sound,” Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards later said . “They didn’t need anything. They touched my heart right there and then and they touch it still.”
The Ronettes also supported the Beatles on the band’s final US tour in 1966. Talley took lead vocals alongside Bennett for the latter, after the increasingly controlling Phil Spector forbade Ronnie, by then his partner, to go on the tour.
The Ronettes split in 1967. “I hated the ‘dog-eat-dog’ side of show-business,” Talley Ross later reflected. “I hated pushing for the next record and the feeling of failure if we didn’t get it. There was a continual demand on us to produce that I thought was unfair. My personality didn’t like that.”
She also later partly attributed her decision to her spiritual awakening and embrace of Christianity, and her desire to be a wife and mother. “I said, ‘OK girls, we can keep going, but this has happened to me,’” she recalled. “They couldn’t really see and understand where my stand was. So we agreed to finish out our contracts and dissolve the group.”
Talley then married Scott Ross, a DJ at a New York radio station. She released a solo album in 1978, Full Circle, of Christian contemporary music, and later began a career in real estate. Talley and Bennett turned down being part of a short-lived 1973 Ronettes reunion.
Spector and Ronnie had married in 1968 but Ronnie filed for divorce in 1974 after years of abuse. Beginning in 1988, the Ronettes launched a long legal battle to sue Spector over unpaid royalties, revealing in New York’s State court of appeals in 2002 that they had earned less than $15,000 in royalties from their hits; Talley claimed Spector had “totally cheated us for 35 years”. In 2002 a New York court found mostly in favour of Phil Spector, stating that the trio were only entitled to royalties as set out in their original contract. Spector murdered the actor Lana Clarkson in 2003 and died in prison in 2021 while serving 19 years to life.
In 2007, the Ronettes were inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with Talley describing the honour as deeply emotional: “I broke down and cried … it had been emotions and feelings that I had just sort of put to the side.” Talley performed with Ronnie Spector at the induction ceremony.
Talley Ross’ death was also confirmed in a statement on the Ronettes’ official social media on Sunday.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of Nedra Talley Ross’ passing. She was a light to those who knew and loved her,” the message read.
“As a founding member of the Ronettes, along with her beloved cousins Ronnie and Estelle, Nedra’s voice, style and spirit helped define a sound that would change music. Her contribution to the group’s story and their defining influence will live forever.
“Rest peacefully, dear Nedra. Thanks for the magic.”
Ronnie Spector died from cancer aged 78 in 2022, while Bennett died aged 67 in 2009.
