Ronnie Spector

Ronnie Spector
a.k.a. Veronica Bennett

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GIRL TALK
Primo Ronette Ronnie Spector Returns with a New Album and Plenty of That Same Ol' Sass
Ronnie Spector is back. Those words are not only sufficient introduction for the queen of every true rock 'n' roll heart still beating across our fair land, they're cause for celebration. In exemplary voice and as attitudinous as ever, Spector has surfaced with a Joey Ramone-Daniel Rey-produced EP (on the Kill Rock Stars label, home of alterna-artists like Sleater-Kinney), SHE TALKS TO RAINBOWS, her first solo recording since 1987. The Ramone-penned title track evokes Spector's glory days leading the Ronettes, while elsewhere she works that alluring catch in her voice for all it's worth on a tender interpretation of Brian Wilson's "Don't Worry Baby," a duet with Ramone on "Bye Bye Baby," and a fiery live version of "I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine." Still tender under that sassy exterior, Spector spoke recently to bn.com's David McGee of the journey that led to SHE TALKS TO RAINBOWS -- one that took her from the top of the girl-group heap, through an abusive marriage to producer Phil Spector, to her recent performing and recording comeback.

barnesandnoble.com: How did this project come together?

Ronnie Spector: My manager, who is also my husband, came across this song, "She Talks to Rainbows." When he put it on for me, I said "That's the story of my life!" -- because in the early days I was very lonely and always alone. Joey Ramone wrote the song, so we met with him and Daniel Rey, and as the four of us were talking about songs, I started singing. And Daniel and Joey said, "My God, her voice is great! You should be recording now! What are you doing not recording?!" So we got together every day and began collaborating. We didn't have a big record company behind us. We worked very hard and did these songs, and I love all of 'em.

bn.com: What did you want the EP to say about you as an artist right now?

RS: I wanted it to be just my voice, more than a [Phil Spector-style] Wall of Sound. I didn't want anything between the lyrics and my voice. So, it's me, the real me. We didn't have much money, but we got in there and it came from our hearts and our guts. All I'm interested in is making rock 'n' roll records and going out there with the energy and the sex and the sweat.

bn.com: You played a show about a year ago at a party celebrating the publication of Rolling Stone's WOMEN IN ROCK book, and you and Ruth Brown really showed the younger artists on the bill how to do it that night. Those were two great performances.

RS: I love Ruth Brown, not just her singing, but Ruth Brown has more girl power than anyone, because she fought hard against people who ripped her off and then helped other artists through the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. That's important stuff. Most of the groups I worked with 30 years ago are either dead or dead broke. And it's a shame.

bn.com: You cover Brian Wilson's "Don't Worry Baby" on SHE TALKS TO RAINBOWS, a song he wrote about you. How did you find out that you had been his inspiration?

RS: Actually, he told me. Brian came to one of our recording sessions -- it was a closed session, but Phil [Spector] let him in. Brian heard me singing "Be My Baby" then, it turns out, went home and wrote "Don't Worry Baby" as a follow up. I never got a chance to record it back then, because Phil didn't write it -- and I didn't even know about it. So now I finally got a chance to, 30 years later.

bn.com: Have you had any contact with Brian in recent years?

RS: Yes! I saw Brian about a month ago at his show at the Beacon Theater in New York. It blew my mind because, he sang "Be My Baby." As many hits as he has, he had "Be My Baby" in his show! Afterward, I went back to his dressing room and started singing, "The night we met...," and he freaked. Then I sang "Walking in the Rain" and "Do I love you? Yes, I love you!" and he actually started shaking, I guess because he'd never heard me that close. I think for a moment I brought him back to the '60s. But when he started shaking, I thought, Ronnie, keep singing and get out the door as fast as you can! Because I thought I was giving him a heart attack or something. I thought, Oh, my God, I've killed Brian Wilson! But he followed me out of the dressing room and said, "You gave me so much love." That was the moment I thought, He's sane, he's good again.

bn.com: From what you said earlier, you're expecting this EP to become an album sometime in the future.

RS: Yes, but you know what? I want to take it in baby steps. The EP is a way to slowly come back. It's too much pressure to have an album out now.

bn.com: Pressure? For you? Come on!

RS: Yeah! I want to sneak out there and say, "Here I am! I'm still alive, still singing rock 'n' roll, I still look good, I'm sexy, I'm happy, I have two great kids, I've been married 20 years." I'm so rich now, so much more than I was before, because I have everything. My own biological children. Married. And I still sing rock 'n' roll. I want to die onstage. Carry me right off. I'll be singing "Be My Baby," and then, "I love you! Bye-bye!" What more could I ask for?

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