New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Iconic singer and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Ronnie Spector has confirmed plans for a new single, 'Love Power', to be released in late July, as well as a series of U.S. tour dates, including appearances at SF Pride and at Lincoln Center in New York City (as part of NPR's Turning the Tables series).
As a seminal force in Sixties Pop and Rock, Spector's swagger, moxie and trademark voice (still instantly recognizable from the first note,) defined an era for her legions of followers. Now in her sixth decade as a performer, she continues to thrill -- inspiring and empowering a new generation of fans as an enduring, transcendent figure in pop culture.
Spector's upcoming live band performances combine multi-media elements, never-before-seen video footage, personal stories and more. Select events will feature 'Ronnie Spector & the Ronettes' -- the first appearances of this group since the 1970s.
June 25 - SF Pride - Two performances San Francisco, CA
Afternoon performance at City Hall, Evening Performance at Mezzanine
www.Sfpride.org (Ronnie Spector and band)
https://mezzaninesf.com/events/hard-french-▼s-los-homos-vii/ ? (RS & The Ronettes)
July 21 - Bardavon 1869 Opera House Poughkeepsie, NY
https://www.songkick.com/concerts/29538274-ronnie-spector-at-bardavon-1869-opera-house?utm_source=11593&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=widget&utm_content=90297
(RS & The Ronettes)
July 22 - Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center Great Barrington, MA
https://www.mahaiwe.org/Upcoming%20Events (RS & The Ronettes)
July 26 - Lincoln Center, NPR's Turning the Tables Event - New York City
https://www.lincolncenter.org/show/npr-musics-turning-the-tables-live
Ronnie Spector Biography/Timeline:
Only a few artists in history have been capable of defining an entire era in pop music. Ronnie Spector is one of those artists: the embodiment of the heart, soul, and passion of female rock and roll in the 1960s. And to this day, no one has ever surpassed Ronnie's powerful trademark vocals, her gutsy attitude, or her innocent but knowing sexuality. For these qualities and more, Ronnie Spector and the Ronettes, were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in March 2007.
The Story So Far - Ronnie Spector was born and raised in Spanish Harlem. She formed the
Ronettes while in her teens and released her first records in 1961 on the Colpix label.
The
Ronettes were also professional singers and dancers at New York's Peppermint Lounge. There they were discovered by legendary disc jockey "Murray the K" (Murray Kaufman), who promptly hired them as dancers for his Brooklyn Fox Theater rock and roll revues.
Beginning in 1963, Ronnie Spector—as lead singer of the ultimate girl group, The Ronettes—recorded a long string of classic pop hits: powerful, poignant teen anthems like the Grammy Award-winning "Walking in the Rain," "Do I Love You," "Baby I Love You," "The Best Part of Breaking Up," "I Can Hear Music," and the international Number One smash "Be My Baby." These records are among the best-loved and most-emulated recordings in the history of rock and roll.
?"There were girl group hits before the Ronettes," wrote Canadian critic Carl Wilson in a 2003 feature for the Toronto
Globe & Mail. "But Ronnie Spector was the first woman in rock to provoke anything like the hysteria that Elvis had caused, which was soon to engulf the Beatles."
As the Number One pop group in England, Ronnie Spector and the
Ronettes headlined over acts like the
Rolling Stones and
Eric Clapton and The Yardbirds. The
Beatles personally requested that the
Ronettes join their final U.S. tour in August 1966; later that year, at Basin Street East, a talented young comedian named Richard Pryor was the opening act for the Ronettes' final live performance.
In 1970, Ronnie sang on Jimi Hendrix's recording of? "Earth Blues".
In 1971, Ronnie Spector released her Apple Records debut single, "Try Some, Buy Some"—written and produced by
George Harrison, with a backing band that included George, John Lennon, and Ringo Starr.
In 1976,
Billy Joel wrote "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" as a tribute to Ronnie. The next year, she recorded the song with backing by
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, and it was issued as a single on Epic Records.
In 1986, Ronnie's duet with Eddie Money—"Take Me Home Tonight"—reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hung on the chart for 26 weeks. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award and became a heavy rotation video on MTV.
In 1989, Ronnie took time off to write the story of her remarkable life and great music. Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and
Madness (Crown, 1990) was an international bestseller; a revised and updated mass-market paperback was published in June 2004.
In 1999, Ronnie released the critically acclaimed EP She Talks to Rainbows on the cutting-edge indie label Kill Rock Stars. Highlights included Johnny Thunders' "You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory," and a duet with EP producer Joey Ramone on his own composition "Bye Bye Baby."
In June 2000, after a fifteen-year legal battle, Ronnie Spector won a landmark decision in the New York
State courts. The ruling eased the way for veteran artists of the Fifties and Sixties to collect past-due royalties on their old recordings.
In 2004 Ronnie was recognized for her contribution to American popular music when she was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall Of Fame.
In 2006, "BE MY BABY" was added to the prestigious
National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress.
Ronnie's CD, The Last of the Rock Stars, released 2009, marked the first time she was ever in full control of her material, arrangements, and production. The supporting cast includes Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), members of The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, Patti Smith, and
Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.
Her latest holiday CD, Ronnie Spector's Best Christmas Ever, released 2010 complements her classic Christmas songs "Sleigh Ride," "Frosty The Snowman," and "I Saw Mommy Kissing
Santa Claus." "
Sleigh Ride" (#3) and "Frosty The Snowman" (#17) are among ASCAP's Top 20 most-played holiday radio hits of the past decade.
2011 was a significant year for Ronnie with her cover of Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" being named "Single of the Month" in Britain's influential MOJO Magazine. In May she appeared with Lou Reed, Macy Gray,
Dr. John and Steely Dan's
Donald Fagen in a benefit for the Jazz Foundation of
America at Harlem's hallowed Apollo Theater - where Ronnie made her performing debut at age eleven, then headlined with the
Ronettes in1965!
In the summer of 2012, Ronnie debuted her biographical one-woman multi-media show Beyond the Beehive in New York City to star-studded audiences and standing ovations. Following several more sold-out Gotham shows, Ronnie took Beyond the Beehive to London for its premier UK performance at
Queen Elizabeth Hall on March 9, 2014. "Ronnie Spector's Beyond The Beehive shines like a polished diamond!" declared The Independent (UK) in their five-star review.
In November of 2015, Sony
Music released The Very Best of Ronnie Spector, the first cross-label collection of her career. This nineteen-track CD includes hits by the
Ronettes and by Ronnie as a solo artist including "So Young" (as Veronica), "Say Goodbye To Hollywood" (with the E Street Band), and "You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory" (from Last of the Rock Stars).
Ronnie celebrated her 55th year in the recording industry with the release of her British Invasion inspired collection of covers English Heart, and followed it up with a performance at the venerable Glastonbury Festival that garnered a five-star review in The Telegraph (UK) in 2016.
In 2017, Ronnie was presented the Legend Award by The Woman's International
Music Network at their "She Rocks Award" ceremony.
The style, look, and sound of Ronnie Spector continue to serve as an inspiration and role model for generations.
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