Sad to hear about the passing of Estelle Bennett, one of the original Ronettes – without a doubt my all-time favorite girl group of the 1960s – who passed away last week at the age of 67. R.I.P.

Unlike the sultry Supremes, the wholesome Shirelles, the perky Crystals, or the sassy Marvelettes, the Ronettes were an entity all to themselves in their short but important heyday of 1963-66. Led by Estelle’s talented sister Ronnie Bennett, The Ronettes were as brash and sexy as they were talented and beautiful – perfect for the kind of sound rock impressario Phil Spector created for and around them in hits like “Be My Baby”, “Baby I Love You”, and “walking In The Rain”, among others.

I’ve posted about my love for the music of The Ronettes before – you can see it here.