The Ronettes "Be My Baby" "Tedesco and Pitman" Leon Russell piano
The first, and only Top Ten hit for The Ronettes, featuring Ronnie Spector on lead vocal was "Be My Baby." It was recorded at the end of the first week in July 1963 at Gold Star Studio. Producer Phil Spector liked to put a jazz track on the backside of his intended hit songs, which in this case was "Tedesco and Pitman," saluting guitarists Tommy Tedesco and Bill Pitman. It should have included Leon Russell's name for his piano part. Jack Nitszche arranged the hit side and Spector arranged the jazz instrumental. Both were on Philles 116 credited to The Ronettes even though only Ronnie sings on the A-side, and Phil's Wall of Sound Orchestra is alone the instrumental B-side. Philles Records' previous single (115) credited to The Crystals had "Then He Kissed Me" backed with the instrumental "Brother Julius." Both of those also had Leon as pianist and are on another video on this channel. Please subscribe and enjoy! A great source for all the above songs, and more by Spectors' stable of artists, is the Sony Legacy box set Phil Spector Presents the Philles album collection.
About The Ronettes
The Ronettes were an American girl group from Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. The group consisted of the lead singer Veronica Bennett, her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley. They had sung together since they were teenagers, then known as "The Darling Sisters". Signed first by Colpix Records in 1961, they moved to Phil Spector's Philles Records in March 1963 and changed their name to "The Ronettes".
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