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Title details for Be My Baby by Ronnie Spector - Available

Be My Baby

A Memoir

by Ronnie Spector
Vince Waldron
Audiobook
3 of 3 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
3 of 3 copies available

"This heartfelt, brilliantly narrated memoir — with an introduction by Keith Richards — is one of the best I have ever listened to." -Washington Post
"...actress Rosie Perez stepped in to read the audiobook, and, go figure: She's a total dream." -Vulture

"With her indefatigable energy, Rosie Perez emerges as the perfect choice to read this emotional roller-coaster ride of an account." -Booklist
"Rosie Perez convincingly narrates this memoir by Ronnie Spector, lead singer of the Ronettes, a complicated woman who was socially naïve, emotionally fearless, and prone to melodrama." -AudioFile

Hailed by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the greatest rock memoirs of all time, Be My Baby is the true story of how Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Ronnie Spector carved out a space for herself against tremendous odds amid the chaos of the 1960s music scene and beyond.
With a new introduction by the late—and very great—Ronnie Spector.
Ronnie Spector's first collaboration with producer Phil Spector, "Be My Baby," stunned the world and shot girl group the Ronettes to stardom. No one could sing as clearly, as emotively as Ronnie. But her voice was soon drowned out in Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, and lost in Ronnie and Phil's ensuing romance and marriage.
Ronnie had to fight tooth and nail to wrest back control of her life, her music, and her legacy. And while she regained her footing, Ronnie found herself recording with Stevie Van Zandt, partying with David Bowie, and touring with Bruce Springsteen.
Smart, humorous, and self-possessed, Be My Baby is a whirlwind account of the twists and turns in the life of an artist. More than anything, Be My Baby is a testament to the fact that it is possible to stand up to a powerful abuser and start on a second—or third, or fifth—act.
A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt and Company

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    June 7, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781250841100
      • File size: 308706 KB
      • Duration: 10:43:08

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Rosie Perez convincingly narrates this memoir by Ronnie Spector, lead singer of the Ronettes, a complicated woman who was socially na�ve, emotionally fearless, and prone to melodrama. Perez and Spector are spiritual kin--showbiz outliers with distinctive voices, street cred, and all-in performing styles. Much of the audiobook is devoted to her producer/husband Phil Spector, who kept Ronnie a prisoner in his mansion after making her a star. Barefoot, and with her mom's help, she broke free, after which Phil devoted himself to ruining her career, for example, calling her before her Vegas debut to tell her she would be dead within two hours. After 30 years, this classic memoir has been reissued with a 2022 epilogue, written by the author shortly before her death. R.W.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      September 1, 2022

      Originally published in 1990, this memoir includes a November 2021 postscript, written just months before Spector's death in January 2022. Her story spans from the late 1950s to the 1980s. Inclined to perform from a young age and sparked by Frankie Lymon's music, Spector formed the Ronettes with her sister Estelle and cousin Nedra. Her rise in the NYC music scene during the early 1960s occurred at storied venues such as Harlem's Apollo Theater and Brooklyn's Fox Theatre. She details sharing the stage with the Beatles and Rolling Stones as an opening act and the long-term friendships she developed with band members, John Lennon and Keith Richards respectively. Spector recounts her abusive relationship, marriage, and divorce with Phil Spector, with added commentary on his 2009 murder conviction in her postscript. Fellow New Yorker, actress Rosie Perez (White Men Can't Jump; The Flight Attendant) narrates with honesty, capturing the singer's bubbly personality and positivity. VERDICT The only new information included in this revised edition is the postscript. Spector's memoir will appeal to music aficionados, NYC historians, and true crime fans curious for a glimpse into the life of Phil Spector prior to his murder trial.--Kym Goering

      Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      August 29, 1990
      Lead singer for the Ronettes, one of the better so-called ``girl groups'' of the 1960s, Spector provides an insider's look at the madness and glamour of an explosive period in rock music. Much of the book revolves around her relationship with Phil Spector, the star-making producer whose ``Wall of Sound'' concept revolutionized recording studio technique. According to the singer, her husband was obsessed with control, keeping her a virtual prisoner in his mansion for nearly five years before she broke free to reestablish a life and career of her own. Now remarried with two children, and having met with success in her struggle against alcoholism, the singer, aided by freelance writer Waldron, reminisces with apparent objectivity. Her candor, amid the recent rash of tell-all books by aging rock stars, is refreshing and puts Be My Baby a cut above the standard self-serving, bonkers-and-back autobiography. Photos not seen by PW.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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