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. 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

Rolling Stone: 50 Greatest Rock Memoirs of All Time (#14)
NME: 20 Rock Memoirs That Don’t Hold Back (#10)
Far Out Magazine (UK): 10 Greatest Rock Memoirs of All Time (#8)

“What a trip it was, being Miss Ronnie Spector. And what a perfect, challenging moment in our culture to revisit—and revel in—this edge-of-your-seat tutorial from the ultimate Cool Girl on surviving her tumultuous rock opera with joy and talent intact. These pages are laced with pure, straight-up Ronnie—hilariously deadpan about her astonishing life, fierce, clear-eyed, and still mad for the music. Dive in and fall in l-o-v-e.”
—Gerri Hirshey, author of We Gotta Get Out of This Place: The True, Tough Story of Women in Rock

“An entertaining, gossipy, whirlwind ride through the 1960s.”
—Wendy Leigh, London Sunday Times

“Funny and observant, consistently engaging . . . sprinkled with deadpan humor.”
—Mike Boehm, Los Angeles Times

“Entertaining, often disturbing . . . well told and . . . quite moving. Be My Baby . . . marks the passage of Ronnie Spector from victim to survivor.”
—Alan Light, Rolling Stone

“If you’re looking for self-pity, you’ll be disappointed, because her book, like her voice, is full of cocky, smart, self-aware humor. And, yes, in case you were wondering, it totally sucked to be married to Phil Spector.”
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone

“Arguably one of the most potent voices of rock ‘n’ roll’s early moments, Ronnie Spector was the lynchpin of The Ronettes and the ultimate 1960s powerhouse performer. . . . She is strong, bolshy and sharp as a tack.”
—Far Out (UK)

“An enthralling and moving Dante-esque descent through the rock ’n’ roll inferno. One of the three greatest rock ’n’ roll memoirs.”
—Jon Wilde, Blitz (London)

“Not only does this book give a revealing look at what it takes to be in one of the greatest girl groups of all time, it also casts a sinister light on Ronnie’s former husband and Wall of Sound svengali, Phil Spector.”
—Emily Barker, NME

“Despite all the hard times, Ronnie comes across here as a survivor, and the book maintains a surprisingly jaunty tone.”
—Ilene Cooper, Booklist

“A lively, illuminating read . . . Spector’s portrait of the energy of the early Sixties music scene is fascinating.”
—Kirkus Reviews

09/01/2022

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

10/01/2021

A Duff Cooper Prize winner for Becoming Dickens, Oxford English professor Douglas-Fairhurst argues that for Dickens the emotionally tumultuous year of 1851 was The Turning Point that singularly shaped his oeuvre. A professor of Aegean civilization at the University of Bologna, Ferrera moves from Mesopotamia and Crete to China, Central America, Easter Island, and beyond to chronicle The Greatest Invention—writing. In I Was Better Last Night, Fierstein talks about being a cultural icon, gay rights activist, and four-time Tony Award-winning actor and playwright. Emmy Award-winning writer Galloway, who created the Reporter's famed Oscar Roundtables, revisits Madly in love Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, among the first global celebrities (75,000-copy first printing). In Keats, British literary critic Miller uses verse and epitaph, e.g., "Endymion," "Bright Star," to explore the life of the English Romantic and present him less as dreamer than subversive. In a book structured as a series of letters to her book-loving father, Nafisi urges us to Read Dangerously, addressing literature as both solace and subversive power that can challenge repressive politics; originally scheduled for August 2021 (75,000-copy first printing). Oscar-nominated screenwriter, director, and actor Polley offers six essays capturing moments of her life, from stage fright to risky childbirth to healing herself after traumatic injury by retraining her mind to Run Towards the Danger, i.e., the very things that triggered her recurrent symptoms. The creator of The Good Place and cocreator of Parks and Recreation, Schur offers How To Be Perfect as a laugh-out-loud guide to living not the good life but the better life (200,000-copy first printing). Lead singer of the Ronettes—remember Be My Baby?—Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Spector recounts professional collaboration with and marriage to Phil Spector, then fighting to reclaim her musical legacy and her life (75,000-copy first printing).

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. 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

2022-06-20
The lead singer of the Ronettes and former wife of producer Phil Spector recounts her roller-coaster career and emotionally abusive marriage.

Born in Spanish Harlem in 1943, Veronica Bennett always loved to sing. As teens, she, her sister, and her cousin met a small-time agent who got them work playing bar mitzvahs. He introduced them to a producer, and they made a record. It bombed, but the three put on matching yellow dresses, stuffed their bras, and went to New York's hottest club; by the time the night was over, they had a regular gig as dancers. Then they started dancing at the Brooklyn Fox rock-and-roll revue, where they performed alongside the Shirelles, the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, and others. In 1963, Phil Spector agreed to audition them; he signed them because he loved Ronnie's voice. As the group rehearsed, Phil and Ronnie became involved. "Be My Baby" became their first and biggest hit. The group toured England, where they made friends with the Beatles (Ronnie flirted with John, but stayed true to Phil). But trouble started when Ronnie and Phil got a mansion in Beverly Hills. Phil was fiercely possessive. He convinced her not to open for the Beatles. He yelled at her, then hired servants to watch her every move. Marriage didn't help. He preferred to keep her at home than to record with her, and she became so bored she drank all the time. Finally, she left him and tried to relaunch her career, but she was often drunk. Then, however, she met a sane and gentle man, quit drinking, and had two babies. Spector's portrait of the energy of the early Sixties music scene is fascinating. Although she doesn't explicitly discuss the girl group phenomenon, what really comes across is how completely she ceded control—first to her mother, then to her various producers—especially her husband.

A lively, illuminating read, then, for fans of the period or for anyone interested in the power politics of the music business.