Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica

Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica
Studio album by The Ronettes
Released November 1964 (1964-11)
Recorded 1963–1964
Studio Gold Star Studios, Hollywood
Genre Orchestral pop
Length 36:34
Label Philles (4006)
Producer Phil Spector
Phil Spector production chronology
A Christmas Gift for You
(1963)A Christmas Gift for You1963		 Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes featuring Veronica
(1964)		 You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
(1964)String Module Error: Match not found1964
Singles from Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica
  1. "Be My Baby"
    Released: 1963
  2. "Do I Love You?"
    Released: 1964
  3. "Walking in the Rain/How Does It Feel?"
    Released: 1964
  4. "Baby, I Love You"
    Released: 1964
  5. "(The Best Part Of) Breakin' Up"
    Released: 1964

Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica is the debut album of American girl group the Ronettes, released in 1964. Comprising numerous singles produced by Phil Spector since the previous year, it was at #96 on the Billboard 200 chart. Issued singles included "Be My Baby" (US #2), "Walking in the Rain" (US #23), "Baby, I Love You" (US #24), "Do I Love You?" (US #34), and "(The Best Part Of) Breakin' Up" (US #39). The track "So Young" had been released as a single credited to Veronica, although the other Ronettes, Estelle Bennett and Nedra Talley, appear on the record.

The songs "Be My Baby" and "(Walking) in the Rain" are ranked #22 and #269, respectively, on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[1] The album ranked #427 also on their list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[2] Recording engineer Larry Levine was nominated for a Grammy Award for the rainstorm special effect in "Walking in the Rain".[3] The album was rated the 31st best album of the 1960s by Pitchfork.[4]

Releases

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Mojo[5]
Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music[6]

Original vinyl copies of the album are rare and change hands for hundreds of dollars. There has been, however, a reissue on vinyl in 1975 on the Phil Spector International label (Super 2307 003 - in stereo). Featuring no bonus-tracks and extensive liner notes by New Musical Express author Roy Carr, it was Vol. 1 of the six volume "Phil Spector Wall of Sound" reissue series. Another 1975 compilation album The Ronettes Sing Their Greatest Hits released on the International label was actually a straight rerelease of Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes, with the same twelve tracks and running order.

Nine of the tracks appeared on the Spector box set, Back to Mono (1958–1969), the omissions being "How Does It Feel?", "Chapel of Love", and their remake of the Ray Charles hit, "What'd I Say?". Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes was issued on CD for the first time in 2011, as part of the seven-disc Phil Spector Presents the Philles Album Collection, and was repressed on vinyl by Sundazed in 2012. The album was first available as a standalone CD only in 2015.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Walking in the Rain"Cynthia Weil, Barry Mann, Phil Spector3:16
2."Do I Love You?"Vini Poncia, Pete Andreoli, Spector2:50
3."So Young"William Tyus2:36
4."(The Best Part Of) Breakin' Up"Poncia, Andreoli, Spector3:02
5."I Wonder"Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Spector2:51
6."What'd I Say"Ray Charles4:40
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Be My Baby"Barry, Greenwich, Spector2:40
8."You, Baby"Weil, Mann, Spector2:56
9."Baby, I Love You"Barry, Greenwich, Spector2:50
10."How Does It Feel?"Poncia, Andreoli, Spector2:40
11."When I Saw You"Spector2:43
12."Chapel of Love"Barry, Greenwich, Spector2:54

Personnel

The Ronettes
Guest musicians
  • The Blossoms (Darlene Love, Fanita James, and Gracia Nitzsche) – backing vocals (on "Walking in the Rain", "(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up", "Be My Baby", "You, Baby", "Baby, I Love You", "How Does It Feel", and "Chapel of Love")
  • Bobby Sheen – backing vocals (on "(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up", "Be My Baby" and "Chapel of Love")
  • Cher – backing vocals (on "(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up", "Be My Baby", "Baby, I Love You", "You, Baby", and "Walking in The Rain")
  • Sonny Bono – percussion, backing vocals (on "(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up" and "Be My Baby")
  • Ellie Greenwich – backing vocals (on "Be My Baby")
  • Nino Tempo – backing vocals (on "Be My Baby")

Additional session musicians and production

References

  1. ↑ "Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" 9 December 2004. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
  2. ↑ "The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". November 18, 2003. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on June 5, 2009.
  3. ↑ "(Walking) In The Rain – The Ronettes". AllMusic. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  4. ↑ "The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2017-08-22.
  5. ↑ Wilson, Lois (February 2017). "The Ronettes Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica". Mojo. p. 104.
  6. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2002). Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music. London: Virgin Books. ISBN 978-1-85227923-3.
  7. ↑ "PRESENTING THE FABULOUS RONETTES FEAT. VERONICA 200g MONO LP". elusivedisc.
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