“Be My Baby” by The Ronettes

"Be My Baby" came roaring out of Philles Records in August 1963 as the Ronettes' first single, and pop has been chasing its echo ever since. Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector wrote it, and Spector built it at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood as a full-blown Wall of Sound, his first session with a whole orchestra, piling the players later known as the Wrecking Crew into one enormous, shimmering roar. It kicks off with Hal Blaine's drum pattern, a boom and a crack that drummers have copied over and over.

Only one Ronette actually sings on it: Ronnie Spector, still Veronica Bennett then, pleading over the storm. It became the group's biggest hit, turned up on Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes in 1964, moved Brian Wilson to write "Don't Worry Baby" as an answer, and in 2006 went into the National Recording Registry.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.