Could have the Ronettes been bigger?

I always wonder what if the Ronettes wised up to Phil Spector around 1965 and went somewhere else. Could they have been bigger? I always felt like they could have been had Phil not held them back. Nedra said they were begging him to release better material on them but he wouldn't. I guess either way Nedra would have ended up getting replaced anyway as she grew disinterested in being a Ronette after she met her husband. Ronnie should have been a much bigger superstar than she was. I've seen her several times over the years and she is an amazing entertainer. Such great energy.

From TMZ


Phil Spector, the music producer responsible for some of the biggest hits in music and the architect of The Wall of Sound has died ... sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ.

We're told he died from COVID-related complications, after being transferred from his prison cell to a hospital. We're told he was diagnosed 4 weeks ago and went to the hospital but recovered well enough to return to prison, where he was serving a 19-to-life sentence for the murder of Lana Clarkson.

Our sources say he relapsed, had trouble breathing and was rushed back to the hospital, where he died Saturday.

Spector began his career early ... when he was still in high school, he produced his first big hit, "To Know Him is To Love Him," by the Teddy Bears.


And then, the floodgates opened. He produced a flurry of hits ... from The Righteous Brothers "You Lost that Lovin' Feeling," "Unchained Melody," "You're My Soul and Inspiration," The Ronettes' "Be My Baby," The Crystals' "He's a Rebel," and on and on.


Spector had a deep association with The Beatles, and produced their final album, "Let It Be." Among the songs, "The Long and Winding Road," "Get Back," and the title track. He also produced John Lennon's solo work, including "Instant Karma," and "Imagine."

Phil's reach was far and wide. He also produced Ike & Tina Turner's "River Deep, Mountain High."

When Phil produced The Ronettes, he went on to marry their lead singer, Ronnie in 1968, and had a tumultuous relationship. She accused him of tormenting her during their 4 years together by telling her she was nothing -- personally or professionally -- without him, forbidding her to leave their mansion alone, and pulling guns on her.

She eventually fled barefoot from him in 1972.


Spector's "Wall of Sound" was a technique he discovered in a tunnel near Hollywood Blvd. The sound created a roaring effect, which Spector called the "Wagnerian approach to rock 'n' roll" -- it involved overdubbing scores of musicians in an orchestral style to make a fuller sound.

The technique was mimicked by the Beach Boys and Bruce Springsteen.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.

Spector ended up in prison in 2009 for the second degree murder of Clarkson, who was an actress he'd been dating.


In March 2013, Al Pacino played Spector in the movie "Phil Spector."

Spector was 81.



https://www.tmz.com/2021/01/17/phil-...-dead-dies-81/

I've been listening to Uptown Nay Rob's delirious YouTube book club series focusing on Jan Gaye's (rather ... well ... sickening) book about her life with Marvin Gaye. It's led me to streaming some of his lps which I have not listened to in a long, long time. There's almost no discussion of Marvin's music here. So, I'm wondering - do we think Gaye's most mature music holds up?

Sophisticated Ladies opened on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on March 1, 1981 and closed on January 2, 1983 after 767 performances and fifteen previews. The musical was conceived by Donald McKayle, directed by Michael Smuin, and choreographed by McKayle, Smuin, Henry LeTang, Bruce Heath, and Mercedes Ellington. Scenic design was by Tony Walton, costume design by Willa Kim and lighting design was by Jennifer Tipton. The original cast included Gregory Hines, Judith Jamison, Phyllis Hyman, Paula Kelly, Hinton Battle, Gregg Burge, and Mercer Ellington. Hines' older brother Maurice joined the cast later in the run.

The score includes "Mood Indigo," "Take the "A" Train", "I'm Beginning to See the Light", "Hit Me With a Hot Note and Watch Me Bounce", "Perdido", "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)", "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart", "Old Man Blues", "In a Sentimental Mood", "Sophisticated Lady", "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", "Satin Doll", and "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good", among many others.

A new Motown biography!

One of Jr Walkers son's "Kenneth Dewalt" has recently published a short bio titled "Shotgun The Making Of A legend" The Paperback issue has just over 130 pages and then a gallery of photographs, a number previously unseen before. A brief and interesting read with a more personal slant.
ISBN-9798552075560

However I do find that the orignal biography "The Jr Walker Story - The Man Behind The Sax" published in 2011 is more detailed and the better of the two. It is a hard one to find but a great book to read. It has taken me a while to find another copy after misplacing the other.
Authors Derek Dewalt (another of Jr's family) and Kambon Obayami
ISBN-10-0983889031

Welcome any views if you have had the oppourtunity to have read either of the books

Attachment 18582

Mickey's Monkey
Twistin' Postman
Come On Do the Jerk
Can You Jerk Like Me?
Shotgun
Hitchhike

All of the above songs were original compositions released on various Motown labels, and all contain the names of dances.

I know there are more. Can you name more songs released by Motown that contain the names of dances that are NOT covers?