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Be My Baby” by the Ronettes

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Be My Baby” by the Ronettes Analysis of “Be My Baby” by The Ronettes Music is one of the many social aspects that were influenced by the Civil Rights Movement. The link between the two was first forged through early union songs and spirituals in the 1950s and remained strong through the 1960s, when the demand for social equality opened the door to pop music for black artists. Lavish studio production and advances in recording technology gave rise to a generation of independent producers who managed to accentuate the dynamism and emotional impact of rhythm and blues and launch it into the mainstream market. This process also gave birth to an assemblage of black female vocal groups, known simply as the girl groups. “In 1962, thanks primarily to the girl groups, more black artists appeared on the year-end singles charts than at any time in history.” (Garfoalo, 152) One such band was comprised of Veronica Bennett, Estelle Bennett, and Nedra Talley. The trio formed The Ronettes, and this paper will attempt to identify and examine certain signifiers and characteristics of their 45rpm 7” recording of “Be My Baby”, which manifest the time period to which the song belongs. An in-depth analysis of the historical period itself is necessary in order to understand, the driving forces that led to the presence of a group like The Ronettes in mainstream in the first place. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s triggered other social and political movements including the antiwar, student power, black power, and later women’s liberation movements. America was in a state of contradiction, where the importance of freedom and development were stressed within the public sphere while the country was concurrently dealing with first and foremost race issues, but also taboos surrounding concepts of sexuality, and a growing gap between the prospering segments of society and those who still experienced widespread poverty. These inconsistencies were finally challenged in 1954, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the desegregation of schools. The country was headed for an inevitable shift to the political left; the expansion of the university system and Russia’s launching of Sputnik in 1957 caused the American society to question the overall superiority of the U.S. Like so many other times in history, people found a relief from politics in culture. The youth fueled a process of reinvention and reconstruction of American values. Peoples’ desire for political outlets, led to the popularization of R&B and rock ‘n’ roll, (which derived from it.) Aspects of what was considered black music appealed to white audiences for a number of reasons. Following the economic boom after the Second World War, 50% of Americans were aged 15- 25. This new demography was labeled as teenagers. Up until this point, R&B had for the most part been kept off the radio and primarily consumed through records. It was initially aired during nighttime and it was aimed at an African American audience. However, the demographic of teens that up until this point had not been recognized were struck by these late broadcasts. The instruments, such as the trombone combined with a muffled or the saxophone, produced specific sounds that these listeners were not used to and felt that they were denied access to them earlier. R&B lyrics contained adult content, and few political messages, however, as it reached white teenagers, they used it to make a statement. R&B music took on a new political balance that it did not carry for its intended audiences mainly because it was not a genre accepted by the parents of American teens, who in contrast to their children grew up during the American Depression and World Ward II. Besides a desire to dance, listening to it provided teens first and foremost with a form of rebellion against their elders’ conservative values. The growing popularity of rock ‘n’ roll and R&B earned them time on the radio. By 1958, 70% of American teenagers were college educated and by 1959, the income of an average middle class family grew from $5,000 to $8,000 per person giving young people disposable money, much of which was spend on the newly introduced transistor radios. The airwaves became the best place to advertise and the large demographic of teens determined what was played since they were an important target audience to encourage in the areas of consumption. At this point, major labels realized that they had lost the power they held over mainstream content and that they wrongly dismissed a vital change in musical history, as a phase. The relationship between major and independent labels on the charts inverted with most of the top songs coming from independent labels, but by 1959, major labels regained their territory. This marked the beginning of The In-between Years, which lasted until 1964. During this time major labels struck back and recovered their position on the top charts through reorganization and innovation; Losing their old performers and instead introducing the public to new, young, attractive faces and voices discovered by A&R representatives, as well as new genres such as surf, uptown R&B, and naturally, girl groups. The first label that worked with the concept of girl groups was Decca. Though it was initially skeptical about a black female band, their session supervisor, Luther Dixon quickly gave rise to the first girl band, The Shirelles and produced some of their timeless hits like, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”. Once the market became established, more groups emerged and signed with developing labels. A few big names concentrated on this newfound genre, including Phil Spector, a session supervisors who worked with two of the most prominent girl groups; The Ronettes and The Crystals. Spector’s signature was a dense, layered, and reverberant sound that he coined “The Wall of Sound”. He created this effect by having multiple electric and acoustic guitarists perform the same parts simultaneously, or by adding musical arrangements performed by large groups of musicians, sometimes even orchestras and ultimately recording their sound using an echo chamber. Spector also used instruments belonging to strings, woodwind, brass or the percussion, which were not previously associated with youth-oriented pop. The Wall of Sound came across especially well on radios and jukeboxes; it was loud, catchy and vibrant and it is no surprise that it entered the popular pubic sphere with such ease. Perhaps, the most important aspect of Spector’s career was that he was considered to be much more than just a producer. Unlike other companies who simultaneously issued multiple releases, Spector only worked on and promoted several records a year. “This singular devotion to his recording contributed greatly to the perception of Spector as a Svengali-like producer who treated his artists as one more element in the creation of a total sound”. (Garofalo, 155) This attitude led to many people referring to records, not via the artist name, but by Phil Spector’s name. Unfortunately, this was “a view that encouraged the notion of girl group singers as interchangeable entities on the pop assembly line”. (Garofalo, 155) The case of Darlene Love illustrates the extent to which vocals were diminished during the In-between Years. She was part of two groups that performed background vocals; The Blossoms and Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans, she also sang the lead in Crystals for two of the biggest hits of 1962, “He’s a Rebel” and “He’s Sure the Boy I Love”. However, Darlene was never listed as member of the Crystals and she only recorded two songs out the many Top Forty hits she was engaged with under her own name. Though Love was not involved with The Ronettes, Spector maintained the same type of belittling attitude towards all bands. To an extent, this was a time of wrongful crediting and it developed a general tendency to submerge noteworthy talents of many women singers beneath the appreciation of their producers’ overall sound. “Be My Baby” is actually considered by some to be the quintessential Phil Spector production. While the song is in fact full of sound, the rhythm and notes are not particularly sophisticated. Besides the distinctive drum intro, the song is really the same thing over and over again in a loop. This makes sense considering the lyrics, which are essentially eight lines, and a whole lot of chorus. Seeing as the song is 2:30 minutes, (a typical for 45 rpm 7”) and only two verses the song is based on repetition. Spector worked with some of best song writing teams of the Brill Building, in this case Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. It is, however, important to keep in mind that the Brill Building was a significant place for the Tin Pan Alley industry. Songs including “Be My Baby” were therefore written in the same rapid fashion, depriving lyrics of a deeper meaning or substance. But, “together, white songwriters and black vocalists incorporated the excitement and urgency of rhythm and blues into the mainstream tradition of professional pop.” (Garofalo, 155) After the British Invasion only two girl groups reached the Top Ten. These bands were a short-lived phenomenon for several reasons. Firstly, due to Phil Spector’s aspirations and musical techniques, groups like The Ronettes, The Crystals, or The Blossoms did not particularly distinguish themselves from another; ultimately their records were Spector records. Second point is almost too blatant to make. The Ronettes were black women. Out of the handful of situations in history when either of those meant superiority to the white man, the 1960’s music scene was not one of them.
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