"Be My Baby" группы The Ronettes: История хита 1963 года

1963 song by the Ronettes
the 1963 song

"Be My Baby" is a song by American girl group the Ronettes that was released as a single on Philles Records in August 1963. Written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector, the song was the Ronettes' biggest hit, reaching number 2 in the U. S. and number 4 in the UK. It is often ranked as among the best songs of the 1960s, and has been regarded by some publications as one of the greatest songs of all time. Spector produced "Be My Baby" at Gold Star Studios with his de facto house band, later known as "the Wrecking Crew". It marked the first time that he recorded with a full orchestra, and the song is regarded as the quintessential example of his Wall of Sound recording technique. Ronnie Spector (then known as Veronica Bennett) is the only Ronette that appears on the track. In 1964, it appeared on the album Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes. In the decades since its release, "Be My Baby" has been played on radio and television over 3 million times. The song has influenced many artists, most notably the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, who wrote the 1964 hit "Don't Worry Baby" as a response to "Be My Baby". Many others have replicated or recreated the drum phrase—one of the most recognizable in pop music. The song has returned to the U. S. top 40 via cover versions by Andy Kim and Jody Miller. In 2006, the Library of Congress inducted the Ronettes' recording into the United States National Recording Registry.

"Be My Baby" was written by Phil Spector, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich at Spector's office in Los Angeles. Early in 1963, Spector auditioned a vocal group trio – composed of sisters Veronica (also known as "Ronnie") and Estelle Bennett with their cousin Nedra Talley – who were performing under the names "Ronnie and the Relatives" and "the Ronettes". Impressed by Ronnie's lead on an impromptu performance of the 1956 hit "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", Spector offered an original song for the group to record, "Why Don't They Let Us Fall in Love". They recorded the song at Gold Star Studios, but Spector withheld its release, as he had felt that the group needed more time to refine their stage act. Spector, who had been struggling with marital issues, developed a romantic fixation on Ronnie at this time. Biographer Mick Brown surmised that Spector may have "intended 'Be My Baby' as an explicit declaration of his growing feelings for Ronnie", and that the song, in retrospect, served as a foreshadowing of their marriage, which lasted from the late 1960s through the early 1970s. Singer Darlene Love, who had recorded with Spector, said that "Be My Baby" was effectively a means for Spector to declare his love to Ronnie.

The lyric "whoa oh oh oh" was reprised in their follow up single "Baby, I Love You". The song appears in the opening credit sequence of Martin Scorsese's film Mean Streets (1973). Scorsese used the song without legal clearance, allowing Spector to claim a portion of the film's earnings. Similarly, the song appears in the opening sequence of the 1987 film Dirty Dancing. Bob Seger's 1976 hit "Night Moves" includes the line "humming a song from 1962", which Seger meant as a reference to "Be My Baby", although he misidentified the year the song was released. The song is invoked and interpolated in Eddie Money's 1986 song "Take Me Home Tonight", in which Ronnie Spector replies to "Just like Ronnie sang " with "Be my little baby". The song accompanies the climactic final scene of the "I Am Curious Maddie" episode of Moonlighting aired March 31, 1987, as main characters David Addison (Bruce Willis) and Maddie Hayes (Cybill Shepherd) sexually consummate their relationship. The 2007 single "B Boy Baby" by Mutya Buena featuring Amy Winehouse borrows melodic and lyrical passages from "Be My Baby". The song appears in a fantasy sequence involving Kamala Khan in the Disney+/Marvel series Ms. Marvel, in the second episode "Crushed", after Kamala comes home following an encounter with her crush, Kamran. "Just Like Honey" by The Jesus and Mary Chain includes the distinct drum intro of "Be My Baby" throughout.

In 1999, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2004, it was ranked number 22 on Rolling Stone list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time", where it was described as a "Rosetta stone for studio pioneers such as the Beatles and Brian Wilson." It was also ranked number 22 on the list's 2021 edition and again the 2023 edition. In 2006, it was ranked number 6 on Pitchforks list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s". In 2011, it was included in Times list of the "All Time 100 Songs". In 2014, it was ranked number 2 on NMEs list of the "100 Best Songs of the 1960s". In 2017, the song topped Billboards list of the "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time".