Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness, or My Life as a Fabulous Ronette

Ronnie Spector, Vince Waldron

Words in Edgewise, Jun 17, 2015 - Biography & Autobiography - 358 pages

Pop icon Ronnie Spector reveals the story of her dreamlike rise from the streets of Harlem to the pinnacle of rock stardom as lead singer of the Ronettes, and her nightmare descent into madness as the wife of Phil Spector, the pop hitmaker who kept her a virtual prisoner behind the locked doors of his darkened Beverly Hills mansion. Ronnie’s escape from that ordeal, and her subsequent struggle to reclaim her voice, her career, and her sanity, provide an emotion-packed climax to this smart, funny, and inspiring autobiography, named by one of “The Top 25 Rock Memoirs of All Time” by Rolling Stone.

Now available for the first time as an eBook, this new digital edition of Be My Baby is a fan’s dream come true. Featuring 75 stunning color and black and white photographs from Ronnie’s personal collection—many appearing in print for the first time—this link-indexed eBook also includes an updated discography that provides the most complete survey of Ronnie’s recording career ever published.

Critical Praise for Be My Baby:

“A lively, illuminating read... Spector’s portrait of the energy of the early Sixties music scene is fascinating.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“An entertaining, gossipy, whirlwind ride through the 1960s...”
—Wendy Leigh, London Sunday Times

“Entertaining, often disturbing... well told and... quite moving. Be My Baby …marks the passage of Ronnie Spector from victim to survivor.”
—Alan Light, Rolling Stone

“Funny and observant, consistently engaging… sprinkled with deadpan humor..."
—Mike Boehm, The Los Angeles Times

“Despite all the hard times, Ronnie comes across here as a survivor, and the book maintains a surprisingly jaunty tone.” 
—Ilene Cooper, Booklist

“An enthralling and moving Dante-esque descent through the rock ’n’ roll inferno. One of the three greatest rock ’n’ roll memoirs.”
—Jon Wilde, Blitz (London)

About the author

RONNIE SPECTOR became an icon at the age of 19, when she rose to fame as lead singer of the Ronettes, the influential girl group responsible for a string of hits that included “Baby I Love You,” “Walking in the Rain,” and ”Be My Baby," which Brian Wilson has called “the greatest record ever made.” The embodiment of the heart, soul, and passion of rock and roll, Ronnie Spector was inducted, with the Ronettes, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2007.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness, or My Life as a Fabulous Ronette
• Authors: Ronnie Spector, Vince Waldron
• Contributors: Cher, Billy Joel
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Words in Edgewise, 2015
• ISBN: 0985278293, 9780985278298
• Length: 358 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts; Music / Discography & Buyer's Guides; Music / Genres & Styles / Rock