Be My Baby

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What to expect

Hailed by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the greatest rock memoirs of all time, Be My Baby is the true story of how Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Ronnie Spector carved out a space for herself against tremendous odds amid the chaos of the 1960s music scene and beyond.

With an introduction by Keith Richards and a new postscript from Ronnie Spector.


Ronnie Spector’s first collaboration with producer Phil Spector, ‘Be My Baby’, stunned the world and shot girl group The Ronettes to stardom. No one could sing as clearly, as emotively as Ronnie. But her voice was soon drowned out in Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound, and lost in Ronnie and Phil’s ensuing romance and marriage.

Ronnie had to fight tooth and nail to wrest back control of her life, her music and her legacy. And while she regained her footing, Ronnie found herself recording with Stevie Van Zandt, partying with David Bowie and touring with Bruce Springsteen.

Smart, humorous and self-possessed, Be My Baby is a whirlwind account of the twists and turns in the life of an artist. More than anything, Be My Baby is a testament to the fact that it is possible to stand up to a powerful abuser and start on a second – or third, or fifth – act.

Critics Review

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

    Kirkus Review
  • “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)

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