The quintessential Wall of Sound tune: “Be My Baby” by The Ronettes, amazingly from 1963, the furthest back in time so far for my favourite 50 songs countdown.
An early Phil Spector production, and one of the greatest and most influential pop songs of all time, “Be My Baby” remains sublime even after countless thousands of listens. Once the drum beat and castanets kick in, followed by Ronnie Spector’s effortless vocals as the “Wall of Sound” builds, the richness and warmth of the song is irresistible. Let’s be honest, it’s just a flat-out fantastic record and a huge influence on much of what was to come for the rest of the 60s, with Brian Wilson in particular completely obsessed by the sonic experience that Phil Spector was managing to produce. The Beach Boys’ beautiful “Don’t Worry Baby” is widely considered an homage to the song that Brian Wilson has repeatedly claimed is his favourite of all time.
Looking further into “Be My Baby”, I was surprised to see it didn’t hit number one in either the UK or USA charts; not far off though, as it was a number 4 hit here and number 2 Stateside. Another random fact is that “Be My Baby” was the first recording to feature a performance by Cher – who performed backing vocals along with “the other two” Ronettes and Sonny Bono. Plus of course, the song features in the opening credits of Scorsese’s Mean Streets, not a bad way to kick off such a powerful film.
VIDEOS AND OTHER STUFF
- “Be My Baby” video (clips compilation) on YouTube
- Bonus video: “Be My Baby” @ The Moulin Rouge Club
- Mean Streets opening credits (featuring “Be My Baby”)
- Other great Ronettes songs that just missed out include: Baby I Love You, (The Best Part Of) Breakin’ Up.
- “Be My Baby” is featured on my 379 to 50: 26 to 50 Spotify playlist
- Also featured on my 379: Soul & Country Spotify playlist
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