Estelle Bennett of the Ronettes passed on the other day–she was Ronnie Spector’s (nee Veronica Bennett) sister. We still have Ronnie with us, and Mary Weiss of the Shangri-Las, but every loss from that great era of the girl groups just makes it feel like it’s drifting further away.
Nyro of course was deeply influenced by the girl groups of the late 50s/early 60s, although the Ronettes were probably not at the top of her pantheon. I’d guess the Shirelles held down that spot, considering that Laura later covered their hits “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” and “Dedicated to the One I Love.” And don’t forget the one-hit wonder Jaynetts of the awesome “Sally Go ‘Round the Roses,” and certainly not Patti Labelle and the Bluebelles or the Shangri-Las. I always detected a good dose of lead singer Weiss’s yearning in Laura’s voice. Check out “Right Now and Not Later” and see if you don’t agree.
In my Nyro bio, I quoted media critic Susan J. Douglas about how the girl groups, unlike their female predecessors, “were not singing about doggies in windows or old Cape Cod” [anyone remember Patti Page?] but rather giving voice to real teen concerns about identity. I wrote that the music “certainly gave voice to an angst-filled, hungry-for-experience girl like Laura.”
There are lots of collections of girl-group music (besides albums devoted to a single group), but I’m especially fond of this one, One Kiss Can Lead to Another, which contains some amazing oddities (“Peanut Duck,” anyone?) and great lesser-known songs.
I went a little crazy with the links here, but you might enjoy a nice musical adventure through girl-group land–the land of innocence, now sadly lost–if you follow them.
UPDATE: Great piece in The New York Times today about Estelle. Life wasn’t all “walking in the rain and wishing on a star up above,” sadly…
The line actually comes from the song, “Please Don’t Kiss Me Again” by the Charmettes ( 1963 ), A song I’m sure Laura knew:
Lyrics
Hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey
Please don’t kiss me again
Let’s not start it all over
Instead of kissing
We’ll just shake hands
And say goodnight
And we’ll be all right
Please don’t kiss me again
You know I’m weak to temptation
We’re gonna play it
As cool as we can
Just wink an eye
And we’ll say goodbye
They all say we’re
Not meant to be lovers
That we’ll get along just fine
Like sister and brother, oh, yes
So please don’t kiss me again
One kiss leads to another
No, no, no, don’t do it again
Cause if you do
I’ll just keep loving you
Hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey
They all say we’re
Not meant to be lovers
That we’ll get along just fine
Like sister and brother, oh, yes
So please don’t kiss me again
One kiss leads to another
No, no, no, don’t do it again
Cause if you do
I’ll just keep loving you
Please don’t kiss me again
Please don’t kiss me again
Please don’t kiss me again…..
Listen and imaging Laura in the lead on this:
Thanks so much for that, Ziegfeldman! –Michele
Glad to see someone else knows and loves “Right Now and Not Later,” which I always considered a Supremes homage that almost bests its original model.
I also have a soft spot for Tina Britt’s “The Real Thing,” a minor hit but, as you know, one that was referenced in Laura’s cover of “Dancing in the Streets.”
RIP, Estelle.
Sorry to hear Estelle Bennett passed away.
I love this post. Thanks. Great links!!!
It took me a few visits to get through them all ‘cuz I do linger *smile* such great harmonies – Sally Go ‘Round the Roses is one of my all time favourites!!! Especially with it’s coded meaning. *smiles*
These links bring me back to my downtown high school memories every Friday afternoon after school heading over to Wool Worth’s to the music section and checkin’ out and listenin to the new top 10 – 45’s..from Motown and Stax..and dancin’ around to the beat…loved those wonderful horn sections…and the harmonies. I’m happy that Laura got to sing for a short while with her very own Harmony group before she died.
And yes they sure weren’t askin’ how much that doggie in the window cost … much more important questions at hand.
Wedding Bells Blues is kinda like Laura’s hit My Guy song – Mary Wells…another one of Laura’s favourite singers.
It was here is where I learned about music. It was here that the Ronettes, The Shangrila’s, chubbie checker, bobbie dee, all of them got played. I learned to dance from my older cousins, especially Jeff B who I knew “was different”. That man could dance.
So, godspeed grl. You were a start up for me.
How about Brenda and Tabulations- The Touch of You-
Maxine Brown & Mary Wells.