Last Surviving Member of the Ronettes Dies at 80

Nedra Talley Ross, who lent her voice and signature beehive to the Ronettes' hit-making heyday, died Sunday at 80, Entertainment Weekly reports. Her daughter, Nedra K., announced in a Facebook post that Ross died at home, surrounded by family. A memorial service is planned, with details to come. The Ronettes' iconic sound, built around producer Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound," helped shape modern pop and R&B, and the group was credited with breaking down racial barriers, including when they opened for the Beatles on their 1966 world tour.

Born in 1946 and raised in New York's Spanish Harlem, Ross formed the Ronettes with cousins Veronica "Ronnie" Bennett (later Ronnie Spector after she married Phil Spector, Deadline reports) and Estelle Bennett as teenagers, first singing at school dances and bar mitzvahs. After signing with Phil Spector's Philles Records in 1963, they turned out a run of era-defining songs including "Be My Baby," "Baby, I Love You," "(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up," and "Walking in the Rain." The Ronettes disbanded in 1967; Ross went on to record Christian music, releasing a solo album in 1978. The group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, per the Hollywood Reporter. Ronnie Spector died in 2022; Estelle Bennett in 2009.