Estelle Bennett

The Gurdian UK) takes note of Estelle Bennett who was one of three original Ronettes. In the course of this notably sad obituary writer Richard Williams comment on the history of the early Sixties girl groups:

"With their heavy mascara, exaggerated beehives and tight dresses, the Ronettes looked like trouble, even when they were smiling for the camera. Their street-corner chic, adapted from the Spanish Harlem hoodlums among whom they had grown up, cast a spell upon young men of the early 1960s, including the members of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The queue of suitors attracted to Estelle, the oldest and quietest member of the trio, included Mick Jagger and George Harrison. The image proved more influential than that of the myriad housewives-in-waiting who were their rivals in the pop charts of the early 1960s. From the Shangri-Las through Deborah Harry to Duffy, countless singers would take inspiration from the Ronettes' sound and attitude.

"Estelle was not the group's lead singer. That role was taken by her extrovert younger sister Veronica, better known as Ronnie, whose voice throbbed with a sensuality that provided the group's trademark sound during the days when their hit records - including Be My Baby, Baby I Love You and Walking in the Rain - were being masterminded by the producer Phil Spector. The group's third member, Nedra Talley, was a cousin of the Bennett sisters."

For the entire article go here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/feb/16/estelle-bennett-obituary