Remembering Ronnie Spector

Plus, new albums from FKA Twigs, The Lumineers and more.

View this email online Jan. 15, 2022 by Marissa Lorusso This week, our remembrances of singer Ronnie Spector — plus, the first New Music Friday All Songs Considered episode of 2022 Jesse Grant/Getty Images for NAMM Ronnie Spector, founder of The Ronettes, died after a brief battle with cancer this week at the age of 78. Spector was born in Spanish Harlem and founded The Ronettes while still in her teens. With hits like "Be My Baby," "Baby, I Love You" and "Walking In The Rain," the group performed with The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton; The Beatles even hand-picked the group to join their U.S. tour in 1966. Ronnie Spector was married to Phil Spector, the producer and writer of many of those hits, who abused her and forbade her from performing. They divorced in the early 1970s, and in the aftermath, Ronnie Spector found it difficult to reestablish her career, but was encouraged by artists like Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel. The Ronettes are often classified as a quintessential pop group — but really, the trio’s influence runs much deeper. “Through the way the group constructed its sound and look,” writer Hilarie Ashton wrote for NPR Music in 2018, “The Ronettes embodied proto-rock transgressions,” sneakily laying out a “version of rock and roll disguised as pop.” This week, my colleague Ann Powers spoke with All Things Considered about Spector’s incredible legacy, starting with how her vocal technique influenced the British Invasion in the ’60s, and inspired artists like the New York Dolls and The Ramones in the ’70s. Linda Holmes of Pop Culture Happy Hour also paid tribute to Spector’s enormous hit “Be My Baby” — a “simple but essential song with a tremendous vocal that sounds like nothing else,” she writes — and the places it showed up on television in 1987, soundtracking scenes of women’s agency. Those TV placements happened more than two decades after “Be My Baby” was released, but time didn’t lessen the impact of Spector’s voice. “A legend is a legend not only because of the work she does in the moment,” Linda writes, “but because of the way her work echoes over decades and shows up over and over again in new ways.”  I was lucky enough to witness the echoes of that song’s genius in 2017, at a concert celebrating the launch of our Turning the Tables series. Spector performed “Be My Baby,” joined onstage by singer-songwriter Alynda Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff, who often covers the song live. Watching these two generations of women singers bringing such joy to this collaboration was a moving tribute to the song’s lasting power and to the strength of Spector’s legacy. Newsletter continues after sponsor message New Music Our first All Songs Considered New Music Friday of 2022 opens with a stunning new mixtape from FKA Twigs, called CAPRISONGS. Plus, hear new music from rappers Earl Sweatshirt and Cordae, some joyful singalongs from The Lumineers and more. Last week, The Weeknd’s new album, Dawn FM, dropped with very little advance notice. On it, singer Abel Tesfaye asks us to consider whether we would like to age into the shape of our fears — or the shape of our most heroic dreams. This week’s All Songs Considered mix includes a collaboration between Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood and Sons Of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner; plus NPR Music’s resident Viking, Lars Gotrich, brings some new punk to the program. Featuring For more than 25 years, Tony Malaby has been one of the most riveting saxophonists in jazz. At the beginning of the pandemic, he caught a very early case of the virus — and under lockdown conditions, he couldn't practice without disturbing his neighbors. The isolation led him to a unique solution: a spot under a New Jersey Turnpike overpass. This week, opera singer Maria Ewing died at her home near Detroit at age 71. Ewing was acclaimed for her sensual, dramatically charged performances in works by Strauss, Bizet and Shostakovich. Lynn Nottage is the only woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice. And she’s had a busy last few months: Right now, she has a new play on Broadway, an opera at Lincoln Center and a Michael Jackson musical opening soon. "I will tell you, in all honesty, I haven't been getting a lot of sleep," she told Morning Edition. This week, our friends at Mountain Stage shared a video of Sunny War performing “Age of a Man.” Tiny Desk NPR Mon Laferte is a musical chameleon; the Chilean vocalist's recent releases have covered everything from big-band mambo to electronic dance club jams with a hint of reggaeton. So it’s no surprise that her Tiny Desk (home) concert is as much a visual treat as a musical one — including a 10-piece small orchestra in an intimate colonial church. Also this week: a (home) concert from Cordae, a DMV-bred emcee whose performance is a charismatic combo of fan favorites and cuts from his new album, From a Birds Eye View. One More Thing A fitting reason to party, karamu, fiesta all night long. Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WUFT 89.1 (edit station). Need a new playlist? Follow NPR Music on Spotify and Apple Music What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: nprmusic@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Books, Pop Culture, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to NPR Music emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy