Meaning of the song Be My Baby - The Ronettes

This song was admired by many famous musicians and critics, but Brian Wilson was the leader in the number of compliments addressed to her. “She blew my mind”, “it was a shock”, “the greatest record” are just some of his many rave reviews.

But the main merit of the composition of the American girl trio The Ronettes is by no means that it struck a member of the legendary The Beach Boys. The history of the creation of Be My Baby and its influence on the development of modern music will be discussed in the article.

The history of the song Be My Baby – The Ronettes

The song was written especially for The Ronettes by Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. In the early sixties, Phil was already a well-known producer who managed to release several hit singles with various bands. The girls from The Ronettes turned to him with a request to take care of their team. Here is the word from Ronnie Bennett:

I remember the first time he heard my voice was when he came to the audition to see if I sounded as great as he imagined, and he saw me in one small club … When he came to rehearsal and I sang one of Frankie’s songs Lymon, he kicked the piano stool away and said, “Here’s the voice I’ve been looking for…” I’ll never forget that. And then they got together and wrote Be My Baby.

PopHistoryDig.com

Spector initially offered Ronnie a solo career, but she stated that she would only perform with her sisters, which Phil was forced to agree to. Thus, in early 1963, The Ronettes signed a contract with his company Philles Records, but Bennett sang the song Be My Baby herself.

Ronnie and Phil began a relationship that is commonly believed to be reflected in the song’s lyrics. But do not think that Spector did some concessions to his beloved. He remained extremely demanding of her, forcing her to rehearse for days on end. Before they traveled to Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, Ronnie spent several weeks working on the composition in New York.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV5tgZlTEkQ

Release and achievements

Recording Be My Baby turned out to be an incredibly tedious process. Sound engineer Larry Levine recalled:

We didn’t have to work hard to get a proper performance from Ronnie, but we did have to work hard to please Phil. He spent a huge amount of time working on each part and constantly playing it over and over again before moving on to the next one, which was very difficult for the singers.
I always felt sorry for them because Phil didn’t pay much attention to them. He treated them as if they were just tools. I don’t mean to say that he mistreated them – he just ignored them.

PopHistoryDig.com

In August 1963, Be My Baby was released as a single, which rose high on the charts on both sides of the Atlantic.

The listeners were delighted with the powerful sound and piercing girlish vocals of Ronnie. But no less than they were struck by the unusually bold distribution of roles for those times in the described love story. According to the ideas then prevailing, it was a man who had to flirt with a woman, but not vice versa. On this subject, Jeff Barry once said:

I still consider myself a feminist. I played the timid guy. A guy who just needed a little push… I’ve always wanted to believe that when a song ends, it’s a happy ending. He came to her, they were together.

New York Times

The song is featured on several well-known greatest compositions lists, including the Rolling Stone Top 500.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KH6e_6O_dE

And finally, a few words about the influence that Be My Baby had on Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. He was just obsessed with the song. According to him, when he first heard her, he was so amazed that he could not continue to drive and had to stop. He then ran to the store to get the single and played the record a hundred times a day, trying to figure out how Spector had managed to make it sound like that. He subsequently composed Don’t Worry Baby as a male response to a song by The Ronettes.

Be My Baby – The Ronettes

And now I propose to watch the Be My Baby music video online and listen to the legendary composition again.

Interesting Facts

Be My Baby is considered a model of sound, which is called the “Spector sound”, or “wall of sound”. Later, this recording principle, which gives a powerful stereo, was used by many musicians.
The then-unknown singer Cher participated as a backing vocalist in the recording of the song.
Ronnie and Phil got married but divorced a few years later. Subsequently, Ronnie filed a lawsuit against her ex-husband, because he allowed the song to be used in the cinema without her consent. According to one of the clauses of their divorce agreement, she herself does not have the right to sing Be My Baby on television.

Be My Baby Lyrics

The night we met I knew I needed you so
And if I had the chance I’d never let you go
So won’t you say you love me? I’ll make you so proud of me
We’ll make ’em turn their heads every place we go

chorus:
So won’t you, please?
(Be my, be my baby)
Be my little baby
(My one and only baby)
Say you’ll be my darlin’
(Be my, be my baby)
Be my baby now
(My one and only baby)

I’ll make you happy, baby, just wait and see
For every kiss you give me, I’ll give you three
Oh, since the day I saw you, I have been waiting for you
You know I will adore you ’til eternity

Be My Baby Lyrics

Seeing you, I realized that I can not live without you,
And if I had a chance, you wouldn’t leave me
Do you want to confess your love? You will be proud of me
We will be watched wherever we go

Chorus:
Please don’t you
(Be mine, be my boy)
Be my little boy
(My, only my boy)
Say you’ll be my darling
(Be mine, be my boy)
Right now be my boy
(My, only my boy)

Baby, you’ll be happy with me, you’ll see
For every kiss of yours I will answer with three
Since the day I saw you, I’ve only been waiting for you
You know I will adore you forever