![The Ronettes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/The_Ronettes.JPG)
Estelle Bennett (July 22, 1941 – February 11, 2009)
was an American singer. Bennett was a member of the
girl group the Ronettes
The Ronettes were an American girl group from Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector), her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley. ...
, along with her sister
Ronnie
Ronnie may refer to:
*Ronnie (name), a unisex pet name and given name
* "Ronnie" (Four Seasons song), a song by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe
*"Ronnie," a song from the Metallica album '' Load''
*Ronnie Brunswijkstadion, an association football stadium ...
and cousin
Nedra Talley
Nedra Talley, now known as Nedra Talley-Ross (born January 27, 1946), is a retired American singer. She is best known as a former member of the girl group the Ronettes, in which she performed with her cousins Ronnie and Estelle Bennett. As of 2 ...
.
Early life
Bennett and her sister, Veronica (later known as Ronnie Bennett and
Ronnie Spector
Veronica Yvette Greenfield (; August 10, 1943 – January 12, 2022) was an American singer who co-founded and fronted the girl group The Ronettes. She is sometimes referred to as the original "bad girl of rock and roll".
Ronnie formed the ...
), were raised in New York City. They were children of an Irish-American father and
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
/
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
mother; they said they were bullied at school because of being light-skinned African Americans. Bennett attended
George Washington High School in Manhattan where she was valedictorian. Studious and interested in fashion, she studied at Manhattan's
Fashion Institute of Technology
The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college in New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) and focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. ...
.
Career
When Bennett was 14, she and her sister Ronnie, and their cousin Nedra Talley started singing together. After a number of unsuccessful attempts, the trio reinvented themselves as the Ronettes. Signed up by 23-year-old
Phil Spector
Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
, Ronnie became lead, with Estelle and Nedra as backing. They would eventually have a No.1 hit song in 1963, "
Be My Baby
"Be My Baby" is a song by American girl group the Ronettes that was released as a single on Philles Records in August 1963. Written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector, the song was the Ronettes' biggest hit, reaching number 2 in ...
".
The Ronettes broke up in 1966. Bennett recorded a single in 1968 for
Laurie Records
Laurie Records was a record label established in New York City in 1958 by brothers Robert and Gene Schwartz, and Allan I. Sussel. Among the recording artists on Laurie's roster were Dion and the Belmonts (both together and as separate acts), ...
, "The Year 2000/The Naked Boy". In 1969, now known as Estal Bond she fronted The Love Chain, an all-women quartet that also featured: Laura Logan, Ann Trip and Cookie Woodson. They recorded three 45's but only the
Teddy Vann produced 'I'm Lovin' You Baby' released on
Minit made any headway. The Love Chain had finished by 1971 and Estelle moved on to further projects. In 1972, Ronnie invited Estelle to her apartment to rehearse when Ronnie was trying to revive the Ronettes. Unfortunately the rehearsal was a failure. Ronnie stated that Estelle had "lost her coordination" and said that it was "bizarre. Also in 1972 She recorded "Baby with no name" and "Earthman" with the band "1984" and Estelle Bennett rarely performed in public from then on, largely quitting the music business.
In 2007, when the Ronettes was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it was decided that she was too fragile to perform with them. She spoke two brief sentences during her acceptance speech: "I would just like to say, thank you very much for giving us this award. I'm Estelle of the Ronettes, thank you." She did, however, come back onstage for a final bow with the other Ronettes after the performance of "Be My Baby".
Personal life and death
She married the group's road manager, Joe Dong; the couple had a daughter. Her mental health deteriorated in the following years. It was reported that, during a visit to fellow former Ronette Nedra Talley, she slept through her own baby daughter's crying. She was reported to have had periods of homelessness, during which she would approach strangers in the streets of New York, telling people that she would be singing with the Ronettes in a jazz club.
Bennett died of
colon cancer, aged 67, in
Englewood, New Jersey. Her body was discovered on February 11, 2009.
A week after her death, it was revealed that she had had
anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gr ...
and
schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...
in the years after the Ronettes' breakup and that she had subsequently been homeless in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
References
External links
Obituaryin the
Star Gazette
*
Estelle Bennett in themusicsover.com*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Estelle
Native American singers
Deaths from cancer in New Jersey
Deaths from colorectal cancer
People from Englewood, New Jersey
Singers from New York City
21st-century American singers
20th-century American singers
People with schizophrenia
The Ronettes members
American people of Cherokee descent
1941 births
2009 deaths
People from East Harlem