"Baby, I Love You" is a song originally recorded by the Ronettes in 1963 and released on their debut album '' Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes'' (1964). The song was written by

Jeff Barry Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg; April 3, 1938) is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer. Among the most successful songs that he has co-written in his career are " Tell Laura I Love Her" (written with Ben Raleigh and a ...

Ellie Greenwich Eleanor Louise Greenwich (October 23, 1940 – August 26, 2009) was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", " Be My Baby", " Maybe I Know", " Then He Kissed Me", " Do Wah Diddy Did ...

, and

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

, and produced by Spector. Released in November 1963, the single reached number 24 on both the US ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

and ''Cashbox'' Top 100 charts, and peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. ''Billboard'' ranked the song as number 56 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.

Original recording

After their lack of success under contract to Colpix Records between 1961 and 1963, the Ronettes ended their Colpix contract and signed with Phil Spector's

Philles Records Philles Records was an American record label formed in 1961 by Phil Spector and Lester Sill, the label taking its name from a hybrid of their first names. Initially, the label was distributed by Jamie/Guyden in Philadelphia. In 1962, Spector p ...

in early 1963. During their first few months with Phil Spector, the Ronettes achieved mainstream success with the release of " Be My Baby" in August 1963, which climbed to number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and peaked at number one on the ''Cashbox'' Hot 100. It was the success of "Be My Baby" which had Spector eager to do a follow-up for the Ronettes in the fall of 1963. However, a problem arose when the Ronettes were booked to appear on

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...

's "Caravan of Stars" tour across the country. Phil Spector decided to keep lead singer Ronnie Bennett in California to record "Baby, I Love You" while the other two Ronettes, Estelle Bennett and Nedra Talley, went out on the tour with Dick Clark. Ronnie's cousin, Elaine, took her place on the tour while Ronnie recorded the song at

Gold Star Studios Gold Star Studios was an independent recording studio located in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, California. In its entire history, Gold Star was one of the most successful commercial recording studios in the world. Founded by David S. Gold ...

in Los Angeles. Since the other Ronettes were unavailable for recording, Spector used

Sonny Bono Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono ( ; February 16, 1935 – January 5, 1998) was an American singer, songwriter, actor, and politician. In partnership with his second wife, Cher, he formed the singing duo Sonny & Cher. A member of the Republican Pa ...

, Darlene Love, and

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

to complete the backing vocals. The song also featured

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock a ...

on piano. "Baby, I Love You" peaked at number 11 in the UK during January 1964, at a time when the Ronettes were touring the UK as the support act to the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' described the song as a "swinging, glandular side that should soar," stating it has the "big Philadelphia sound." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described it as a "big-sounding mashed potatoes stomp’er that the gals and their instrumental support deliver in ultra-commercial manner," also calling it a "sensational new entry." The song was featured on the album '' Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes'', which was released at the end of 1964.

Personnel

*Lead vocals by Ronnie Bennett *Background vocals by

, and the Blossoms ( Darlene Love, Fanita James, and Gracia Nitzsche) *Instrumentation by the Wrecking Crew

Chart history

Andy Kim version

Andy Kim Andrew Kim (born July12, 1982) is an American politician and former diplomat serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from New Jersey since 2024. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democ ...

recorded the song for Jeff Barry's record label Steed Records on his album '' Baby I Love You'' (1969). Kim's version became a US Top Ten hit, reaching number nine in 1969 and earned a

gold record Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Ramones version

Phil Spector produced the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the song which appeared on their album, '' End of the Century'' (1980). The single reached number eight in the UK Singles Chart in 1980, their biggest UK top-ten hit.

Background and reception

In an incident at Spector's house, the producer held the Ramones hostage at gunpoint and made them listen to him play "Baby, I Love You" until 4:30 in the morning. Spector insisted that the Ramones recorded a cover of the song and got Joey Ramone to sing it with some session musicians, as none of the other members of the Ramones would play on it.

Joey Joey may refer to: People *Joey (name) Animals * Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial * Joey, a blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets Film and television * ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horace ...

has said that "it didn't sound anything like the Ramones" and he hated the song. Mickey Leigh (Joey's brother) has said "it made me almost embarrassed", "with its gooey string section arrangement that sounded right out of Redbone's " Come and Get Your Love"". Kurt Loder for the ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' described it as a "sludged-out rehash of the Ronettes antiquity" that was "a bad idea to begin with, and one that’s further burdened by the cheesiest string arrangement this side of the Longines Symphonette". Reviewing ''End of the Century'' retrospectively for ''Pitchfork'', Evan Minsker wrote that "even with a full understanding of ''End of the Century''’s context, “Baby, I Love You” is jarring" and "is a museum piece—a pound-for-pound attempt to relive Spector’s golden years".

Charts

Dave Edmunds version

The version by Welsh guitarist

Dave Edmunds David William Edmunds (born 15 April 1944) is a Welsh retired singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Although he is mainly associated with Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock and New wave music, new wave, having many hit record, h ...

reached number 8 in the UK singles chart in March 1973.https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/dave-edmunds-baby-i-love-you/

References

{{authority control 1963 songs 1963 singles 1969 singles 1972 singles 1980 singles Songs written by Phil Spector Songs written by Jeff Barry Songs written by Ellie Greenwich The Ronettes songs Dave Edmunds songs Andy Kim songs Ramones songs Song recordings produced by Phil Spector Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements RPM Top Singles number-one singles Philles Records singles Sire Records singles Rock ballads Pop ballads