Nedra Talley Ross of The Ronettes passes away at 80

Nedra Talley Ross, recognized as the final surviving member of the 1960s chart-topping girl group The Ronettes, has passed away, according to a statement shared on the group’s official social media pages on Sunday, April 26. She was 80 years old.

Details surrounding her cause of death have not been made public.

“It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of Nedra Talley Ross’ passing. She was a light to those who knew and loved her,” read the message shared on The Ronettes’ official Facebook page.

“As a founding member of The Ronettes, along with her beloved cousins Ronnie and Estelle, Nedra’s voice, style and spirit helped define a sound that would change music,” the statement added. “Her contribution to the group’s story and their defining influence will live forever. Rest peacefully dear Nedra. Thanks for the magic.”

Together with Ronnie Bennett, later known as Ronnie Spector, and Estelle Bennett, she helped form The Ronettes, recording songs that became enduring pop classics, including their groundbreaking 1963 hit “Be My Baby.”

Born in 1945, Talley Ross spoke in an interview published online just months before her passing, reflecting on how her musical journey began. Speaking to the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, Ohio, she said, “I started singing when I was very young because my mother sang, [and] my grandmother.”

“I owe my mom everything,” she shared. “She liked to sing, wanted to sing … She gave me the courage to go out there and sing.”

“I figured something out recently,” Talley Ross said. “Part of the reason I believe the Ronettes continued and we were as successful as we were, is because we held each other’s hand when we walked out on stage, and we believed that God was watching what we did.” She also credited the presence of family for keeping them grounded, joking, “We had uncles that were guards,” while recalling how her mother prepared her for life as a young performer in the early 1960s. “Believe me. I’m older than you. I know what’s out there.”

“They kept us tight. My mom kept me very tight,” she said, describing her upbringing in New York City alongside her cousins Ronnie and Estelle, who were sisters. The trio frequently performed with relatives and first went by the name the Darling Sisters. They later changed to Ronnie and the Relatives before settling on The Ronettes, a name formed from parts of each of their names.

As a group, they auditioned for Philles Records and producer Phil Spector in 1963 after building a reputation through live performances at venues such as Brooklyn’s Fox Theater, even though their early recordings released through Colpix Records did not gain much traction.

With Philles Records, “Be My Baby,” written by Phil Spector along with Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich and led by Ronnie’s distinctive vocal, became their breakthrough hit, reaching No. 2 on the Hot 100 in 1963. It remains their highest-charting single.

Among their releases are “Baby I Love You,” which climbed to No. 24 on the Hot 100 in 1963, and “Walking in the Rain,” which reached No. 23 in 1964. The group released one studio album, 1964’s Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes.

A track that eventually gave The Ronettes their second-highest chart peak came as a surprise to Talley Ross. Speaking in her Cleveland interview, she said of their version of the holiday standard “Sleigh Ride,” “I didn’t expect that to be a memorable song,” as it later rose to No. 8 on the Hot 100 in 2023, six decades after first appearing on Phil Spector’s A Christmas Gift for You compilation.

The Ronettes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 12, 2007, with an introduction from Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, who had once opened for the group. At the ceremony, they performed three songs including “Be My Baby,” receiving a standing ovation. Nedra and Ronnie took the stage without Estelle, who attended but was not able to perform.

“They could sing all their way right through a wall of sound,” Richards said, referencing both their vocal strength and Phil Spector’s signature production style during the induction. “They didn’t need anything. They touched my heart right there and then and they touch it still.”

Estelle Bennett passed away in 2009, and Ronnie Spector died in 2022. Both had battled cancer.

Outside of her time with The Ronettes, Talley Ross pursued solo work and released a contemporary Christian album titled Full Circle in 1978.

The project was produced by her late husband Scott Ross, a media personality she married in 1967 after meeting him while he worked in radio in New York City. Following the group’s split, they relocated to Virginia, where he later joined The 700 Club. Together, they raised four children.

“She’s one that she never let stardom go to her head,” said her son Ryan, who joined her during the Cleveland interview. He added that his parents were far cooler than he was, “no matter how hard I try.” He continued, “She would talk to anybody. She was nice to everybody. There was never a time that she didn’t want to get to know people and talk to them. She never really thought of herself as a star in that sense. She was always a mother, and a sister, and a cousin and a wife.”