Listen Again: Famous Artists Who Sang Background On Hit Songs

Sonny and Cher- “Be My Baby” by the Ronettes

Even if you think you don’t know this song, you most definitely do. It’s a retro pop song for the ages. In fact, it has been called the greatest pop record ever made. The Ronettes, a ’60’s girl group comprised of sisters Veronica and Estelle Bennett and Nedra Talley their cousin, were from Washington Heights in New York. The Bennett sister’s mother was African American and Cherokee while their father was Irish American. And their cousin Nedra was African American and Puerto Rican. For “Be My Baby” famed writer and producer Phil Spector used a full orchestra. In addition to the group members singing backing vocals, Darlene Love, (Please Google here, she’s on all the older classics.) a host of others, and Sonny and Cher provided background vocals. The song reached number 2 on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart and sold more than 2 million copies in 1963. And Dick Clark introduced it on American Bandstand as the record of the century. It has been featured in various forms of media including the movie Dirty Dancing, an episode of ‘The Wonder Years,” and was used