text:
Talk:Daniel Defoe

Old conversations un-titled
The addition of "spy" to Defoe's professions seems a good one, but someone has rushed in to take it out saying (a) it is not mentioned in the main text (it is--"[the] leading Minister and spymaster in the English Government. Harley accepted Defoe's services" --though certainly more could be said) and (b) it is open to debate (it is not).

Does anyone know a repectable source that denies Defoe was a spy? To offer a few that do not doubt it:

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: "Defoe became one of Harley's agents and an opinion sampler. Over the next three years he extended the possibilities of counter-insurgency, invented practices that survive to the present day, and earned the reputation of master spy"

Bastian, p. 214: "Defoe ... was now anticipating the role he was to play nine years later ... that of a government spy"

Drabble, Companion to English Literature: "Harley ... employed him as a secret agent"

but perhaps we can defer to Defoe himself: "In This Little scheme of their Affaires I have Acted as a _True spy_ to you" (Letter to Harley, January 4, 1707). Pauldu 23:17, 18 October 2005 (UTC)

Malo has added back the details of Defoe's gravestone, arguing "re-added gravestone info, it demonstrates that he accepted a name, varied from his birthname". The gravestone was erected on September 16, 1870 (not, as Novak suggest, 1871--See the Times (London) for 15 & 17 September 1870). Consequently, it is hard to know what light it can throw on Defoe's use of his name in 1690. I have, however, left the comment in because Malo seems to think it important. It is perhaps worth remembering that, even were the gravestone original, we do not always get to annotate our own graves. The reinsertion suggests that there is some doubt whether Defoe accepted the name Defoe during his lifetime. As he was referred to by others as Defoe, and, signed himself Defoe, and when (nomes de plum aside) he chose to use his name in his writing, often used De Foe or Defoe (see, eg, "Advertisement from Mr De Foe to Mr Clark" (1710), it is probably unnecessary to summon extra evidence from beyond the grave.

I'm slowly trying to edit this page, reflecting for example the biographies by Bastion (_Defoe's Early Life_ (Macmillan, 1981)) and Novak (_Daniel Defoe: Master of Fictions_ (Oxford, 2001)) as well as Defoe's own works. The original article had the date of birth and death exact, whereas they are both open to doubt. Defoe gave varying accounts of his age--though admittedly he was silent about his death. The place of birth was wrong. To say Defoe rose to fame with Crusoe is like saying Shakespeare rose to fame with Hamlet. Defoe was not born in Stoke Newington; his father was not a butcher, and Daniel did not use Defoe merely as a nom de plume. The statue over his grave was erected in the 19th century, so it is not relevant. There is said to have been a brass plaque on his coffin when it was exhumed. Omissions aside (eg of Defoe's economic journalism), these were the problems with the first two paras. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.117.149.7 (talk • contribs) 21:59, 12 October 2005.

Sources vary as to date of death. Some say April 24 or 26. http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/defoe.htm says both.

I am really sorry to have had to correct Stroke Newington (-r) as it gave me a good laugh! :) Nevilley 23:45 Jan 9, 2003 (UTC)

Please verify his death date. Most say either Apr 24 or 26. Mandel 07:28, Sep 4, 2004 (UTC)

Added detail of Defoe's Review. Rawdon 10:44, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC)

media source
You've got some attention from UC Berkeley. "My corrections were undone by people who clearly had little idea what they were talking about almost as quickly as they were made by me (who knew a little of what he was talking about).". - BanyanTree 03:11, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

 * "The minute I got to [the text stating] which book made him famous — and while I'm English, I'm no expert in Defoe — I knew it was wrong." That's funny, because I see no text saying which book made him famous, either in today's (Jan. 19, 2006) version or or the October 2005 version. It says "[Daniel Defoe] gained enduring fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe." I strongly suspect that most English speakers would only recognize Defoe through RC; the Esperanto article mentions two or three translations of Robinson Crusoe, but no other works of Defoe, and a quasi-random sampling of the Library of Congress catalog turned up a number of translations of RC into French, German and Japanese, but no obvious translations of any of Defoe's other works.--Prosfilaes 03:25, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

The quote: "My corrections were undone by people who clearly had little idea what they were talking about almost as quickly as they were made by me (who knew a little of what he was talking about)." doesn't seem to capture the true reality of the edit history of this page. Of all the changes made by Duguid only one was reverted (regarding the grave stone), and that was eventually reverted again to Duguid's version. So it seems more like all of his corrections were not undone. Qutezuce 23:45, 24 January 2006 (UTC)

 * This series of edits received attention again on Fresh Air interview with Geoffrey Nunberg. Basically the gist was when the Berkeley prof saw the Defoe page, the first two sentences had five errors, and after going through the revision process, resulted in nine errors. Huangdi (talk) 21:28, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

in response
The last point is absolutely right. I apologize. "My corrections" is misleading. Two corrections were undone -- the gravestone and the spy. One correction was not by me. I should have made that clear. Nevertheless, as I tried to show in the discussion, Defoe was indeed a spy.

The first point is not quite right, however. "'The minute I got to [the text stating] which book made him famous — and while I'm English, I'm no expert in Defoe — I knew it was wrong.' That's funny, because I see no text saying which book made him famous, either in today's (Jan. 19, 2006) version or or the October 2005 version."

There is, of course, no single "October 2005 version"; there are many.

The version of 22.10 on October 11, 2005, says, as the page had said for some time, "who first gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe."

It is almost certainly true that "most English speakers would only recognize Defoe through RC", but that is beside the point. How we remember Defoe has nothing to do with how he first gained fame. He was quite famous long before RC was published, which was the point I was trying to make.

Indeed, back in 2002  the article had the reasonable comment: "He is most famous for his novel" RC. And in 2004  it said, equally reasonably, "He became a famous pamphleteer, journalist and novelist"; by October 2004 that had been changed to "became famous for" RC and in November that was changed to "first became famous" ... —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Pauldu (talk • contribs).

Anyone have a source?
I've just been doing a school report an Defoe, basically an analysis of his writing style. While looking through the article I saw that it claims that "there is evidence that his financial dealings were not always honest." I'd just like someone to check and see if they can find a source for that, as I've not seen it anywhere else, and I've probably looked through three or four biographies for my report. Not extensive research, but they all seem to agree he was in debt because he was so eager to invest in multiple businesses that when his investments hit hard times he lost a lot of money. Just wanted to check on that.--Az 03:50, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

stylistic question
Is it necessary and proper to italisize the phrase "five hundred" in the first paragraph? It is an impressive score, but should wikipedia be the body to emphasize that impressiveness? --Amanaplanacanalpanama 22:26, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

Robert Drury
I feel that there should be mention made of Robert Drury and the possibility that he was as much of a source for 'Robinson Crusoe' as Selkirk ever was. Drury was from Stoke Newington, where Defoe lived, and was shipwrecked on Madagascar for many years. His subsequent account of his adventures, though once thought to be by Defoe himself, has now been accepted as authentic. Mike Parker Pearson's recent book 'In search of the red slave : shipwreck and captivity in Madagascar' gives a good account of what happened to Drury.

Edinburgh Courant
There is evidence of Defoe serving as editor of the Edinburgh Courant in the early 18th Century. I'm not sure where this should be added.

Another media mention
There's a good article in First Monday, which mentions this page and some issues with it - also referring to previous activities/discussions. It would probably be worth taking a look. Cheers. Cormaggio is learning 11:07, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Roxana
"She appears as a whore, bigamist and thief, lives in The Mint, commits adultery and incest, yet manages to keep the reader's sympathy."

Is there any way we can rephrase that? Who is the reader? Maybe she doesn't keep her or his sympathy?

Christian anarchist?
The article has a "see also" link to Christian anarchism; the word "anarchism" isn't mentioned anywhere else in the Defoe article, nor is he mentioned in the Christian anarchism article. Is it safe to call Defoe a Christian anarchist? If so, a section on these views should be added to the article, with sources cited. It's not very encyclopedic to just imply the fact with a "see also." --Trevor Burnham 07:03, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Founder?
I added a Fact to the intro claim that some sources credit Defoe as a "founder" of the English novel. I am not disputing that the intent here is probably correct. I'm a bit doubtful of the word "founder" - makes it sound like the English novel is a corporation or something. If someone can point out this particular usage in a secondary text, I'll be fine with it. Applejuicefool 20:24, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

 * Here is one. I'm sure there are many others. I don't think it is particularly unusual that we need to cite specific authors on it though. -- Stbalbach 16:52, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

 * As I said, I am debating simply the usage of the particular word "founder". The source at the link you posted above does not include the word "founder" - I did a search for it in that book. It's not there. Defoe might be considered the "Father" of the English novel.  He might be considered the "originator" of the English novel.  I just think "founder" is semantically the wrong word, and would like to see a source that uses that word. Applejuicefool 17:46, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

 * If you look at the exact page that comes up when you click on the link, it says that "Defoe, arguably, founded the English novel." That's semantically the same root word.--Prosfilaes 21:59, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Bookburning
Why was he put on the catholic church index (Vatican's list of banned books)? This is not explained in the article. 193.226.227.153 14:26, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

Actually, I couldn't find Defoe in the Index of 1559, maybe because the names are in Latinate. "Political history of the devil, as well ancient as modern" is listed in the "Index Librorum Prohibitorum, Anno 1946", the final Index which was in force until 1966. The work was heretical (ie, contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church).

Defoe's works were often banned. For example, "Moll Flanders" fell under the US's Comstock law of 1873. It was outside the rules of libraries in Nazi Berlin and thus probably burned in one of the infamous bonfires.

You write as though it is remarkable for an author to be banned. Unfortunately, it isn't. All major philosophers, most notable novelists and all translators of the Bible have been banned. Notable living English-language authors Amy Tan, Isabelle Allende, Anne Rice, Stephen King, JK Rowling, Jean Auel, Charles Frazier, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison and Annie Proulx have works banned from some of the USA's libraries. Even scientists such as Galileo, Newton and Darwin have had their major works banned. Gdt (talk) 06:44, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

Standard Defoe biography
The standard and most authoritative Defoe biography is Paula Backscheider's. It should be referenced, if not quoted, extensively here. It should also be in the Bibliography. Awadewit 11:12, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

Date of death
The intro and the main text disagree on his date of death. Anyone have a source to confirm which is correct? --OpenToppedBus - Talk to the driver 13:38, 13 November 2007 (UTC) It depends on which calendar you choose to adopt. The last day of the Julian calendar was Thursday October 4, 1582 but only Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian calendar. Britain adopted the Gregorian calendar only in 1752. This is why the dates here differ.

This is not made clear in the text and this inconsistency should be resolved to avoid confusion.Belcanti (talk) 17:05, 9 May 2008 (UTC)

How is Stevenson an "early critic"?
Early critics, such as Robert Louis Stevenson, admired it, saying that the footprint scene in Crusoe was one of the four greatest in English literature, and most unforgettable

Stevenson was born 131 years after Robinson Crusoe's publication. I'd think an "early critic" would reasonably considered to be one who reviewed the book around the time it was published. At the very least, in this case it should be reserved for eighteenth century critics. Stevenson was obviously an earlier critic than us, but he's closer to us than he is to Defoe (he's 130 years older than me, for instance, and 190 years younger than Defoe.) john k (talk) 19:05, 21 August 2008 (UTC)

Thomas Cochrane
I stumbled across an edit removing the wikilink to Cochrane in reference to the pillory. The link was correct as Cochrane was indeed sentenced to the pillory before having this part of his sentence commuted. However the quote by Moore (probably writing in 1962 or 71) says "no man ever stood in the pillory and later rose to eminence" so the mention of Cochrane in the article is perhaps superfluous as he never stood in the pillory - Dumelow (talk) 23:39, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

 * It can't refer to the Thomas Cochrane you linked to - Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald (1775–1860) as he is from a later era - perhaps it is an earlier Earl of Dundonald that can be checked with the source. --mervyn (talk) 09:05, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

 * Sorry I misread this - it is not a reference to someone who was a contemporary of the Defoe incident but a ref to a much later event which did involve Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald. Chronological relationship needs to be clarified if it is to be retained. --mervyn (talk) 09:09, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

 * To be honest I do not think it is worth retaining as it is not an exception to Moore's comment and adds little to the article. However this is well out of my area of expertise so I'll leave the decision to those more knowledgeable in this area.  In the meantime I have corrected a minor error introduced to that part when I re-added the link - Dumelow (talk) 17:56, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

Daniel Defoe was born as Daniel Foe
Daniel Defoe was born Daniel Foe, he added the De later on in life.

Says so in the introduction of a compilation of Daniel Defoe in Barnes and Noble

"Compilation copyright 2007 by Barnes & Noble, Inc."

76.181.233.103 (talk) 01:20, 21 January 2009 (UTC) Alexander DiCenzo

On the register of his marriage in 1683 his name was written as Daniel ffoe, and on the register of the baptism of his daughter Sophia in 1701 it was written as Daniel de foe. Whitespeck (talk) 22:13, 25 May 2013 (UTC) whitespeck

Death
The article begins by suggesting Defoe died on April 24; it ends by asserting that he died on April 26. As this is an article that had drawn some attention, it might be wise to keep it consistent. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.130.85.131 (talk) 01:34, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

How the hell does an article get FEATURED when it can't even get the date of death straight? 67.211.239.242 (talk) 16:27, 3 June 2009 (UTC)DTK

Capt. Charles Johnson
Capt. Charles Johnson was the listed author of A General History of the Pyrates, and only reputed scholarship claims Defoe as using a pseudonym (see Charles_Johnson_(pirate_biographer).

Therefore, the following should be removed from the Bibliography section: Daniel Defoe, A General History of the Pyrates ISBN 0-486-40488-9 (Dover Publications, 1999) (contains the text on Libertatia, a pirate utopia)

And perhaps the following should be added to the "Later life and writings" section following the first sentence: Literary scholars are currently re-assessing the hundreds of works credited to Defoe that were either published anonymously or were thought to be authored by Defore working under a pseudonyum. One such work is A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates by Charles_Johnson_(pirate_biographer)

the citation could be:

http://www.worldcat.org/isbn/0300041195

http://www.jstor.org/pss/517417

http://www.bonaventure.org.uk/ed/johnson.htm

I don't know how to make citations.

Re the author and name Charles Johnson -

Charles Johnson (minus the title of "Captain") is reputed to be a hack writer who was responsible for the authorship of a play about Captain Avery and who may well be the real author of The King of The Pirates, a book about Avery. The use of his name with the title "Captain" in this book is possibly satirical. It was removed after the first edition. Whitespeck (talk) 23:19, 7 June 2013 (UTC)whitespeck

Kreutzer?
Here it says that his father changed his name from Kreutzer. I can find no other citation for this. Is it true? --  Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  07:03, 6 December 2015 (UTC)

incomplete bibliography
The bibliography is woefully inadequate. Duncan Campbell after all isn't included.

Philologick (talk) 23:25, 25 March 2017 (UTC)

Birth & death dates for Daniel Defoe
We have this in the lead:

Daniel Defoe (13 September 1660 – 24 April 1731),

You posted a birth date without verification from a reliable source. There is an existing source that says both Defoe's birth & death dates are uncertain. Please provide a citation or we will need to remove your assertions as unverified.

Peaceray (talk) 18:56, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

 * there is little to explain, just take a look at his contributions: in order to have accurate birth dates, he simply removes the "circa" and/or adds fake days and months, without providing any source. Khruner (talk) 19:58, 18 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Ugh! Thanks for the heads up. Judging by Special:Contributions/Levi_Gonzalez, there's a lot to clean up. Peaceray (talk) 21:00, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

Was Crusoe inspired by Selkirk?
The article says that it has often been assumed Defoe was inspired by Crusoe, but 'his experience is inconsistent with the details of the narrative'. Does this really refute the inspiration story? I mean you could argue The Martian is inspired by either of these stories, yet obviously the details of its narrative are not consistent with either, I mean its set in space!. If Defoe knew about Selkirk before he wrote the book, it must surely be hard to argue it did not feature as inspiration. LastDodo (talk) 11:56, 18 November 2020 (UTC)

Anti-sodomy writings
Daniel Defoe moralised against "sodomites" and molly houses in his A Review of the State of the British Nation on 7 November 1707 (vol. iv, no. 124, pp. 495–6). It would be good to see some mention of that here. —  OwenBlacker (he/him; Talk; please {{ping}} me in replies) 19:39, 25 February 2021 (UTC)

Possibly useful source, for the interested
Publishers and Hack Writers: Signs of Collaborative Writing in the "Defoe" Canon, Journal of Information Ethics. The author has also published on Shakespeare authorship. @CambridgeBayWeather and @Rjensen, pinging you since I saw you in the edithistory. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 10:03, 4 February 2022 (UTC)
 * I would take anything by that author with a very large pinch of salt. DuncanHill (talk) 10:07, 4 February 2022 (UTC)

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English defoe and the rise of the novel
Defoe and the rise of the novel

2409:4065:499:A79D:4021:94F9:3134:1E19 (talk) 12:56, 15 November 2023 (UTC)

 * ❌ It is unclear what change you are proposing. Peaceray (talk) 21:39, 15 November 2023 (UTC)

English litrature
10 line about life and works of daniel defoe 115.187.42.70 (talk) 16:01, 23 January 2024 (UTC)

 * ❌ It is unclear what you want done. Peaceray (talk) 19:12, 23 January 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Daniel Defoe


text:
Pat Boone

Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, actor, television personality, and composer. During his recording career, he sold nearly 50 million records and had 38 Top 40 hits; he also appeared in various Hollywood films.

According to Billboard, Boone was the only singer that could compete in popularity with Elvis Presley during the 1950s. Billboard has ranked Pat as one of the biggest charting artists in the period 1955–1995. Until the 2010s, Boone held the record for spending 220 consecutive weeks on the Billboard charts with one or more songs each week.

During the 1950s and the 1960s Boone was one of the most popular entertainers in the United States, becoming a teen idol as a valid alternative to the hedonism of rock and roll, thanks to his activities as singer, writer, actor and religious motivational speaker. In 1957, the age of 23, Boone began hosting a half-hour ABC variety television series, The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, which aired for 115 episodes (1957–1960). Many musical performers including Edie Adams, Andy Williams, Pearl Bailey, and Johnny Mathis made appearances on the show. His cover versions of rhythm and blues hits had a noticeable effect on the development of the broad popularity of rock and roll. Elvis Presley was the opening act for a 1955 Pat Boone show in Brooklyn, Ohio.

As an author, Boone had a number-one bestseller in the 1950s ( 'Twixt Twelve and Twenty, Prentice-Hall). In the 1960s he focused on gospel music. Later he became a member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. He continues to perform and speak as a motivational speaker, a television personality, and a conservative political commentator.

Early life
Boone was born on June 1, 1934 in Jacksonville, Florida, to Margaret Virginia (née Pritchard) and Archie Altman Boone. He grew up in Nashville, where his family moved when he was two years old. He graduated in 1952 from David Lipscomb High School in Nashville. His younger brother Cecil (1935–2023), professionally known as Nick Todd, was born a year later to the day, and was also a pop singer in the 1950s and later a church music leader.

In a 2007 interview on The 700 Club, Boone claimed to be the great-great-great-great-grandson of the American pioneer Daniel Boone.

Pat primarily attended David Lipscomb College, and later Lipscomb University in Nashville. He graduated in 1958 from Columbia University School of General Studies magna cum laude having previously attended North Texas State University, now known as the University of North Texas, in Denton, Texas.

Music
Boone began his career by performing in Nashville's Centennial Park. He began recording in April 1953 for Republic Records (not to be confused with the current label with that name), and by 1955, for Dot Records. His 1955 version of Fats Domino's "Ain't That a Shame" was a hit. This set the stage for the early part of Boone's career, which focused on covering R&B songs by Black artists for a white American market. Randy Wood, the owner of Dot, had issued an R&B single by the Griffin Brothers in 1951 called "Tra La La-a"—a different song from the later LaVern Baker one—and he was keen to put out another version after the original had failed. This became the B-side of the first Boone single "Two Hearts Two Kisses", originally by the Charms – whose "Hearts Of Stone" had been covered by the label's Fontane Sisters.

A number-one single in 1956 by Boone was a second cover and a revival of a then seven-year-old song "I Almost Lost My Mind", by Ivory Joe Hunter, which was originally covered by another Black star, Nat King Cole. According to an opinion poll of high-school students in 1957, the singer was nearly the "two-to-one favorite over Elvis Presley among boys and preferred almost three-to-one by girls ..." During the late 1950s, he made regular appearances on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee, hosted by his father-in-law. He cultivated a safe, wholesome, advertiser-friendly image that won him a long-term product endorsement contract from General Motors during the late 1950s, lasting through the 1960s. He succeeded Dinah Shore singing the praises of the GM product: "See the USA in your Chevrolet ... drive your Chevrolet through the USA, America's the greatest land of all!" GM had also sponsored The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom.

Many of Boone's hit singles were covers of hits from Black Rock and Roll artists. These included: "Ain't That a Shame" by Fats Domino; "Tutti Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally" by Little Richard; "At My Front Door (Crazy Little Mama)" by The El Dorados; and the blues ballads "I Almost Lost My Mind" by Ivory Joe Hunter, "I'll be Home" by the Flamingos and "Don't Forbid Me" by Charles Singleton. Boone has been highlighted as an example of whitewashing by taking songs by black artists and sanitizing them to make them more palatable for a white audience, denying exposure to these black artists.

Boone also wrote the lyrics for the instrumental theme song for the movie Exodus, which he titled "This Land Is Mine". (Ernest Gold had composed the music.)

As a conservative Christian, Boone declined certain songs and movie roles that he felt might compromise his beliefs—including a role with sex symbol Marilyn Monroe. In one of his first films, April Love, the director, Henry Levin, wanted him to give co-star Shirley Jones a kiss, which was not in the script. Since this would be his first onscreen kiss, Boone said that he wanted to talk to his wife first, to make sure it was all right with her. He had his own film production company, Cooga Mooga Productions.

He appeared as a regular performer on Arthur Godfrey and His Friends from 1955 through 1957, and later hosted his own The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, on Thursday evenings. In 1959, Boone's likeness was licensed to DC Comics, first appearing in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane No. 9 (May 1959) before starring in his own series from the publisher, which lasted for five issues from September 1959 to May 1960. In the early 1960s, he began writing a series of self-help books for adolescents, including 'Twixt Twelve and Twenty. The British Invasion ended Boone's career as a hitmaker, though he continued recording throughout the 1960s. In 1966, he participated in the Sanremo Music Festival in Italy, performing the songs Mai mai mai Valentina alongside Giorgio Gaber and Se tu non-fossi qui with Peppino Gagliardi. During his trip to Italy, he visited the headquarters of Ferrari in Maranello, near Modena, with the intention of buying a Superamerica Sports Car, but Enzo Ferrari dissuaded him from purchasing that model by saying that there would not have been enough room for Boone's four daughters, and sold him a four-door Ferrari 2+2 instead. In a 2021 interview, Boone admitted having later sold the "Ferrari he didn't like" to Tom Smothers of the comedic duo Smothers Brothers.

In the 1970s, he switched to gospel and country, and continued performing in other media as well. In the 1960s and 1970s the Boone family toured as gospel singers and made gospel albums, such as The Pat Boone Family and The Family Who Prays.

In the early 1970s, Boone founded the record label Lamb & Lion Records. It featured artists such as Pat, the Pat Boone Family, Debby Boone, Dan Peek, DeGarmo and Key, and Dogwood. In 1974, Boone was signed to the Motown country subsidiary Melodyland.

In 1978, Boone became the first target in the Federal Trade Commission's crackdown on false-claim product endorsements by celebrities. He had appeared with his daughter Debby in a commercial to claim that all four of his daughters had found a preparation named Acne-Statin a "real help" in keeping their skin clear. The FTC filed a complaint against the manufacturer, contending that the product did not really keep skin free of blemishes. Boone eventually signed a consent order in which he promised not only to stop appearing in the ads, but also to pay about 2.5% of any money that the FTC or the courts might eventually order the manufacturer to refund to consumers. Boone said, through a lawyer, that his daughters actually did use Acne-Statin, and that he was "dismayed to learn that the product's efficacy had not been scientifically established as he believed."

Film
In 1956, Boone was one of the biggest recording stars in the US. Several film studios pursued him for movies; he decided to go with 20th Century Fox, which had made Elvis Presley's first movie. Fox reworked a play he had bought, Bernardine, into a vehicle for Boone. The resulting film was a solid hit, earning $3.75 million in the US. Even more popular was April Love (1957), a remake of Home in Indiana. Boone regards it as one of his favourites, "the kind of movie I wish I could have made 20 more of: a musical, appealing characters, some drama, a good storyline, a happy ending, it's the kind of film which makes you feel good. I never wanted to make a depressing or immoral film."

Less popular was a musical comedy Mardi Gras (1958), which was the last movie of Edmund Goulding. However, Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959), a science fiction adventure tale, was a huge hit. Boone had been reluctant to do it, and needed to be persuaded by being offered the chance to sing several songs and given a percentage of the profits, but was glad he did.

He produced and starred in a documentary, Salute to the Teenagers (1960), but did not make a film for a while, studying acting with Sanford Meisner. He returned with a military comedy, All Hands on Deck (1961), a mild hit.

He was one of several names in another remake, State Fair (1962), a box office disappointment. Musicals were becoming less fashionable in Hollywood, so Boone decided to take on a dramatic role in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer-distributed movie The Main Attraction (1962) for Seven Arts Productions, his first movie outside Fox. It was an unhappy experience for Boone as he disliked the implication his character had sex with Nancy Kwan's and he got into several public fights with the producers. He had a deal with Fox to make three films at $200,000 a film with his production company. This was meant to start with a thriller, The Yellow Canary (1963), in which Boone would play an unsympathetic character. New management came in at the studio, which was unenthusiastic about the picture but because Boone had a pay or play deal, they decided to make it anyway, only with a much shorter budget. Boone even paid some money out of his own pocket to help complete it.

Boone's next movie for Fox was another low-budget effort, The Horror of It All (1963), shot in England. He made a comedy in Ireland, Never Put It in Writing (1964), for Allied Artists. Boone's third film for Fox was an "A" production, Goodbye Charlie (1964), but Boone was in support of Debbie Reynolds and Tony Curtis. He was one of the many names in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). He appeared in The Perils of Pauline (1967), a pilot for a TV series that did not eventuate, which was screened in some theatres. Boone's last film of note was The Cross and the Switchblade (1970).

Later work
In 1994, Pat Boone played the title role in The Will Rogers Follies in Branson, Missouri.

In 1997, Boone released In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy, a collection of heavy metal covers. To promote the album, he appeared at the American Music Awards in black leather. He was then dismissed from Gospel America, a TV show on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. After making a special appearance on TBN with the president of the network, Paul Crouch, and his pastor, Jack Hayford, many fans accepted his explanation of the leather outfit being a "parody of himself". Trinity Broadcasting then reinstated him, and Gospel America was brought back.

In 2003, the Nashville Gospel Music Association recognized his gospel recording work by inducting him into its Gospel Music Hall of Fame. In September 2006, Boone released We Are Family: R&B Classics, featuring cover versions of 11 R&B hits, including the title track, plus "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag", "Soul Man", "Get Down Tonight", "A Woman Needs Love", and six other classics.

In 2010, plans were announced for the Pat Boone Family Theater at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The attraction was never built.

In 2011, Boone acted as a spokesperson for Security One Lending, a reverse mortgage company. Since at least 2007 Boone has acted as a spokesperson for Swiss America Trading Corporation, a broker of gold and silver coins that warns of "America's Economic Collapse".

In 2023 Boone, at 89, is one of the guest vocalists on Born to Be Wild, an album by Ann-Margret. Together they perform the song "Teach Me Tonight" on the album.

Personal life
In November 1953, 19-year-old Boone married Chicago-born Tennesseean Shirley Lee Foley (April 24, 1934 – January 11, 2019 ), also 19 years old, daughter of country-music great Red Foley and his wife, singer Judy Martin. They had four daughters: Cheryl "Cherry" Lynn, Linda "Lindy" Lee, Deborah "Debby" Ann, and Laura "Laury" Gene. Starting in the late 1950s, Boone and his family were residents of Teaneck, New Jersey. Shirley Boone was a lesser-known recording artist and television personality than her husband. She also founded a hunger-relief Christian ministry that evolved into Mercy Corps. She died at age 84 in 2019, at the couple's Beverly Hills home, of complications from vasculitis, which she had contracted less than a year earlier.

Religion
Boone grew up in the Church of Christ. In the 1960s, Boone's marriage to Shirley Foley nearly came to an end because of his use of alcohol and his preference for attending parties. However, after coming into contact with the Charismatic Movement, Shirley began to focus more on her religion and eventually influenced Pat and their daughters to have a similar religious focus. At the time they attended the Inglewood Church of Christ in Inglewood, California.

In the spring of 1964, Boone spoke at a "Project Prayer" rally attended by 2,500 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The gathering, which was hosted by Anthony Eisley, a star of ABC's Hawaiian Eye series, sought to flood the United States Congress with letters in support of mandatory school prayer, following two decisions in 1962 and 1963 of the United States Supreme Court that struck down mandatory prayer as conflicting with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Joining Boone and Eisley at the Project Prayer rally were Walter Brennan, Lloyd Nolan, Rhonda Fleming, Gloria Swanson, and Dale Evans. Boone declared, "what the communists want is to subvert and undermine our young people... I believe in the power of aroused Americans, I believe in the wisdom of our Constitution.... the power of God." It was noted that Roy Rogers, John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, Mary Pickford, Jane Russell, Ginger Rogers, and Pat Buttram had endorsed the goals of the rally and would also have attended had their schedules not been in conflict.

In the early 1970s, the Boones hosted Bible studies for celebrities such as Doris Day, Glenn Ford, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Priscilla Presley at their Beverly Hills home. The family then began attending The Church on the Way in Van Nuys, a Foursquare Gospel megachurch pastored by Jack Hayford.

On an April 22, 2016, broadcast of Fox News Radio's The Alan Colmes Show, Boone discussed an episode of Saturday Night Live that included a sketch entitled God Is a Boob Man; the sketch parodied the film God's Not Dead 2, in which Boone had a role. He described the sketch as "blasphemy", stating that the Federal Communications Commission should forbid any such content, and that it should revoke the broadcast licenses of any "network, or whoever is responsible for the shows".

Politics
At a 1961 gathering at Pepperdine College, Pat Boone said, "I would rather see my four girls shot and die as little girls who have faith in God than leave them to die some years later as godless, faithless, soulless communists."

Boone supported Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election.

In the 2007 Kentucky gubernatorial election, Boone campaigned unsuccessfully for incumbent Republican Ernie Fletcher with a recorded automated telephone message stating that the Democratic Party candidate Steve Beshear would support "every homosexual cause." As part of the campaign, Boone asked, "Now do you want a governor who'd like Kentucky to be another San Francisco?" On August 29, 2009, Boone wrote an article comparing American political liberalism to cancer, likening it to "black filthy cells".

In December 2009, Boone endorsed conservative Republican John Wayne Tucker's campaign in Missouri's 3rd congressional district against incumbent Russ Carnahan (D) in the 2010 midterm elections. In 2010, Boone endorsed Republican Clayton Trotter in the race for Texas's 20th congressional district with an ad campaign referencing his song "Speedy Gonzales", about the Looney Tunes character, which critics have characterized as offensive stereotypes. Boone received a lifetime achievement award at the 38th annual Conservative Political Action Conference held in February 2011.

In June 2016, Boone, along with Mike Huckabee and executive producer Troy Duhon, all of whom were involved in the film God's Not Dead 2, sent a letter to California Governor Jerry Brown in opposition to Senate Bill 1146, which "prohibits a person from being subjected to discrimination" at California colleges. Other than schools that train pastors and theology teachers, schools "might no longer be allowed to hire Christian-only staff, teach religious ideas in regular classes, require attendance at chapel services, or keep bathrooms and dormitories restricted to either males or females."

Basketball
Boone is a basketball fan and had ownership interests in two teams. He owned a team in the Hollywood Studio League called the Cooga Moogas. The Cooga Moogas included Bill Cosby, Rafer Johnson, Gardner McKay, Don Murray, and Denny "Tarzan" Miller.

When the American Basketball Association began, Boone became the majority owner of the league's team in Oakland, California, on February 2, 1967. The team was first named the Oakland Americans, but was renamed the Oakland Oaks, the name under which it played from 1967 to 1969. The Oaks won the 1969 ABA championship.

Despite the Oaks' success on the court, the team had severe financial problems. By August 1969, the Bank of America was threatening to foreclose on a $1.2 million loan to the Oaks, and the team was sold to a group of businessmen in Washington, D.C., and became the Washington Caps.

Boone later played for the Virginia Creepers, an 80–84 age group Senior Olympics team that narrowly lost to the gold medal-winning team; Boone aged out (by turning 85) on June 1, 2019.

Artistry and influence
During his career, he performed many musical genres such as pop, country music, rock and roll, R&B, gospel and soul. His vocal style was similar to many crooners of his time like Frank Sinatra and Perry Como, despite that, he wasn't a baritone like them, instead he had a tenor voice. He was also popular for his wide vocal range. Pat Boone is one of the most prolific artists of all time with nearly 2,600 recorded songs.

Discography
Studio albums

 * Pat Boone
 * Howdy!
 * "Pat"
 * Hymns We Love
 * Pat Boone Sings Irving Berlin
 * Star Dust
 * Yes Indeed!
 * Tenderly
 * Pat Boone Sings
 * Side by Side (with Shirley Boone)
 * He Leadeth Me
 * White Christmas
 * Moonglow
 * This and That
 * Great! Great! Great!
 * Moody River
 * My God and I
 * I'll See You in My Dreams
 * Pat Boone Reads from the Holy Bible
 * Pat Boone's Golden Hits Featuring Speedy Gonzales
 * Love You Truly (with Shirley Boone)
 * Pat Boone Sings Guess Who?
 * Pat Boone Sings Days of Wine and Roses
 * The Star Spangled Banner
 * Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport
 * Sing Along Without Pat Boone!
 * The Touch of Your Lips
 * Ain't That a Shame
 * The Lord's Prayer and Other Great Hymns
 * Boss Beat!
 * Near You
 * Blest Be Thy Name
 * The Golden Era of Country Hits
 * My 10th Anniversary with Dot Records
 * Pat Boone Sings Winners of the Reader's Digest Poll
 * Great Hits of 1965
 * Memories
 * Wish You Were Here, Buddy
 * Christmas Is A Comin'
 * How Great Thou Art
 * I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman
 * Look Ahead
 * Departure
 * Songs for Jesus Folk
 * In the Holy Land
 * The New Songs of the Jesus People
 * All in the Boone Family
 * Born Again
 * Family Who Prays
 * Pat Boone S-A-V-E-D
 * I Love You More and More Each Day
 * Pat Boone with the First Nashville Jesus Band
 * Thank You Dear Lord
 * The Pat Boone Family
 * Songs from the Inner Court
 * Something Supernatural
 * Texas Woman
 * The Country Side of Pat Boone
 * Miracle Merry-Go-Round
 * Just the Way I Am
 * Songmaker
 * A Pocketful of Hope
 * Pat Boone Sings Golden Hymns
 * I Remember Red: A Tribute to Red Foley
 * The Pat Boone Family Christmas
 * In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy
 * Echoes of Mercy
 * The Miracle of Christmas
 * American Glory
 * Nearer My God to Thee
 * Glory Train: The Lost Sessions
 * Dream of Ireland
 * Hopeless Romantic
 * We Are Family: R&B Classics
 * Ready to Rock
 * In A Symphonic Mood
 * The True Spirit of Christmas
 * Near
 * Legacy
 * Pat Boone's Favourite Bible Stories & Sing-Along Songs

Filmography

 * 1955: The Pied Piper of Cleveland (documentary)
 * 1957: Bernardine
 * 1957: April Love
 * 1958: Mardi Gras
 * 1959: Journey to the Center of the Earth
 * 1960: Salute to the Teenagers (TV documentary) (producer and host)
 * 1961: All Hands on Deck
 * 1962: State Fair
 * 1962: The Main Attraction
 * 1963: The Horror of It All
 * 1963: The Yellow Canary
 * 1964: Never Put It in Writing
 * 1964: Goodbye Charlie
 * 1965: The Greatest Story Ever Told
 * 1967: The Perils of Pauline
 * 1969: The Pigeon
 * 1970: The Cross and the Switchblade
 * 1989: Roger & Me (documentary)
 * 1990: Music Machine (voice of Mr. Conductor)
 * 1991: Benny's Biggest Battle (voice of Mr. Conductor)
 * 1994: Precious Moments: Simon the Lamb (voice of The Shepherd)
 * 1997: Space Ghost Coast to Coast (TV series)
 * 2000: The Eyes of Tammy Faye (documentary)
 * 2008: Hollywood on Fire (documentary)
 * 2016: Boonville Redemption
 * 2016: God's Not Dead 2
 * 2017: A Cowgirl's Story
 * 2022: The Mulligan

Box-office ranking
Boone was considered one of the most popular box-office stars in the U.S. as judged by the Quigley Poll of Movie Exhibitors in its Annual "Top Ten MoneyMakers Poll":
 * 1957: 3rd most popular star
 * 1958: 11th most popular
 * 1959: 22nd most popular
 * 1960: 22nd most popular

Bibliography (works published by Boone)

 * 'Twixt Twelve and Twenty: Pat talks to Teenagers (1958) Prentice Hall
 * "Between You, Me and the Gatepost" (1960) Prentice Hall
 * The Solution to Crisis-America (1970) F. H. Revell Co, ISBN 0-8007-8081-7
 * A Miracle Saved My Family (1971) Oliphants, ISBN 0-551-00640-4
 * The Real Christmas (1972) F. H. Revell Co, ISBN 0-8007-0546-7
 * Joy! (1973) Creation House, ISBN 0-88419-060-9
 * My Brother's Keeper? (1975) Victory Press, ISBN 0-85476-237-X
 * My Faith (1976) C. R. Gibson Co, ISBN 0-8378-1764-1
 * To Be or Not to Be an SOB: A Reaffirmation of Business Ethics (1979) Wordware Publishing, Incorporated, ISBN 0-89015-737-5
 * The Honeymoon Is Over (1980) Creation House, ISBN 0-88419-130-3
 * Marrying for Life: A Handbook of Marriage Skills (1982) HarperCollins Publishers, ISBN 0-86683-674-8
 * Pray to Win (1982) Putnam Pub Group, ISBN 0-399-12494-2
 * Pat Boone's Favorite Bible Stories (1984) Creation House, ISBN 0-88419-245-8
 * Pat Boone's Favorite Bible Stories for the Very Young (1984) Random House of Canada, Limited, ISBN 0-394-85891-3
 * A Miracle a Day Keeps the Devil Away (1986) Revell, ISBN 0-8007-0693-5
 * New Song (1988) Impact Books, ISBN 0-86608-003-1
 * Miracle of Prayer (1989) Zondervan, ISBN 0-310-22131-5
 * The Human Touch: The Story of the National Easter Seal (1990) Certification Review, ISBN 0-914373-22-6
 * Jesus Is Alive (1990) Thomas Nelson Inc, ISBN 1-55894-219-X
 * Double Agent (2002) Publish America, Incorporated, ISBN 1-59129-469-X
 * Goodnight, Whatever You Are!: My Journey with Zacherley, the Cool Ghoul (2006) Tradeselect Limited, ISBN 1-933384-03-4
 * Pat Boone's America: A Pop Culture Treasury of the Past Fifty Years (2006) B&H Publishing Group, ISBN 0-8054-4376-2
 * Culture-Wise Family: Upholding Christian Values in A Mass-Media World (2007) Gospel Light Publications, ISBN 0-8307-4355-3
 * The Marriage Game (2007) New Leaf Press, Inc., ISBN 0-89221-114-8
 * Questions About God: And the Answers That Could Change Your Life (2008) Lighthouse Publishing, ISBN 1-935079-13-1
 * Pat Boone Devotional Book (2009) G. K. Hall, ISBN 0-8161-6630-7

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Pat Boone


text:
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. They had sung together since they were teenagers, then known as "The Darling Sisters". Signed first by Colpix Records in 1961, they moved to Phil Spector's Philles Records in March 1963 and changed their name to "The Ronettes".

The Ronettes placed nine songs on the Billboard Hot 100, six of which became Top 40 hits. Among their hit songs are "Be My Baby", which peaked at No. 2, their only contemporary top 10 hit, "Baby, I Love You", "(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up" and "Walking in the Rain". In 1964, the group released their only studio album, Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica. That year, the Rolling Stones were their opening act when they toured the UK. The Ronettes opened for the Beatles on their 1966 US tour, becoming the only girl group to tour with them, before splitting up in 1967. In the 1970s, the group was briefly revived as Ronnie Spector and the Ronettes. Ronnie Spector's name changed to Spector when she married Phil Spector in 1968.

Their song "Be My Baby" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. Rolling Stone ranked their album Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica No. 422 on its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The Ronettes were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. The group also holds the record for the longest gap between top-ten hits in Billboard history, just over 58 years.

Early years (1950–1961)
The Ronettes began as a family act where the girls grew up in Washington Heights, Manhattan. According to Nedra Talley, they started singing during childhood visits to their grandmother's home. "Estelle and Veronica are sisters," she said in a later interview. "I'm their cousin. Our mothers are sisters. We came out of a family that, on Saturday nights, home for us was at our grandmother's, entertaining each other." The Bennetts' mother was African-American and Cherokee; their father was Irish-American. Their cousin, Talley, is African-American, Cherokee and Puerto Rican. The trio also had a great-grandfather who was Chinese. "By the time I was eight, I was already working up whole numbers for our family's little weekend shows," Ronnie Spector later recalled. "Then Estelle would get up onstage and do a song, or she'd join Nedra or my cousin Elaine and me in a number we'd worked out in three-part harmony."

Furthering their interest in show business, Estelle was enrolled at Startime, a popular dancing school in the 1950s, while Ronnie became fascinated with Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. In 1957, Ronnie formed the group later known as the Ronettes. Ronnie, her sister Estelle, and their cousins Nedra, Diane, and Elaine learned how to perfect their harmonies at their grandmother's house, and became proficient at songs such as "Goodnight Sweetheart" and "Red Red Robin". Emulating Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, the girls added their male cousin Ira to the group and signed up for a Wednesday night amateur show at the Apollo Theater run by a friend of Ronnie and Estelle's mother. The show started out as a disaster; when the house band started playing Frankie Lymon's "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", Ira did not sing a word, so Ronnie took over. "I strutted out across the stage, singing as loud as I could," Ronnie later recalled. "When I finally heard a few hands of scattered applause, I sang even louder. That brought a little more applause, which was all I needed."

Colpix Records and The Peppermint Lounge (1961–1963)
After their night at the Apollo, Ira, Elaine, and Diane left the group. After the curious renaming of the group to "Ronnie and the Relatives", Ronnie, Estelle, and Nedra began taking singing lessons two afternoons per week. Appearing at local bar mitzvahs and sock hops, they met Phil Halikus, who introduced them to Colpix Records producer Stu Phillips. According to Ronnie, Phillips played the piano while the women auditioned for him, singing "What's So Sweet About Sweet Sixteen". The audition was successful, and the group was brought into the studio in June 1961 and recorded four tracks: "I Want a Boy", "What's So Sweet About Sweet Sixteen", "I'm Gonna Quit While I'm Ahead", and "My Guiding Angel". Colpix released "I Want a Boy" in August 1961 and "I'm Gonna Quit While I'm Ahead" in January 1962, the first singles credited to Ronnie and the Relatives.

While both singles failed to chart on the Billboard Top 100, fate intervened in advancing the group's success. A fortuitous case of mistaken identity led to Ronnie and the Relatives making their debut – as dancers rather than a singing act – at New York City's hip Peppermint Lounge in 1961. It was the height of the Twist craze, and under-aged Nedra and Ronnie disguised themselves to get in. The girls' mothers showed them how to put on make-up and fix their hair to make them look at least 23. When they arrived outside the club, its manager mistook Ronnie, Estelle, and Nedra for the trio supposed to dance behind house band Joey Dee and the Starliters for the evening. He led them in and put them onstage to perform in their place. During the show, Starliter David Brigati even handed the mike over to Ronnie when she started to sing Ray Charles' "What'd I Say". Soon afterward, Ronnie and the Relatives became a permanent act at The Peppermint Lounge, each earning $10 per night to dance The Twist and usually sing a song at some point in the show.

Ronnie and the Relatives soon became "The Ronettes". Colpix issued the first two singles credited to the Ronettes, "Silhouettes" and a re-issue of "I'm Gonna Quit While I'm Ahead", on its May label in April and June 1962, respectively. Both singles disappointingly failed to chart. Later that year, they were flown to Miami to open a Florida branch of The Peppermint Lounge. After their performance at the Miami gala, radio host Murray the K came backstage and introduced himself to them. He asked the women to begin appearing at his shows at The Brooklyn Fox in New York. They agreed, taking the Fox stage in 1962 and completing a transition from Murray the K's "Dancing Girls", to back-up singing for other acts, to performing as the Ronettes before year's end. It was during this time that the women evolved their iconic look, wearing ever more exaggerated eye make-up while teasing their hair to impossible proportions. "We'd look pretty wild by the time we got out onstage," Ronnie later recalled, "and the kids loved it." Colpix's May label issued a final single by the Ronettes in March 1963. When "Good Girls" failed to chart, the women decided to look elsewhere for studio work.

Phil Spector and Philles Records (1963–1966)
In early 1963, frustrated with Colpix Records and the group's lack of success, sister Estelle called producer Phil Spector and told him the Ronettes would like to audition for him. Spector met the women soon after at Mira Sound Studios in New York City. Later, Spector told Ronnie that he had seen them at The Brooklyn Fox several times and was impressed with their performances. At the audition, when the group began singing "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", Spector jumped from his seat and shouted, "That's it! That's it! That's the voice I've been looking for!"

Spector decided to sign the group; originally, he wanted to sign Ronnie as a solo act, until her mother told him he would sign the Ronettes as a group or there would be no deal. Spector agreed, instructing Ronnie's mother to inform Colpix Records that the women had "given up" on show business so the studio would release their contract. By March 1963, the group was officially signed to Spector's Philles Records.

The first song the Ronettes rehearsed and recorded with Spector was written by Spector, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich, "Why Don't They Let Us Fall in Love". They brought the women out to California to make the record, but, once it was completed, Spector declined to release it. The Ronettes recorded more songs for Spector, including covers of "The Twist", "The Wah-Watusi" (lead vocals by Nedra), "Mashed Potato Time", and "Hot Pastrami". These four songs were released, but were credited to The Crystals on their 1963 Philles LP The Crystals Sing Their Greatest Hits, Volume 1.

"Be My Baby"
After having been denied a release of their song as well as having credit for their next four recordings go to another group, the Ronettes went to work on the Phil Spector/Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich song "Be My Baby". The Ronettes recorded "Be My Baby" in July 1963, and it was released by August. "Be My Baby" was a smash record for the Ronettes. Radio stations played the song throughout fall 1963, and the Ronettes were invited to tour the country with Dick Clark on his "Caravan of Stars" tour. "Be My Baby" inspired a legion of Ronettes fans, including Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, who clearly intended "Don't Worry Baby" as an homage to the group. The song became a Top 10 hit and peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Top 100. "Our lives were turned upside down," Ronnie later recalled. "All the things I'd ever dreamed about were finally coming true."

"Be My Baby" was the first recording by Cher, who performed back-up vocals with Estelle, Nedra, and Sonny Bono. As the girlfriend of Bono, who was working for Phil Spector at the time, Cher was asked to join the back-up singers when one was a no-show. "'Be My Baby' was the first record I ever sang on," Cher later wrote. "I went out and stood in front of this big speaker and sang 'be my, be my baby' with the Ronettes and all these other singers." After "Be My Baby", Cher became a permanent back-up singer on recordings by the Ronettes, as well as other songs Phil Spector produced until "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'".

"Baby, I Love You"
After the overnight success of their first Phil Spector single, Spector was eager to do a follow-up with the Ronettes. He wrote "Baby, I Love You", again with Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, and urged the Ronettes to leave New York for California to record the song at Gold Star Studios. A problem arose when the Ronettes were scheduled to leave for Dick Clark's "Caravan of Stars" tour across the United States. In lieu of having the Ronettes skip the Dick Clark tour, Spector decided Estelle and Nedra would do the tour with cousin Elaine, a former member of the group. Ronnie left for California to record "Baby, I Love You" with Darlene Love, Cher, and Sonny Bono subbing for Estelle and Nedra on back-up vocals. "Baby, I Love You" had an even denser arrangement, featuring Leon Russell on piano. The song was recorded in the early fall of 1963 and released in November that year. It was slightly less successful than "Be My Baby" on the charts, reaching number 24 Pop, number 6 R&B in the United States and number 11 in the United Kingdom.

A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector
All three Ronettes, along with every other artist who was signed with Phil Spector in 1963, were featured on the Christmas LP A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector. For this album, the Ronettes recorded three songs: "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus", "Frosty the Snowman", and "Sleigh Ride". All artists sang on the album's finale, "Silent Night", which opened with a spoken message from Phil Spector, wishing a Merry Christmas and thanking everyone for supporting the cooperative artists.

In his desire for absolute perfection on the album, Spector pushed his artists to belt out their lyrics as powerfully as they could. "The Christmas album was the one where I'd thought I'd lost it mentally." Nedra later said. "I heard the parts. I swore I'd put them down, but they said it wasn't on the tape."

The album was released on the day President Kennedy was assassinated. It was not a success upon its initial release but it was re-released by Apple Records in 1972 and reached No. 6 on Billboard′s list of Christmas Albums that year.

British tour, "Breakin' Up", and "Do I Love You?"
In January 1964, the Ronettes left for their first tour of the UK, where they made a strong impact from the very beginning. "We must have been quite a sight in the Heathrow waiting room," Ronnie Spector later recalled, "three black American girls sitting with their legs all crossed the same way, our three identical, enormous hairdos piled a foot or so over our heads. When our young chaperon finally showed up, he was all smiles."

On their first night in the UK, the women attended a party at Tony Hall's house where they met the Beatles. After meeting, Ronnie and John Lennon quickly became friends and Estelle dated George Harrison. But for Ronnie, one of the biggest thrills was meeting Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, who were the opening act for the Ronettes on their UK tour. The feeling was mutually shared by Richards, who wrote of his relationship with Ronnie: "The first time I ever went to heaven was when I awoke with Ronnie (later Spector!) Bennett asleep with a smile on her face. We were kids. It doesn't get any better than that."

When the women returned home from their British tour, they went right back into the studio to record "Keep on Dancing" and "Girls Can Tell", two songs written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector. The group's recording of "Keep on Dancing" is notable because it features Ronnie and Nedra singing in unison, but Spector refused to release the single. Around this time, The Crystals also recorded a version of "Girls Can Tell", which also went unreleased.

"(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up" was subsequently recorded by the Ronettes. According to Ronnie, Spector was especially enthusiastic about the song. "When Phil loved a song as much as he loved '(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up,'" she later wrote, "he could work on it for days without ever getting tired." Released in April 1964, the song did not fare as well as the group's previous two singles, though it did manage to briefly break into the Billboard Top 40. In June 1964, the group's following single, "Do I Love You?", was released, also breaking into the Top 40, beating their previous single by five positions.

"Walking in the Rain"
As the British Invasion took full force on the American music scene in 1964, the Ronettes were one of the few groups that were able to maintain their relevance. When they toured the UK in January 1964, they had been asked by John Lennon to accompany the Beatles on their flight to America on February 7, 1964, but Spector denied them the opportunity to do so. Instead, throughout 1964, the group appeared on numerous television shows such as Shindig!, American Bandstand, Hullabaloo, and British TV show Ready, Steady, Go! As the popularity of other groups such as The Crystals, The Marvelettes, and The Angels began to wane, that of the Ronettes continued to grow.

In the summer of 1964, Ronnie went into the studio to record her lead on the group's next single, "Walking in the Rain". She later recalled that the writers – Phil Spector, Barry Mann, and Cynthia Weil – were still adjusting the lyrics right up to the minute she recorded it. Ronnie recalled Phil placing headphones on her and telling her to listen closely. "Everything was quiet," she later wrote, "Then all of a sudden I heard a low rumble, like there was thunder coming from every corner of the room." The thunder was used for the introduction and was featured prominently throughout the remainder of the song, the only one of which Ronnie recorded in a single take. "Walking in the Rain" became the group's most successful single since "Be My Baby" (released over a year earlier) and peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Following the successful release of "Walking in the Rain", Philles Records released the group's first studio album, Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes featuring Veronica, in late 1964. The album proved only to be marginally successful, peaking at number 96 on the Billboard charts, but for the first time Phil Spector publicly promoted lead singer Veronica "Ronnie" Bennett over Estelle Bennett and Nedra Talley. Every Ronettes single after this referred to the group as "The Ronettes featuring Veronica" on the record labels.

Decline in popularity
After the success of "Walking in the Rain", the Ronettes' popularity had clearly begun to wane. In February 1965, Philles Records released the group's next single, "Born to Be Together", which only reached number 52 on the Billboard 100. Over the course of the next year, the Ronettes recorded a song catalog which, once completed, Phil Spector refused to release. Many attribute this to his insecurities and growing love for Ronnie. As the popularity of the group rose, their relationship grew deeper, and soon they were living together. Spector allegedly did not want the Ronettes to become too popular, in fear they would one day outshine him, perhaps explaining why he did not release recordings the Ronettes were contractually obligated to make. This allowed for the Motown group the Supremes to eclipse them to become the most popular female group of the time.

Some recorded yet unreleased songs include: "Paradise", "Everything Under the Sun", and "I Wish I Never Saw the Sun Shine". All three have since been covered by among others, the Shangri-Las, the Supremes, and Ike & Tina Turner. Spector's choice was to not release the Spector/ Jeff Barry/ Ellie Greenwich song "Chapel of Love", initially recorded by the Ronettes in early 1964. By the time their version finally was released, another recording by The Dixie Cups had gained attention. "We thought it was such a great record that we practically begged [Phil Spector] to put it out," Ronnie Spector later wrote. "Then the Dixie Cups' version came out, and it was a smash! It was so depressing."

In June 1965, the Ronettes' next single, "Is This What I Get For Loving You?", was released, becoming a minor hit, reaching only number 75 on the Billboard 100. However, the song proved popular for TV appearances on Hullabaloo, Hollywood A Go-Go, and Shivaree. The Ronettes failed to achieve another Top 10 hit, while the Supremes scored their fifth consecutive number-one song with "Back in My Arms Again". Some have attributed the decline of their popularity partially to Phil Spector's unenthusiastic promotions of the Ronettes, possibly from insecurities stemming from his intimate relationship with Ronnie.

There were internal problems within the group as well. "You also have to remember that Nedra and Estelle stood in the background while I got to bask in the spotlight," Ronnie later wrote. "I was the one who flew out to California and sang lead on all our records. I was the one deejays wanted to talk to. And I was the one our producer was in love with, which meant I get the preferential treatment in all kinds of other ways which [quite understandably] drove them crazy." "I hated the 'dog-eat-dog' side of show-business," Nedra Talley later commented. "I hated pushing for the next record and the feeling of failure if we didn't get it. There was a continual demand on us to produce that I thought was unfair. My personality didn't like that." Nedra's disdain for show business fueled her choice to marry Scott Ross.

Opening for the Beatles
After "Is This What I Get for Loving You?" was released in June 1965, over a year passed before the Ronettes' next single was released. "I Can Hear Music", written by Phil Spector/Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich and produced by Barry, was issued in October 1966, barely making it into the Billboard 100 by peaking at number 100 for exactly one week before it fell off the charts. The song was covered by the Beach Boys in 1969 with much greater success.

After "Be My Baby", the Ronettes became headliners at several Murray the K Holiday Shows in New York City and did package tours in the US and England. By late 1965, even without a recent hit, the group continued to make appearances at leading night clubs and on television shows, grace the covers of music magazines, and be featured on The Big TNT Show, a concert film produced by Phil Spector.

In August 1966, the Ronettes joined the bill with the Beatles for a 14-city tour across America. Phil Spector became so enraged when Ronnie expressed a desire to accompany Estelle and Nedra on the tour that Ronnie was forced to remain in California with him while the girls' cousin Elaine, who had previously been in the group, filled her slot on the tour, while Nedra or Estelle assumed the lead vocals on stage. A picture published in the November 1966 issue of Ebony magazine showed Nedra Talley singing lead, while Estelle and Elaine stood behind her singing harmony.

Break-up
After their tour with the Beatles ended, and "I Can Hear Music" failed to make an impact, the Ronettes left for a tour in Germany in early 1967, after which they agreed to break up and go their separate ways. Soon afterward, Nedra Talley married her boyfriend Scott Ross, Ronnie Bennett married Phil Spector, and Estelle Bennett settled down with Joe Dong, a long-time boyfriend.

According to her accounts, Phil Spector kept Ronnie a virtual prisoner in their 23-room mansion in California. He brought her into the studio only once during their marriage. During this session, which took place in early 1969 at A&M Records, she recorded "You Came, You Saw, You Conquered!" The song was released in March 1969, failing to make an impact on radio stations, which were now playing music in the style of Janis Joplin and Grace Slick. Later in 1969, Ronnie and Estelle were invited into the studio by Jimi Hendrix to record backing vocals on "Earth Blues". Their work on the song earned the Ronettes a credit on the LP Rainbow Bridge.

Ronnie Spector and the Ronettes
Ronnie left Phil on June 12, 1972, and their divorce was finalized in 1974. As she made an attempt to revive her career, she decided to reform the Ronettes. Nedra had no interest in returning to the group, and Estelle mentally could no longer handle the burden of performing as she was suffering from mental illness. Ronnie replaced them with Chip Fields (mother of actress Kim Fields) and Denise Edwards. They recorded some songs for Buddah Records in 1973, one of which was a cover of "I Wish I Never Saw the Sun Shine", a song Ronnie had first done in 1965, though Phil Spector had refused to release it. The stint at Buddah was not successful, and by 1975, Ronnie had abandoned the idea of continuing the Ronettes and began her solo career.

In 2017, Spector released a new single "Love Power", under the name Ronnie Spector and The Ronettes, making it the first Ronettes single in decades.

Lawsuit against Phil Spector
In 1988, the original Ronettes sued Phil Spector for $10 million over unpaid royalties and for unpaid income he made from licensing of Ronettes’ music. It took the case a decade to make its way to trial. In 2000, Phil was ordered to pay them more than $2.6 million. Phil appealed and in 2001 the state Supreme Court's Appellate Division upheld a lower court finding that he had violated his 1963 contract. He appealed that ruling as well, taking the case to the New York State Supreme Court in 2002. In its ruling, the State Court of Appeals said it found the Ronettes' "plight sympathetic, because they have earned less than $15,000 in royalties from songs that topped the charts and made them famous," but the judge found that their contract gave Spector unconditional rights to the recordings. The judge also reversed a lower court's ruling that they were entitled to the music industry's standard 50 percent royalty rate on sales of records, tapes and compact discs. However, it was ruled that Spector was entitled to her share of the royalties; she had argued that she was forced to sign away her rights to royalties in her 1974 divorce settlement. The royalties of the group's other two members were not in dispute.

Deaths
On February 11, 2009, Estelle died of colon cancer at the age of 67 in Englewood, New Jersey.

Ronnie died on January 12, 2022, following a brief battle with cancer at the age of 78, leaving Nedra Talley the last surviving original member of the trio.

Awards and recognition
The Ronettes were nominated for a Grammy Award in 1965 for "Walking in the Rain". They were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for "Be My Baby" in 1999. The Ronettes were also inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004 and the People's Hall of Rock and Roll Legends in 2010. The Ronettes' influence on music was significant. In addition to Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen have both cited Ronnie Bennett as an influence. The Ronettes' fashion style was emulated by British musician Amy Winehouse.

It was reported that Phil Spector, in his capacity as a member of the Board of Governors, prevented the Ronettes from being nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, although they had been eligible for a considerable length of time. In a letter obtained by Ronnie's lawyers, addressed to the Rock Hall's nominating committee, Phil claimed that, apart from Ronnie, the group members did not appear on their records, and that they did not make the contribution required for induction. While he was awaiting trial on a murder charge, the Ronettes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 12, 2007, at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. They were inducted by Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. Ronnie and Nedra performed "Baby, I Love You", "Walking in the Rain", and "Be My Baby". Estelle was present to accept her award but was not well enough to perform, so Tricia Scotti (a regular backup singer with Ronnie) took her place behind the microphone.

Discography

 * Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes (1964)

title: The Ronettes