Nedra Talley Ross, the last surviving member of ’60s girl group the Ronettes and a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, died at 80. The group shared the news on its Facebook page on Sunday night. No cause of death was announced.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of Nedra Talley Ross’ passing,” the post read. “She was a light to those who knew and loved her. 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. Her contribution to the group’s story and their defining influence will live forever. Rest peacefully dear Nedra. Thanks for the magic.”
Born Nedra Yvonne Talley on Jan. 27, 1946, Talley Ross was raised in New York City. She grew up alongside her cousins Veronica “Ronnie” Bennett and Estelle Bennett, who performed at local events as the Darling Sisters.
In 1963, the trio connected with producer Phil Spector and renamed themselves the Ronettes. They released their debut LP, Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica, the following year, which included several hit songs like “Be My Baby” and “Walking in the Rain. The Rolling Stones opened for the Ronettes on tour in the U.K., and later the group opened for the Beatles on their 1966 U.S. tour. Along with Spector, the trio was known for pioneering the “Wall of Sound” technique, which has come to define modern pop music.
“By the time I was 17, and I was the youngest in the group, we had our first mega-hit with Phillies Record, for Phil Spector,” Talley Ross recalled. “So that took us to a whole other level, from being a New York City, East Coast girl group, to going across the United States, and then international. So at 17 I was going to Europe — I turned 18 in England as we were performing. So there was a side where you had a life that most teenagers would never have. I would perform on the weekends and then go to school on Mondays. There I was having all of this handed to me.”
She added, “We were just being who we were. It was multi-cultural — you weren’t white, you weren’t black. The Ronettes were different. A lot of young girls were looking at who we were. We were an example to a lot of girls of the look that they wanted.”
The group split up in 1967, with Talley Ross going on to get married and release Christian-inspired music. She released several albums of Christian music, including 1978’s Full Circle. In 2007, the Ronettes were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The group reunited for the induction ceremony, where they performed “Be My Baby.”
The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards gave a speech to welcome the Ronettes into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and remembered hearing them rehearse in a “damp and dark” British theater during their tour together in 1964.
I got a command performance all to myself,” Richards said. “And i realized that despite Jack Nitzsche’s arrangements, they could sing their way right through a wall of sound — they didn’t need anybody. They touched my heart there and then, and they touch it still.”
“I thank God that I’m here tonight,” Talley Ross said as the band accepted their induction. “And that we, as the Ronettes, are being acknowledged for what we gave. But I didn’t have any idea what we were giving. I was very, very young and I didn’t know that we were setting styles for girls. I thank every fan that kept us in their hearts and in their minds for all these years. Thank you for playing the music to your children and to your children’s children.”
Estelle died in 2009 at age 67, while Ronnie died in 2022 at 78. At the time of Ronnie’s death, Talley Ross shared, “Ronnie and I were so close growing up that I called her ‘my breath.’” She added, “We were together through the best and the most difficult of times and we made history. As the last remaining Ronette I will continue to keep her memory and the music alive.”