Nedra, Estelle and the voice of Veronica. Beehives, Phil Spector anti "Be My Baby". Mascara vibrato and 'Baby I Love You'. Slit sarongs, castanets and 'Walking In The Rain'. Takes you back? Well, let's go way back. Before the Wall of Sound, to Spanish Harlem in the mid-fifties. Thirteen-year-old Veronica 'Ronnie' Spector, big sister Estelle and younger cousin Nedra Talley are gathered around their grandmother's radio. They are listening intently to 'Why Do Fools Fall In Love'. With their other cousins they spent many a happy afternoon at the apartment rehearsing songs together and singing along with the latest doo-wop records. Ronnie loved Frankie Lymon's voice and modelled her own singing style on his. Ronnie, Estelle and Nedra were from a very large musically appreciative family. All their aunts and uncles loved to sing and dance. So it was agreed that the three girls should take singing lessons. They soon found themselves an agent and before long some professional work. Known briefly as the Darling Sisters and wearing frilled party dresses they trilled 'Goodnight Sweetheart' and other hit songs of the day in three part harmony to bar mitzvah audiences. It was hardly the big time, but it was a start. By 1961, having adopted the moniker Ronnie and the Relatives, the group had become a little restless playing hops and bar mitzvahs. Once again their agent Phil Halikus came to the rescue. He'd arranged for them to audition for Stu Phillips at Colpix Records. With that audition passed, and their first recording session completed, July 1961 saw the release of their first single. It coupled 'What's so Sweet About Sweet Sixteen' with 'I Want A Boy' and sold very poorly. As did the second Ronnie and the Relatives 45 'I'm Gonna Quit While I'm Ahead' b/w 'My Guiding Angel' released on Colpix's May subsidiary at the beginning of 1962. Two singles bearing the group name were released in 1962. 'Silhouettes' (an old song the Ronettes loved) coupled with 'You Bet I Would' (co-written by the upcoming Carole King) hit the new release racks for May in April. 'I'm On The Wagon' b/w 'I'm Gonna Quit While I'm Ahead' foillowed two months later on the parent Colpix label. Aside from their duties recording for Colpix and twisting around the clock at the Peppermint Loung, Ronnie, Estelle and Nedra kept themselves busy as session singers and dancing girls. They sang back-ups for Del Shannon, Conway Twitty and, amongst others, Joey Dee. And, in all probability, it was the Ronettes who recorded four tracks in the guise of the Heartbreakers with R 'n' B producer Bert Berns in April 1962. After two hard years in the business, in early 1963 the girls had the extreme good fortune to meet top record producer Phil Spector. He agreed to meet them at Mira Sound studios in New York and had them sing it bunch of Frankie Lymon and Little Anthony songs. Immediately hooked on Ronnie's delicious looks and voice, and keen for a new act for his Philles label roster Spector was eager to sign the group. Problem was that the Ronettes were still signed to Colpix. So, Beatrice Bennett, mother of Estelle and Ronnie, approached Colpix and told them that the group were disenchanted with the music business and wanted to quit. Thus extricated from their contract, the Ronettes were free to sign with Philles Records. Colpix Records utilised the remaining Roulettes recordings they held in the can. In March 1963 the May label put 'The Memory' and 'Good Girls' together on a single, and two years later the Colpix-conned Dimension logo scheduled 'He Did It' b/w 'Recipe For Love' as a new release. Soon after signing the Ronettes to his Philles label in March 1963 Phil Spector had Ronnie ensconced in a dimly lit Hollywood recording studio singing over an old Darlene Love backing track. The group spent the next few months rehearsing at an apartment on loan from Arnold Goland, while Spector collaborated with Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich on what was to become a worldwide smash - 'Be My Baby'. This Cornbread vinyl is of considerable archival importance. It contains all 11 tracks the Ronettes recorded for the Colpix label, but also a rare chance to hear Ronnie, Estelle and Nedra providing their distinctive vocal support on Joey Dee's 'Getting Nearer'. from 1963. So settle back and enjoy the original voices of the beehive.