The Ronettes Research Paper

The Ronettes were a popular girl group in the late 60s, who had a large influence on some of the most recognizable musicians known today. The girl group was made up of Estelle Bennett, Nedra Talley, and their lead vocalist Ronnie Bennett. Their music was inspired by doo-wop, heard in their backing vocals, and jazz, most obvious in their musical instruments, but they added their own pop twist to it. The Ronettes really took off after collaborating with Phil Spector and adopting his “Wall of Sound” technique. Spector completely rebuilt The Ronettes, shifting their image to a sort of rebellious rock and pop act with their looks when performing. Spector helped The Ronettes peak with their song “Be My Baby” (1963) which is a timeless hit, considering

The Beach Boys took heavy influence from Ronnie Bennett, who later influenced Michael Jackson and his group The Jackson 5, almost like an influence ladder that can be climbed all the way to the beginning of early rock and roll influences. Michael Jackson started his family band, The Jackson 5, as a child. They began in 1964 and performed together until the 80’s, but at that point Michael Jackson would go on his own and gain a lot of success. Jackson’s music often was themed around love, and social issues. His music as a whole contains many instruments that can be identified as one of Phil Spector's influences. The “Wall of Sound” in my opinion is very identifiable in Jackson's music, as the instruments in many of Michael Jackson's songs are so intricate but also so dense with other instruments. This is another influence from The Ronettes since Phil Spector really showcased the “Wall of Sound” with them. The Ronettes also have an identifiable influence on Jackson's strong vocals, which was one of Ronnie Benettes strongest qualities in her music. This can be seen in “So Young” by the Ronettes and “It's the Falling in Love” by Michael

I think this song could have been influenced by the Beach Boys, specifically their play with genres and styles in their music. I think this can especially be seen in this song because it's able to blend sort of a surfer type of music that's a little more synth sounding with a faster pop rock kind of sound. Another influence from the beach boys is the harmonizing in this song, it's not exactly the same but there is definitely something that reminds me of the beach boys adlibs and harmonizing with mike loves vocals. I think if “Caught in the Middle” by Paramore was recorded by the Beach Boys, there would be a much slower pace with the drums and most likely no synthesizer, and instead maybe something like a harp, which is an instrument I can hear in some beach boys music. I think there would also be more emphasis on the glockenspiel used in Paramore's song, as it seems like it would bring out the Beach Boys sort of sound. Paramore's lyrics in this song are very raw and blunt about struggling with figuring out the future and depression, which is definitely something that is still seen as taboo even in today's social