Ronettes,Phil Spector/Be My Baby Sessions

Phil Spector died in prison last month at the age of 81. There is no denying that he was a unique person who left many legends behind, and at the same time was a great producer who represented the music world in the 1960s. “Be My Baby”, sung by the Ronettes, was his signature song and one of the most representative pop songs of the early 1960s. The splendor of that impressive intro and chorus work has not faded to this day. Fortunately, there is a sound source that captures the session scene of this masterpiece. About 15 years ago, a large amount of session sound sources from the 1960s that Spector conducted at Hollywood’s Gold Star Studios were leaked. Enthusiasts all over the world were surprised that such sound sources were left, but they were also surprised that the volume was equivalent to five CDs. However, it is undeniable that this volume is maniac and core content, and the part that is most interesting to many music fans is naturally the session scene of “Be My Baby”. Therefore, this time I will excerpt only the scene where the same song was recorded (at this point, it has a tentative title of “My One and Only Baby”) from the session sound source at Gold Star. The sound source that is on the market is recorded from Take 14, where the session has already progressed. The “Wrecking Crew,” a group of artisan musicians, including Hal Blaine on drums and Steve Douglas on saxophone, repeats takes while responding to Spector’s requests. Although a complete take does not appear easily, this is a typical scene of a Spector style session. However, it’s hard not to get irritated if the takes are repeated relentlessly, and it’s also valuable that before take 17, Blaine is captured shouting “Shut up!” to the other musicians who are interfering with the count. . First, take 19 is the first complete take, but in the end take 25 becomes the master. It should be noted that when this take is covered with handclaps and backing chorus, the audio changes from monaural to stereo. This stereo is extremely valuable as the Specter was mono-centric. Furthermore, it is valuable to know that Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes, who took the lead vocal, also participated in the recording of the backing chorus. In this take 25, the overdubbing scenery of the chorus appears first from the stage where the sound source appears, and then the recording order returns to monaural and the performance itself before dubbing is heard. Although the actual order seems to be reversed, this time we respect the original recording condition. In any case, Take 25 boasts an outstanding level of perfection, and it was no wonder that it was adopted as a master. Surprisingly, the key was then lowered a little and recording continued, but after a struggle, it finally died. And this time, a version with Ronnie Spector’s lead vocal on Take 25 appears. There are no backing choruses, handclaps, or string interludes here, so you can only hear the performance and her singing, so it’s so raw that it gives me goosebumps. At the end, it ends with a version that has all the vocal parts added to take 25, but still has no strings and does not fade out. This is a valuable document that captures not only the making of “Be My Baby” but also the making of 60’s pop music history, in the highest quality sound. Gold Star Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA, USA 5th July 1963 (30:23) 1. My One and Only Baby (working title of Be My Baby) take 14, 15, 16 2. My One and Only Baby take 18 , 19, 20 3. My One and Only Baby take 21, 22, 23, 24 (w/back up vocals) 4. My One and Only Baby take 25 (w/ back up vocals)(repeat from above) 5. My One and Only Baby take 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 (w/lead vocal) 6. My One and Only Baby Unknown take (w/ lead vocal+back up vocals) Phil Spector – producer Ronnie Spector – lead and backing vocals Louis Blackburn – trombone Hal Blaine – drums Frank Capp – percussion Al De Lory – keyboards Steve Douglas – saxophone Ellie Greenwich – backing vocals Carol Kaye – bass Darlene Love – backing vocals Fanita James – backing vocals Jay Migliori – saxophone Gracia Nitzsche – backing vocals Bill Pitman – guitar Ray Pohlman – bass guitar Don Randi – piano Bobby Sheen – backing vocals Tommy Tedesco – guitar Nino Tempo – backing vocals