Estelle Bennett (July 22, 1941 – February 11, 2009) was an American singer. She was a member of the girl group

the Ronettes The Ronettes were an American girl group from Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. The group consisted of the lead singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector), her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Ta ...

, along with her sister Ronnie and cousin

Nedra Talley Nedra Talley (born January 27, 1946), now known as Nedra Talley-Ross, is an American singer. She is best known as a former member of the girl group the Ronettes, in which she performed with her cousins Ronnie and Estelle Bennett. Since Ronnie's ...

Early life

Bennett and her sister, Veronica (later known as Ronnie Bennett and

Ronnie Spector Veronica Yvette Greenfield (, formerly Spector; August 10, 1943 – January 12, 2022) was an American singer who co-founded and fronted the girl group the Ronettes. She is sometimes referred to as the original "bad girl of rock and roll". ...

), were raised in New York City. They were children of an Irish father and

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

mother; they said they were bullied at school because of being light-skinned African Americans. Bennett attended George Washington High School in Manhattan where she was valedictorian. Studious and interested in fashion, she studied at Manhattan's

Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college under the State University of New York, in New York City. It focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It was founded in ...

Career

When Bennett was 14, she and her sister Ronnie, and their cousin Nedra Talley started singing together. After a number of unsuccessful attempts, the trio reinvented themselves as the Ronettes. Signed up by 23-year-old

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

, Ronnie became lead, with Estelle and Nedra as backing. They would eventually have a No.1 hit song in 1963, "

Be My Baby "Be My Baby" is a song by the American girl group the Ronettes that was released as a single on Philles Records in August 1963. Written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector, the song was the Ronettes' biggest hit, reaching number ...

". The Ronettes broke up in 1966. Bennett recorded a single in 1968 for

Laurie Records Laurie Records was an American record label established in New York City in 1958, by brothers Robert and Gene Schwartz, and Allan I. Sussel. Among the recording artists on Laurie's roster were Dion and the Belmonts (both together and as separa ...

, "The Year 2000/The Naked Boy". In 1969, now known as Estal Bond she fronted The Love Chain, a quartet that also featured Laura Logan, Ann Trip and Cookie Woodson. They recorded three 45's but only the Teddy Vann produced 'I'm Lovin' You Baby' released on Minit made any headway. The Love Chain had finished by 1971 and Estelle moved on to further projects. In 1972, Ronnie invited Estelle to her apartment to rehearse when Ronnie was trying to revive the Ronettes. Unfortunately the rehearsal was a failure. Ronnie stated that Estelle had "lost her coordination" and said that it was "bizarre." Also in 1972, she recorded the songs "Baby With No Name" and "Earthman" with the band 1984. Estelle Bennett rarely performed in public from then on, largely quitting the music business. In 2007, when the Ronettes was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

, it was decided that she was too fragile to perform with them. She spoke two brief sentences during her acceptance speech: "I would just like to say, thank you very much for giving us this award. I'm Estelle of the Ronettes, thank you." She did, however, come back onstage for a final bow with the other Ronettes after the performance of "Be My Baby".

Personal life and death

She married the group's road manager, Joe Dong; the couple had a daughter. Her mental health deteriorated in the following years. It was reported that, during a visit to fellow former Ronette, Nedra Talley, she slept through her own baby daughter's crying. She was reported to have had periods of homelessness, during which she would approach strangers in the streets of New York, telling people that she would be singing with the Ronettes in a jazz club. In the 2024 documentary Beatles '64, sister Ronnie claimed Bennett was dating

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

in early 1964.https://www.disneyplus.com/en-gb/play/b881a739-4799-42e4-8c2e-f99d547b5455 Bennett died of

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

, aged 67, at her home in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...

. Her body was discovered on February 11, 2009. A week after her death, it was revealed that she had

anorexia nervosa Anorexia nervosa (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by Calorie restriction, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. Individuals wit ...

and

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

in the years after the Ronettes' breakup and that she had subsequently been homeless in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

References

External links

Obituary
in the Star Gazette *
Estelle Bennett in themusicsover.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Estelle Deaths from colorectal cancer in New Jersey George Washington Educational Campus alumni Musicians from Englewood, New Jersey Singers from New York City 21st-century American singers 20th-century American singers People with schizophrenia The Ronettes members American people of Cherokee descent 1941 births 2009 deaths People from East Harlem 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers African-American rock musicians