Nedra Talley Ross, the last surviving founding member of the 1960s girl band Ronette, has died. She was 80 years old.
A post on the Ronettes’ official Facebook page announced the news Sunday but did not share the cause of death or any other details.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the passing of Nedra Talley Ross,” 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 the sound that would change music. Her contribution to the group’s story and defining influence will forever be remembered. Rest in peace, dear Nedra. Thanks for the magic.”
Talley, who was born on January 27, 1946, formed the girl group with her cousins – lead singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector) and her older sister Estelle Bennett – with whom she had been singing since they were teenagers. Initially known as the Darling Sisters, they signed with Coolpix Records in 1961.
Two years later, Phil Spector, known for his grand style of playing brass and drums, which was called the “Wall of Sound”, auditioned for the show. He signed them to his own Philles Records, and that’s when they changed their name to the Ronettes. After signing, they sang backup for other acts. Spector even had the group record “Be My Baby” and “Baby, I Love You.”
The band’s first album, Introducing the wonderful runesIt was released in 1964 and produced five songs that reached the US Billboard charts. The group would have several hit singles, including “Walking in the Rain”, “I Can Hear the Music”, “(The Best Part of) a Breakup” and “Do I Love You”.
They went on a tour of Europe in 1967, with an opening act for the Rolling Stones, and then opened for the Beatles on that group’s final world tour.
Talley also married Scott Ross, a radio and television personality, in 1967. That’s the same year the group broke up — thanks in part to Phil Spector, with whom she had a famously abusive and controlling relationship, as she detailed in her memoir. Be my baby. But Talley also said she was ready to leave the group to focus on making Christian music, which she admitted in an interview was not a popular choice at the time.
“In 1966, no one in the rock ‘n’ roll world was talking about Jesus,” she told the Christian Broadcasting Network. “Today, you keep hearing, ‘This person knows the Lord,’ or ‘This one knows the Lord.’ So I came back and found no one who could stand with me as another Christian in the music business. There was no one. No one was making Christian music. No one was saying, ‘I want to sing to the Lord.’ So it was like I was out there by myself.”
She continued to record many Christian songs after leaving the Ronettes. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
Tali Ross and her husband have four children together. He died in 2023.
Estelle Bennett died in 2009, while Ronnie Spector died in 2022.
