1963 Classic Hit Ranked #1 'Greatest Girl-Group Song of All Time' Was the 'Beginning of Pop Music'
The '60s were an incredibly important decade for just about every genre of music, but some of the most influential tunes of the decade came from the era's famous girl groups. From The Supremes to The Shirelles to The Shangri-Las, these pop music pioneers were behind so many of the songs that have become part of the soundtrack of our lives...including one track that hits just as hard now as it did over half a century ago.
Produced by the legendary (and infamous) producer Phil Spector in his trademark Wall of Sound style, "Be My Baby" was released as The Ronettes' first single in 1963 and went on to peak at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. But that was just the beginning for the classic, later ranked by Billboard as the #1 "Greatest Girl-Group Song of All Time."
What makes "Be My Baby" so special, in part, is "a drum intro iconic enough to provide the ultimate through-line in the decades of popular recordings since, so regularly quoted that it's gone past the point of cliché to just being an essential part of the cultural language," as Billboard's Andrew Unterberger wrote, adding, "It's nothing less than the heartbeat of American pop music, pumping blood and vitality into future generations."
Interestingly enough, that drum intro started out as an accident.
"I was supposed to play the snare on the second beat as well as the fourth, but I dropped a stick," drummer Hal Blainetold the Guardian in 2015.
Apparently, there were no other "accidents" that made it to the final version of the song, as Phil reportedly demanded 42 takes before he was content with the result.
"Recording it took forever. I rehearsed in New York with the Ronettes, then I had to go to California on my own to sing the lead," Ronnie Spector told the Guardian. "My mom usually flew with me but because it was so far she said: 'Honey, you're 18. You can do this on your own now.' Phil picked me up at the airport and kept saying: 'This record is going to be amazing.'"
Of course, Phil was right. Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys called it the "greatest record ever produced," telling theNew York Times in 2013 that he "felt like I wanted to try to do something as good as that song and I never did" (he originally wrote "Don't Worry Baby" for Ronnie to sing, but Phil rejected it).
In an interview with Billboard, producer Rick Nowels (who sampled "Be My Baby" for the Lana Del Rey song "Lust For Life"), called The Ronettes' track "Ground Zero for the modern pop era."
"It was a line in the sand that left everything that came before in the rear-view mirror," Nowels said. "It was the beginning of pop music being a serious American art form. Like they say, Phil Spector created symphonies for kids - he's still my number one role model for a great production...Hal Blaine, the 'Be My Baby' drummer - he's the drummer Ringo looks up to."
Clearly, all those takes in the studio paid off in the long run.
Related: 1960's 'Force of Nature' Ranked 'Best Singer of All Time'
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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 7:32 PM.