The Ronettes
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Estelle Bennett, (July 22, 1941 – February 11, 2009) was a member of the girl group The Ronettes, (the 'Ronnie' of the band's name) along with her sister Ronnie Spector and cousin Nedra Talley. After the Ronettes' 1966 break-up, she recorded a single for Laurie Records, "The Year 2000/The Naked Boy". She then quit the music business and had rarely been seen since. She married the group's road manager Joe Dong, and they had a daughter, Toyin.
In 2007, when the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, she refused to perform with them, and spoke only a brief two 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 died in New Jersey aged 67. According to her sister Ronnie's site, Bennett died on February 11.