The Ronettes

Led by the inimitable Ronnie Spector, the Ronettes embodied all that was cool about the girl-group aesthetic and all that was brilliant about their producer Phil Spector's Wall of Sound approach. As the performers of such awe-inspiring hits as "Be My Baby" and "Baby I Love You," the Ronettes left a mark on pop music as indelible and iconic as the work of any band of the era. Although they resurfaced in various configurations after their collaboration with Spector came to a close, Ronnie and her girls never reached the creative and commercial heights they attained in the mid 1960s. A touching late-'90s collaboration with Joey Ramone reignited Ronnie Spector's career, and she continued to perform as a solo artist well into the 2000s.

• pop