Farewell Little Fireball

FOR all the grandiose backing tracks assembled in the Gold Star Studios between 1962 and 1966, there was nothing to match the overwhelming into-the-red chorus of love and reverence that met the passing of Ronnie Spector on January 12, 2022. Who else could unite the full spectrum of the pop pantheon, from the heavenly Brian Wilson to the infernal Keith Richards, from Ariana to Zendaya, not to mention Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Elton John, Joan Jett and Morrissey?

What were we mourning? On the face of it, it seems a slender achievement: a handful of singles across 1963-66, only one of which went Top 10. A solitary album, which barely scraped into the Top 100. A version of “Frosty The Snowman” on a brazenly shameless Christmas compilation. And a series of doggedly hopeful comebacks from the ’70s onwards that never really found an audience.

And yet – let’s put it plainly – if you measure an artist by the strength and