The Ronettes' 'Be My Baby' Ranked One of Best Pop Songs Ever
The decade of the 1960s produced countless songs that became permanent fixtures in music and pop culture. The Ronettes' "Be My Baby" is one of those tracks.
Released in August 1963, the Phil Spector-inspired "Be My Baby" reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October of that year. In the decades following, it was used in various movies and television series, referenced in a 1980s hit song and has been ranked as one of the best pop songs of all time.
One of the greatest songs ever
In 2024, Rolling Stone named "Be My Baby" the 22nd-greatest song of all time. One year earlier, Billboard ranked The 500 Best Pop Songs, slotting "Be My Baby" at No. 19.
"Boasting a boom-ba-boom-CHK drum intro from Wrecking Crew legend Hal Blaine that changed Brian Wilson's life (not to mention the direction of rhythm in pop music), "Be My Baby" perfectly encapsulates Phil Spector's equally influential Wall of Sound production style," wrote Billboard's Joe Lynch. "The studio whiz spins a cotton candy web of piano, strings, castanets and handclaps across 2:40 that swirls around eardrums before the singing even begins. But Ronnie Spector's vocal is the real miracle here; she exudes the pining, pure naivety of a teenager who looks into someone's eyes, says forever and thinks their future is sealed, making a simple lyric like "for every kiss you give me/ I'll give you three" sound like a poetic couplet on par with Keats."
The legacy of "Be My Baby"
As Lynch mentions, Wilson, the legendary Beach Boys co-founder, was quoted as saying "Be My Baby" was the greatest pop record ever made.
Since its release, "Be My Baby" has been covered by several different artists, including Jody Miller, Shaun Cassidy and Mike Love, appeared in the movies Mean Streets and Dirty Dancing and been used in television series such as Moonlighting and Ms. Marvel.
Additionally, rock star Eddie Money mentions the song on his 1986 hit "Take Me Home Tonight," incorporating the lyric "Just like Ronnie sang ..." with "Be my little baby."
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 10:49 AM.