Ronnie Spector rocks the Basie

Ronnie Spector's still got it, and her show at the Count Basie Theatre Saturday night proves it.

From the moment I introduced her on stage and she opened with "Baby I Love You" to the encore of "I Can Hear Music" and "Spanish Harlem," she not only hit every note of some of the greatest songs of all time but every chord with the audience as well.

Ronnie has new Ronettes and they have a new song called "Love Power." She remembered her sister, Estelle, an original Ronette, with an emotional rendition of the Bees Gees' "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart." She also covered the Dave Clark Five's "Because" and the Beach Boys' "Don't Worry Baby," which she said Brian Wilson wrote after watching her record "Be My Baby."

Ronnie had a lot of great stories to tell in between the songs, like how "Walking In The Rain" was recorded in just one take — and she also showed clips of the Ronettes talking with Dick Clark on "American Bandstand" as well as some great movies of the girls just having fun back in the day.

Some of the most emotional songs I've ever heard were sung by Ronnie Spector. I could tear up at he intros, and it's comforting to know that that opinion is shared by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Southside Johnny and John Lennon, who have all in some way paid tribute to he in music. I thought of that when I was thinking about how to introduce her. Her manager/husband Jonathan Greenfield told me I could say what I want and I could have gone on forever.

Sometimes when you bring a band on, you're given what to say and try to remember as much of it as you can. This time it was from the heart. As Southside Johnny would say "This Time It's for Real."

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