(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up

1964 song (The Best Part of) Breakin' Up (The_Best_Part_of)_Breakin'_Up_-_The_Ronettes.jpg single the Ronettes Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Big Red April 1964 Pop 2:55 Philles Records Phil Spector Pete Andreoli Vince Poncia Phil Spector Baby, I Love You 1963 Do I Love You? 1964 "(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up" is a song written by Phil Spector, Pete Andreoli and Vince Poncia. It was first recorded by the Ronettes, produced by Phil Spector and arranged by Jack Nitzsche with Ronnie Spector on lead vocals and with backing vocals by Nedra Talley and Estelle Bennett, along with Darlene Love and the Blossoms, Bobby Sheen (a.k.a. Bob B. Soxx), and Sonny & Cher. The song was released in April 1964, the year widely recognized as the group's most successful year, and proved to be the group's third consecutive top forty hit in the US.Spector Ronnie Be my baby : how I survived mascara, miniskirts, and madness, or my life as a fabulous Ronette 2004 New American Library New York 0-451-41153-6 101 The single peaked at number 39 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number 43 on the UK Singles Chart.Spector Ronnie Be my baby : how I survived mascara, miniskirts, and madness, or my life as a fabulous Ronette 2004 New American Library New York 0-451-41153-6 331 Original recording With the British Invasion in full force during 1964, many of the previous American groups from the late 1950s/early 1960s found their popularity beginning to seriously wane. For the Ronettes, however, 1964 proved to be their biggest year. While none of their singles matched the success of their 1963 classic "Be My Baby", the group released four songs, all of which reached the top forty on the Billboard Charts in the US. Before making "(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up," their previous single had been the successful "Baby, I Love You", which peaked at number twenty-four on the Billboard charts. However, according to Ronnie Spector, the group's lead singer, producer Phil Spector had already begun to somewhat lose enthusiasm for the Ronettes in early 1964.Spector Ronnie Be my baby : how I survived mascara, miniskirts, and madness, or my life as a fabulous Ronette 2004 New American Library New York 0-451-41153-6 113 The group had recorded the Phil Spector, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich song "Chapel of Love" in early 1964, but Spector refused to release it. "It doesn't sound like a hit," he told the group, so The Dixie Cups recorded their version of the song, which peaked at number one on the Billboard top 100, a position never held by the Ronettes. After losing out on "Chapel of Love" the Ronettes went to work on "(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up." According to Ronnie Spector, Phil Spector was especially enthusiastic about the song.Spector Ronnie Be my baby : how I survived mascara, miniskirts, and madness, or my life as a fabulous Ronette 2004 New American Library New York 0-451-41153-6 83 "When Phil loved a song as much as he loved "(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up," she later wrote in her autobiography, "he could work on it for days without ever getting tired. He spent hours working out the harmonies with Nedra and Estelle, then he'd jump up and down every time he heard something he liked." Billboard said of the song that "The gals swing in with a stompin' rock ballad that has that the famous Spector sound."Billboard 2021-05-01 March 21, 1964 22 Singles Reviews https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1964/Billboard%201964-03-21.pdf Billboard described the song as having a "smash sound" and praised the lead vocal and arrangementBillboard 2021-04-02 October 17, 1964 18 Singles Reviews https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1964/Billboard%201964-10-17.pdf Cash Box described it as "a tantalizing shuffle-thumper that the gals knock out with loads of teen appeal" with a "stand out, percussion-led rock-a-rhythmic arrangement" by Jack Nitzsche.CashBox Record Reviews March 21, 1964 8 2022-01-12 https://worldradiohstory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1964/CB-1964-03-21.pdf Cash Box June 2023 InternetArchiveBot yes "(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up" proved to be a hit for the Ronettes, though it did not achieve the success of their previous two singles. The song is remembered in the US for being the influence for Folgers advertising campaign "The best part of waking up, is Folgers in your cup," a slogan the company has used since 1984.Top 10 Ronettes Songs Kachejian, Brian December 2020 https://www.classicrockhistory.com/top-10-ronettes-songs/ Classic Rock History 2021-04-20 Chart history Chart (1964)PeakpositionU.S. Billboard Hot 100Spector Ronnie Be my baby : how I survived mascara, miniskirts, and madness, or my life as a fabulous Ronette 2004 New American Library New York 0-451-41153-6 330 39U.S. Cashbox Hot 100Cashbox Magazine Hot 100 http://www.cashboxmagazine.com/archives/60s_files/19640516.html 2011-04-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20100624040451/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/60s_files/19640516.html 2010-06-24 dead 48UK Singles Chart43 Cover versions The song was a no. 25 UK Singles Chart hit for The Symbols in 1968. David Roberts 2006 British Hit Singles & Albums 19th Guinness World Records Limited London 1-904994-10-5 544 In 1982, American singer Roni Griffith hit number two on the US Dance Club Songs chart for two weeks with her Hi-NRG version of the song, produced by American record producer Bobby Orlando. Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003 Whitburn Joel Joel Whitburn 2004 Record Research 114 The Devil Dogs covered the song on their eponymous debut album in 1989. References External links K04WwAL-3eg The Ronettes - (The Best Part of) Breakin' Up Category:1964 songs Category:1964 singles Category:1982 singles Category:The Ronettes songs Category:Song recordings produced by Phil Spector Category:Songs written by Phil Spector Category:Songs written by Vini Poncia Category:Philles Records singles Category:American dance-pop songs