Ronnie Spector, lead singer of The Ronettes, dead at 78 - CNN

Ronnie lived her life with a twinkle in her eye, a spunky attitude, a wicked sense of humor and a smile on her face."

Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys has called "Be My Baby" the greatest pop recording ever produced.

Tributes to Spector's talent began pouring in from music royalty.

"I just heard the news about Ronnie Spector and I don't know what to say," Wilson wrote on Twitter.

Ronnie's music and spirit will live forever."

Joan Jett said Spector's "mark on rock and roll is indelible."

Born Veronica Bennett in the Spanish Harlem neighborhood of New York City, she formed the Ronettes in 1961 with an older sister and a cousin while she was still a teenager.

The group didn't become famous until after they auditioned two years later for music producer Phil Spector, creator of the 1960s' "Wall of Sound" style, who signed them to his label.

Fueled by the runaway success of "Be My Baby," their first single for Spector, they toured the country with Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars and reeled off a string of pop hits over the next several years, including "Baby I Love You," "Walking in the Rain" and "Do I Love You?"

The girl group also became hugely popular in England, where the Ronettes headlined over acts such as the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton and The Yardbirds, according to Ronnie Spector's website, and later opened for the Beatles on their final US tour in 1966.

The group broke up in 1967.

Although she never again reached the commercial peak of her '60s heyday, she returned to Top 40 radio singing with Eddie Money on his 1986 hit, "Take Me Home Tonight."

In 1988, Ronnie Spector and the Ronettes sued Phil Spector for more than $10 million in royalties and licensing fees.