For the first time, the Ronettes are one of the nine nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Having become eligible 18 years ago, why did it take so long for them to get nominated? Ronnie Spector confirms the long-held rumor:

“We have been nominated before, but this time we might make it. People finally have caught up with what my ex [Phil Spector] was doing all those years. Now everybody sees what was going on.”
Asked to elaborate, Spector says her ex had written a letter in 1994 telling Hall of Fame voters not to nominate the Ronettes, because the group was his creation. “My [current] husband (Greenfield) was given a copy of the letter by a business associate,” says Spector.

Phil Spector is currently free on $1 million bail while he awaits trial for murder. Presumably, he no longer has any influence on the Rock Hall proceedings.

Keeping in mind the large number of voters that are products of the 60's, and the lack of other similar artists on this year's ballot, this may in fact be the year that the Ronettes get inducted.