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With the success of “Walking in the Rain,” the popularity of the group had clearly peaked. In February 1965, Philles Records released the group’s next single, “Born to Be Together”, which peaked only at number 52 on the Billboard 100.

Over the course of the next year, the Ronettes recorded a whole catalog of songs, which Phil Spector refused to release once they were completed. Many attribute this to his insecurities and his love for the group’s lead singer, Ronnie. As the popularity of the Ronettes became greater and greater, the relationship between Spector and Ronnie became more serious, to the point of which they were basically living together. Spector then decided he didn’t want Ronnie and the Ronettes to become too popular, in fear they would one day outgrow him. So he tried to reverse the whole star-making process by not releasing the records the Ronettes were contractually obligated to make. This allowed for Motown group The Supremes to rise in popularity, and eclipse the Ronettes as the most popular girl group in the music industry.

Among the songs the Ronettes recorded during this time that went unreleased were “Paradise”, “Everything Under the Sun” and “I Wish I Never Saw the Sun Shine”. All three songs individually have since been covered by other artists such as The Shangri-Las, The Supremes, and Ike and Tina Turner, among others.

Perhaps their biggest loss was the Spector, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich song “Chapel of Love”, which the Ronettes recorded in early 1964. They were the first to record their version of the song, but Spector refused to release it as a single. Their version of the song eventually did come out of their Philles LP, but by then The Dixie Cups had already achieved mainstream notoriety for it. “We thought it was such a great record that we practically begged [Phil Spector] to put it out,” Ronnie Spector later wrote.[34] “Then the Dixie Cups’ version came out and it was a smash! It was so depressing.”[34]

In June 1965, the Ronettes’ next single, “Is This What I Get For Loving You?”, was released, becoming only a minor hit, reaching only number 75 on the Billboard 100. The song was popular enough for the group to make appearances on the popular TV shows Hullabaloo, Hollywood A Go-Go and Shivaree, but it was a failed attempt to get the Ronettes another top ten hit, especially when The Supremes scored their fifth consecutive number-one record with “Back in My Arms Again”.

Some have also attributed the decline of the Ronettes’ recording career to the fact Phil Spector was not enthusiastic over his promotion of the group, which stemmed from his insecurities about his intimate relationship with Ronnie.[35]

There were also some problems within the group. “You also have to remember that Nedra and Estelle stood in the background while I got to bask in the spotlight,” Ronnie later wrote.[36] “I was the one who flew out to California and sang lead on all our records. I was the one deejays wanted to talk to. And I was the one our producer was in love with, which meant I get the preferential treatment in all kinds of other ways which drove them crazy.”[36]

“I hated the ‘dog-eat-dog’ side of show-business,” Nedra Talley later commented.[37] “I hated pushing for the next record and the feeling of failure if we didn’t get it. There was a continual demand on us to produce that I thought was unfair. My personality didn’t like that.”[37] Nedra’s disdain for show business also became partly fueled by her desire to marry and settle down with her boyfriend, DJ Scott Ross.