Interview with Ronnie Spector

Christmas wouldn't be the same without Ronnie Spector's soulful voice filling the house. The Ronettes' versions of "Sleigh Ride," "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" and "Frosty the Snowman" on the classic 1963 LP "A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector" (produced by her ex-husband) rank among the best holiday pop recordings of all time. Now the 67-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee has released a five-track seasonal follow-up, "Ronnie Spector's Best Christmas Ever." She's also one of the main subjects in Keith Richards' autobiography, "Life." We spoke to her by phone from her home in Connecticut.

Q: I know how much you love Christmas. How did you ever make it through Thanksgiving?

A: I went to my husband's family's house, and all I could think about was Christmas. I was sitting there eating, thinking, "I can't wait." And then we got in our car and "Sleigh Ride" was playing.

Q: What goes through your head when you hear one of your own songs on the radio?

A: It's a great feeling. I'm so happy to be affiliated with Christmas. The other day, I was grocery shopping and "Frosty the Snowman" was playing. I'm standing in line and shouted, "That's me!" People think I'm a little nuts when I do that, but they know who I am here. I think they play my records on purpose because they know me.

Q: What Christmas records get the most play in your house?

A: I always play "A Christmas Gift for You." I have no bitterness. No anger. I love my records. Forget the person who made them, if you get my drift.

Q: What took you so long to make a follow-up?

A: My fans said, "You only have three songs. You need to make more." So that's what I did. Let me tell you: I love that I did it. You know what Keith Richards said to me? He said, "I love your new CD so much. Your new stuff is a bitch." That was his compliment to me.

Q: He has a lot of nice things to say about you in his autobiography, "Life."

A: Keith Richards is so nice. You have no idea. He lives 15 minutes away from me. I see him dropping his kids off at school. I remember one day he's standing outside, beer in one hand, cigarette in the other, picking up his daughter. The great thing was he wasn't driving. He played on my record and didn't charge anything.

Q: Didn't Richards want to marry you at one point?

A: He gave me his book and on the first page he wrote, "It's a love affair." For 40 years, we've had fun together. He's innocent and I'm innocent. People think he's been on all these drugs and has had all these women. But he's only been with, like, two women. He doesn't do drugs anymore. He has a beer or two. Give him a break. He's so nice. I should have married Keith. Our kids would have had great hair. {sbox}

To hear Ronnie Spector's music, go to ww.ronniespector.com.

Follow Aidin Vaziri at twitter.com/MusicSF. E-mail him at avaziri@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page Q - 40 of the San Francisco Chronicle