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, ably abetted by Darlene Love and the Blossoms, Bobby Sheen (a.k.a.

[2] 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.

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.

"It doesn't sound like a hit,"[3] 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.