Linda Ronstadt, The #8 Female Artist of the Rock Era

Linda Ronstadt was born in Tucson, Arizona.  She listened to many types of music, including Mexican music, and has often remarked that she heard every type of music she has ever recorded by the age of 10.  Linda credits her father for introducing her to the traditional pop and Great American Songbook repertoire that she would, in turn, reintroduce to a new generation.

At age 14, Ronstadt began a folk music trio with brother Peter and sister Suzy.  They played coffeehouses and other small venues as the Union City Ramblers and the Three Ronstadt's.  The group recorded songs at a Tucson studio under the name of the New Union Ramblers.

But Ronstadt wanted to blend folk with rock & roll, and in 1964, after a semester in college at Arizona State in Tucson, she moved to Los Angeles.

Linda's friend, Bobby Kimmel, whom she had visited in L.A. twice before, had begun co-writing folk-rock songs with guitarist and songwriter Kenny Edwards, and eventually, the three formed the group the Stone Poneys.  They signed with Capitol Records in 1966 and released three albums in a 15-month period.  The group is famous for their #13 song from 1967, "Different Drum".

In 1969, Ronstadt released her debut solo album, Hand Sown...Home Grown, which has been described by the publication Dirty Linen as "the first alternative country record by a female recording artist."  She was still a virtual unknown when she toured with the Doors, Jackson Browne, Neil Young, and others.

Linda sang on commercials during this time, including one for Remington electric razors.  For her next solo album, Linda hired Elliot Mazer on the advice of Janis Joplin, who had worked with him on her Cheap Thrills album.  In 1970, Ronstadt released the album Silk Purse.  "Long Long Time" became her first solo hit, #15 in Canada and a highly underrated #25 in the United States, making it easily one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.  Ronstadt was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Contemporary Vocal Performance, and should have won it.

Ronstadt's early backing band was the country-rock group Swampwater.  Another backing group of musicians backed her for her third album--Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner, who toured with her briefly in 1971 before forming one of The Top 10 Artists of All-Time* as the Eagles.  Linda began working with producer and boyfriend John Boylan, with Ronstadt also co-producing her albums.  

Ronstadt chose to leave Capitol for David Geffen's Asylum Records.  Ronstadt released the album Don't Cry Now in 1973, produced mostly by J.D. Souther.  "Silver Threads and Golden Needles", originally recorded on her debut album, was re-recorded for Don't Cry Now. 

The album also contained two other long-term winners, the first of which was written by Ronstadt's former musicians, Don Henley and Glenn Frey--"Desperado".

Another prime cut on the album, on which Linda sings superb vocals, is "Love Has No Pride".

Peter Asher, formerly of Peter & Gordon, who went on to become a respected producer, produced two of the songs on Don't Cry Now.  The album was Linda's biggest to this point, selling 300,000 copies by the end of 1974.

Asher became a key component of Ronstadt's success, as he was more in tune with her than other producer she had worked with.  Peter agreed to be her full-time producer, a role he fulfilled through the late 1980s.  Linda began blending country music and ranchera music (which she called "Mexican bluegrass") with rock and roll. 

After Joni Mitchell, Ronstadt became the second female artist to produce entire albums of quality material.  Along with the aforementioned Eagles and other artists, Ronstadt helped bring Country Rock to the forefront of the music business in the early to mid-70s. 

Although she had been recording since 1967, Ronstadt did not effectively "arrive" until 1975.  That was the year of the album Heart Like a Wheel, her big breakthrough.  She included cover versions, for which she was to become famous for, and began a rare streak of achieving more success with her versions than the originals.  New songwriters who wrote songs for Ronstadt were discovered largely because of Linda not only recording their songs, but interpreting them in a way only Ronstadt could.

The first single, "You're No Good", became a #1 song, in fact the only one of her career; it was #7 in Canada and #17 in the Netherlands. 

Linda's version of the Everly Brothers hit "When Will I Be Loved", with a more up-tempo version featuring Ronstadt belting out the lyrics, did not hit #1 on the Billboard chart, but it was a solid #2, in fact one of The Top #2 Songs of the Rock Era*, and #7 in Canada.

Heart Like a Wheel featured guitar work from Andrew Gold, who would eventually become yet another famous alumnus of Linda's backing musicians, enjoying hits with "Thank You for Being a Friend" and "Lonely Boy" later in the decade.  Ronstadt's album went to #1 and has now sold over two million copies in the United States alone.

Ronstadt won a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)", originally a Country hit for Hank Williams.  Ronstadt was also nominated for Album of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (for her work on the album).

Linda was in a zone through this phase of her career.  In 1975, she released the album Prisoner In Disguise.  The first single was "Love Is A Rose", which was looking like it would be a hit.  But Asylum, noticing that Linda's remake of "Heat Wave" was getting considerable airplay, pulled the single and made "Love Is A Rose" the "B" side of "Heat Wave".  The former was a #5 Country hit, but stalled at #63 after the switch.

The aforementioned "Heat Wave" became one of Linda's biggest hits, #5 in the U.S. and #12 in Canada. 

Prisoner In Disguise also reached the Top 5 of the Album chart and sold over one million copies.  Ronstadt delivered a super remake of "Tracks Of My Tears", a #4 Adult smash and highly underrated #25 overall in the U.S. 

In 1976, Ronstadt became the first female artist in history to have three consecutive Platinum albums with the release of the great album Hasten Down the Wind.

Linda earned another Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.  Ronstadt's remake of the Buddy Holly hit "That'll Be The Day" led things off, climbing to #2 in Canada and #11 in the United States.

Linda also included a super cover of a Karla Bonoff song.  "Someone To Lay Down Beside Me" only reached #42, making it another of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.

Ronstadt also scored a Top 10 Country hit with her remake of Willie Nelson's "Crazy".  Linda released her Greatest Hits album that year, which has now gone over seven million in sales. 

But Linda's next album became her biggest studio release, shooting up to #1 for five straight weeks and selling over 3.5 million copies in the United States alone within a year.  She was in a class all her own with her fourth consecutive Platinum album.  Ronstadt would eventually extend that streak to eight straight! 

Simple Dreams owns the distinction of replacing the legendary Fleetwood Mac album Rumours at #1 on the Album chart.  Not just anyone knocks The #1 Album of the Rock Era* out of the top spot.  Linda was the undisputed Queen of the Remake, giving songs her personal touch that often made them better than the originals.  Her cover of the Roy Orbison hit "Blue Bayou" was a multi-format smash--#2 Country, #3 Adult, and #3 Top 40, also #2 in Canada and #3 in New Zealand. 

Ronstadt took another Buddy Holly smash to the Top 5 in the United States, and also hit #9 in Canada and #11 in New Zealand.  

In February, Time magazine featured Ronstadt on the cover.  Linda released the single "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" next, an underrated #31.  The song was written by Warren Zevon, who became known shortly afterwards with "Werewolves of London".

Ronstadt garnered Grammy Award nominations for Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance/Female for "Blue Bayou", and won art director John Kosh a Grammy for Best Album Cover, the first of three he would win designing Ronstadt album covers.  Linda collected another Top 10 Country hit with "I Will Never Marry".  It is also appropriate to feature her version of the Rolling Stones hit "Tumbling Dice" on Simple Dreams. 

Simple Dreams was also #1 in Australia and on both the Pop and Country Album charts in Canada.  Linda had already been on a roll--Simple Dreams made her a superstar, easily the most successful female rock and roll and country star in the world.

Linda sang the U.S. National Anthem prior to Game Three of the 1977 World Series in Los Angeles.  The following year, the red-hot Ronstadt released the album Living in the USA.  The lead single was "Back in the U.S.A.", surprisingly more popular in Canada (#8) than in the U.S.A. (#16). 

Ronstadt starred in the movie FM, where disc jockeys attempted to broadcast a Ronstadt concert live.  Linda performed "Poor Poor Pitiful Me", "Love Me Tender" and "Tumbling Dice" in the movie. 

In 1978, Rolling Stone called Linda "by far America's best-known female rock singer."  Ronstadt achieved a record-tying third #1 album with her latest, equaling the mark by females set by Carole King.  Her hit "Ooh Baby Baby" reached #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #7 overall in the U.S. and #6 in Canada.  Even more impressive, the single reached all four major singles charts (Pop, AC, Country and R&B), a nearly unprecedented feat.    

Ronstadt achieved something more that was in fact unprecedented.  Living in the USA became the first album in music history to ship Double Platinum, meaning it had sold two million copies before it was even released.  That's how hot she was.  It eventually sold over three million.  Her single "Just One Look" reached #5 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

By the end of the year, Ronstadt became the first woman to sell out concerts in arenas and stadiums hosting tens of thousands of fans.  She became the top female earner in rock, now with six Platinum albums, three of them #1, with 18 hits in a wild nine-year period.

In 1978, Ronstadt made $12 million, equivalent to $43 million in today's dollars, and she sold 17 million albums, the equivalent of $170 million in today's dollars.  Her Greatest Hits album, released in 1976, would be a consistent seller for the next 25 years, and in 2001, was certified as having sold seven million copies.  

At the end of 1979, Billboard bestowed upon Ronstadt trophies for the #1 Female Artist of the Year, #1 Pop Female Album Artist of the Year and #1 Pop Female Singles Artist of the Year.  Many of Ronstadt's concerts were recorded live on radio or television. 

In 1979, Ronstadt went on an international tour, playing in arenas from Australia to Japan.  She had sung folk, country, and rock, which was extremely impressive coming from just one singer.  But the one-of-a-kind Ronstadt hadn't even begun to show the versatility that she alone displayed in her career.

Ronstadt was named by the Recording Industry of America (RIAA) as the Top Female Pop Vocalist of the 1970's. Linda won a Special Decade Award from Cashbox magazine as the top-selling female singer of the 70's. Ronstadt appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone six times, as well as Time and Newsweek covers.  The Chicago Sun Times called Linda "the Dean of the 1970's school of female rock singers", and Redbook praised her as "the most successful female rock star in the world".

In 1979, Ronstadt contributed to the album In Harmony:  A Sesame Street Record.  Although Linda did not win an award as a participant in the project, the album won the Grammy for Best Musical Album for Children.

Then, she continued to raise the bar by recording New Wave on her album Mad Love.  "How Do I Make You" reached #10 in the U.S. and #15 in Canada.  How could so many great songs in so many styles come from one artist?

Mad Love became Linda's seventh consecutive Platinum album.  It became a #3 album, and Linda was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone for a record sixth time.  Ronstadt notched another big hit with "Hurt So Bad'--#8 in the U.S.

Linda earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance/Female, and she was nominated for an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist.  She released an amazing cover of the Hollies' song "I Can't Let Go", yet another of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era* at #31.

In 1980, Linda released her Greatest Hits, Volume II, and it too reached Platinum status.  She also sang backing vocals for the Dirt Band on their hit "An American Dream".

In the summer of 1980, Ronstadt began rehearsing in the first of several lead performances in musicals.  She starred alongside Kevin Kline in The Pirates of Penzance, which began as a limited engagement in New York City's Central Park, but moved to Broadway when it became a hit. 

          Of Ronstadt's performance, Newsweek said:   "...she has not dodged the coloratura demands of her  role (and Mabel is one of the most demanding parts in the G&S canon):  from her entrance trilling 'Poor Wand'ring One', it is clear that she is prepared to scale whatever soprano peaks stand in her way."

Ronstadt was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for her work on The Pirates of Penzance.

Linda starred with Kline and Angela Lansbury in the 1983 operetta's film version, and Ronstadt was nominated for a Golden Globe for her role in the movie.  Linda also gained a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for her Broadway performance, and the musical won several Tony Awards. 

In 1982, Ronstadt released the album Get Closer, which included the #7 Adult Contemporary hit "Easy For You To Say".

Ronstadt toured North America as one of the top concert draws that summer and fall.  In November, her "Happy Thanksgiving Day" concert in Dallas, Texas was broadcast live via satellite to NBC radio stations throughout the United States.  Linda earned two Grammy Award nominations, one for Best Pop Vocal Performance/Female for the album, and another for Best Rock Vocal Performance/Female for the title track from her album.

Linda then pivoted from the New Wave album of 1980 to the 1983 album recorded with Nelson Riddle and his orchestra, when she began to introduce a new generation to The Great American Songbook.  As Linda herself said, "Rampant eclecticism is my middle name."  The title track from What's New landed at #5 on the AC chart.

The follow-up was another song that allowed Ronstadt to shine.  "I've Got A Crush On You" was a #7 Adult Contemporary hit.

Ronstadt and Riddle performed these songs in concert halls throughout the United States, Australia, and Japan, including multi-night shows at Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall and Pine Knob.

What's New spent 81 weeks on the Album chart, reaching #3 behind only Michael Jackson's Thriller and Can't Slow Down by Lionel Richie.  It has now cleared three million in sales.  Ronstadt was nominated for a Grammy Award for the album for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

In 1984, Ronstadt continued her explorations with the album Lush Life, which contained the #12 AC hit "Skylark".  The album is approaching two million copies sold, and earned Linda her twelfth Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.  Linda was also nominated for an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist.

Ronstadt sang backing vocals for Paul Simon on his landmark album Graceland on the track "Under African Skies".  Lyrics in the song pay tribute to Ronstadt ("Take this child, Oh Lord, from Tucson, Arizona...")

In 1986, Linda released the album For Sentimental Reasons, the third album of the trilogy with Riddle, which included "When I Fall in Love".

That album also went Platinum, giving the Ronstadt/Riddle combination seven million albums sold.  That year, Ronstadt, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris began recording the critically-acclaimed album Trio.  The three friends had wanted to do the project as far back as 1978, but it had never come together until then, and the album was released in 1987.

The album sold over three million copies in the United States alone, and won them a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.  The trio's cover of "To Know Him Is To Love Him" reached #1 on the Country chart, and was one of four Country Top 10's on the album.  Trio was also nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammys.

Also that year, Ronstadt's duet with James Ingram, "Somewhere Out There", was featured in the animated movie An American Tail.

The smash hit was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, and won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year.  Ronstadt and Ingram were also nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

 In 1988, Ronstadt returned to Broadway for the musical adaptation of her album celebrating her Mexican heritage, Canciones De Mi Padre - A Romantic Evening in Old Mexico, which sold over two million copies. 

The album was a reflection of her roots.  In 1946, her aunt, Luisa Espinel, had published a booklet entitled Canciones de mi Padre.  Espinel was an international singer in the 1920's and 1930's.  Espinel's father was Fred Ronstadt, Linda's grandfather, and the songs she had learned and published were some of the songs he had brought with him from Sonora.   Ronstadt researched and recorded some of the favorites she had learned from her father Gilbert.  She named the album as a tribute to her father and his family.  Linda won her fifth career Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American Performance.

Ronstadt performed a theatrical stage show in performances in the United States and Latin America.  These performances were recorded and released on DVD under the same name, Canciones de mi Padre.  Linda returned to Broadway for a limited engagement.  The PBS show Great Performances aired the stage show, earning Ronstadt an Emmy Award for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program.  

In 1989, Ronstadt completed her "comeback" to the popular music scene with the album Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind, yet another chapter in her amazing story.  Aaron Neville sang on several of the tracks, and Ronstadt also enlisted the help of the Tower of Power horn section, the Skywalker Symphony, the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, and numerous other musicians. 

Ronstadt and Neville combined for their remake of the great Bill Medley song "Don't Know Much".  They hit #2 overall and #1 on the AC chart in the U.S., and reached #1 in Canada, #2 in the U.K., #4 in New Zealand and #6 in the Netherlands. 

Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind was Linda's tenth Top 10 album, and sold over three million copies in the United States alone.  The duo's follow-up, "All My Life", gave them another #1 Adult Contemporary smash that was #11 overall, and #1 in Canada. 

The duo won both the 1989 and 1990 Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal awards, and Ronstadt was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, for the album.

In 1991, Linda released the album Mas Canciones, a follow-up Latin America album that won the Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album.  The following year, she recorded an album of "Afro-Cuban" songs, entitled Frenesi.  It too won a Grammy for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album.

In 1994, Ronstadt, Parton & Harris planned to reunite for the album Trio II, but, just as before, the second project was unfinished and delayed.  Ronstadt included some of the studio work on her 1995 album Feels Like Home. 

In 1996, Ronstadt recorded the album Dedicated to the One I Love, and won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Album for Children, her ninth career Grammy.

In 1999, however, Ronstadt, Parton and Harris agreed to release the Trio II album as it was originally recorded.  The album sold over 500,000 copies, and won the three another Grammy Award for their remake of Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush".  The album was also nominated for Best Country Album.

Ronstadt's work with Harris on Western Wall:  The Tucson Sessions was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

Ronstadt joined her former backing group, the Eagles, and Jackson Browne in concert to celebrate the end-of-the millennium on December 31, 1999 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

In 2002, Linda was co-producer of Cristal--Glass Music Through the Ages, a classical music album using glass instruments with Dennis James.  James had played the glass harmonica on Linda's albums Winter Light, Feels Like Home, and Dedicated to the One I Love. 

In 2004, Ronstadt released the album Hummin' to Myself, her only album of traditional jazz.  Although she did little to promote the album, it still reached #2 on the Jazz Albums chart.

In 2006, Ronstadt collaborated with Ann Savoy for the album Adieu False Heart, and earned yet another Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Folk Album.  Ronstadt toured to support the album, but both the tour and album were her last, as she had begun to lose her singing ability.

In 2007, Ronstadt was the headline performer at the famous Newport Folk Festival, one of her final public performances.  In 2009, Linda received an honorary doctorate of music degree from the Berklee College of Music for her "achievements and influence in music, and her contributions to American and international culture."

 In 2011, Ronstadt won a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys.

In 2011, Linda announced her retirement.  The following year, Linda was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, which made it impossible for this blessed talent to sing anymore, and she made this diagnosis official in 2013 in an interview with AARP, giving the world the bad news that she could no longer "sing a note".  Music fans everywhere were deeply saddened.


Ronstadt published her autobiography, Simple Dreams:  A Musical, which debuted in the Top 10 on The New York Times Best Sellers List.  Shortly before she was to be featured on Inside The Rock Era as The #9 Female Artist of the Rock Era*, Linda was elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and will be formally inducted in a ceremony this April.

Ronstadt has three #1 albums, 10 Top 10 albums, and 36 charted albums.  Nineteen of her albums have gone Gold, with 14 reaching Platinum status and seven Multi-Platinum.  Her albums have not been certified by the RIAA since 2001, but at that time, she had sold over 30 million albums in the U.S. and 60 million worldwide.  According to her manager Peter Asher, her correct sales are 48 million in the United States and over 100 worldwide.

Ronstadt has scored one number one song, three #2 hits, 10 Top 10 hits and 32 Billboard Hot 100 hits.  On the Adult Contemporary chart, Linda has posted 38 hits, with 14 reaching the Top 10 and two number ones.  Her great voice has been featured on over 120 albums.  Ronstadt has won 11 Grammy Awards out of 27 nominations, and one Emmy Award.

She has collaborated with the Eagles, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Dolly Parton, Bette Midler, Neil Young, Rosemary Clooney, Andrew Gold, Aaron Neville, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Randy Newman, J.D. Souther, Hoyt Axton, Nicolette Larson, Maria Muldaur, Warren Zevon, Emmylou Harris, Karla Bonoff, Rodney Crowell, Gram Parsons, Wendy Waldman, Earl Scruggs, the Chieftans, Flaco Jimenez and Billy Eckstine, among many others.