Linda Ronstadt


I'm listening to a most interesting  2013 interview on "Fresh Air" with Linda Ronstadt. Highly recommended.
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@tomic601, the documentary is great, loved it. I was never that big a fan, being a Country purist and all ;-) . I liked her voice, but she always had a Rock band trying to play Country-ish music, which I don’t like (same reason I never liked The Eagles). By the time she had started recording, I was already listening to Hank Williams, Lefty Frizzell, Hank Thompson, The Louvin Brothers, Johnny Horton, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Patsy Cline, Moon Mullican, Jerry Lee Lewis (on Smash Records), Carl Perkins, Webb Pierce, Bill Monroe, Bob Wills, and many more. I wasn’t interested in interlopers ;-), who sounded like they had just discovered the music. The older singers sounded like they grew up on the music, and had lived the lyrics.

One cool thing about the movie is seeing and hearing Linda’s Dad, a real good singer himself, and the Mexican half of her parentage. Seeing him in the south-of-the-border culture really puts the lie to the shameful, politically-motivated way it is being characterized by a certain individual.

But let me tell ya, seeing her singing live in the movie gave me a new-found appreciation for the quality and power of her voice. Damn she was good! What Elvis Costello said about her in the late-70’s was hogwash; she was a much better singer than his wife will ever be, or, for that matter, will he. Talk about forced, over-the-top vibrato!

ya man, her roots always showed just had to dig. Try both of her South of the border ( which aint a line ) albums for true soul, emotion and recording finesse.they are both references for me. Also, as you know Cooder shares some of the same vibe...as does Jackson B
but i will look at your list of country purists and see who I missed....ha

also the New Yorker article directly addresses her move to San Francisco to skip the neo border racism being taught to children by parents, sad.....but true. And of course, music is all about rebellion and pushback and has been for centuries...
I ordered Crows’ Threads on vinyl today, listening on Tidal, hope the analog is this good.....touching and activist...suits my mood

thoughts on first listen soon....
I continue to love Linda.  She may not have strictly adhered to the styles that the songs she sang demanded, but her intelligence, sheer vocal chops and adventurous spirit made her compelling, anyway.  I saw her perform, either at the Hollywood Bowl or the Greek Theater in L.A., in her famous trio with Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton.  Outstanding.