Linda Ronstadt

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.

i got a mint OP of Trio and it is stunning:-) 

I'm not a fan of all of her work (for instance, the Riddle standards) but I have absolutely loved her voice for 50 years or more.  I had the pleasure of seeing/hearing her open for Neil Young in the early 70's and also witnessed a rather impromptu one-off performance where she was backed by Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen around the same time.  Besides being my favorite female soloist, she's also great in duo situations, such as with Paul Simon ("Under African Skies") or Los Lobos' David Hidalgo ("El Chubasco").