Linda Ronstadt was the Beyoncé of the 70s, says Bonnie Raitt

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Linda's "You're No Good" didn't make me forget Betty Everett's, nor Dee Dee Warwick's.

Actress? You call that acting? O.K.

You mean Beyonce is the Linda Ronstadt of the 2000s.

[quote]Beyoncé is a songwriter, dancer, actress, model, fashion designer, and humanitarian. She’s a global brand.

Like McDonald's, say. And about as memorable.

I bet to differ too: Linda could sing.

Raitt meant they were very good looking women and very famous. But Linda Ronstadt was a terrible live performer with zero appeal and Beyonce is the world's greatest and most worshipped live entertainer. She's on the level of Prince and MJ and Tina Turner. Beyonce can sing and dance and inspire and provoke and lead us all at once. She is a cultural phenomenon. And a GREAT singer. Linda was JUST a singer.

The Beyonce comparison isn't that off. They both do that quasi yodel bellow.

I can't wait for Beyonce's career to head straight down the shitter.

[quote]When the impact of the Seventies rock touring lifestyle comes up, Geffen mentions her use of diet pills; Ronstadt herself, however, doesn’t comment on that story or how it affected her. In some ways, she remains a mystery in her own documentary.

Diet pills? She won't even cop to diet pills when it was really cocaine?

It sounds like an infomercial than a documentary.

R7 Beyonce is NOT a great singer. And that is why people have stopped buying her songs.

Beyonce has a terrible voice, she sounds like she's singing with marbles in her mouth.

^She's gotta save the good stuff for her book.

Babe Paley is a vulgar piece of ancient fag trash. I don't take musical or any other kind of instruction from that thing.

Beyonce is the most overrated performer living today.

I take some delight in her last two albums bombing.

The diet pills were referenced in the recent interview posted on another thread. Ronstadt didn't deny her use of them, only that they were a problem.

Did she snort those "diet pills"?

I had not heard Betty Everett's version of "You're No Good" before this thread. I like it. Dee Dee Warwick's, too. It has always been one of my least favorite songs by Linda. The other two women...it's better by them. I wonder why they didn't play either one on 77 WABC in '63 or '64. They played "The Shoop Shoop Song."

Beyonce? Oh, please. Just...oh, fucking please. She should have been a one-hit wonder, with that song Justin Timberlake parodied on SNL.

I expect Warwick's version was too tough sounding for the radio of the time, from the vocals to the guitar.

The Betty Everett version was slinkier, and more restrained for the majority of the song. More "ladylike." Maybe it was a touch too "tasteful" to really catch fire. "It's In His Kiss" didn't become a hit untile the added "Shoop Shoop" (ask Merry Clayton and Ramona King).

I hear "shoop, shoop, shoop" in Merry Clayton's version.

The instrumental break is awful on Clayton's version. It reminds me of the gay bar scene in "Police Academy."

You will remember my name.

I never thought I'd ever see Beyoncé and Linda Ronstadt in the same sentence. Linda is a much better singer than Beyoncé.

I think Bonnie Raitt was referring to how Linda Ronstadt's talents became exalted because of her looks. It must've been frustrating for someone like Bonnie Raitt, who was also good-looking, who could play guitar, who had an amazing and sexy voice, and who wrote songs.

BR didn't wear short shorts, shirt tied at the waist, etc.

I was a fan of Linda Ronstadt, but when I listen now it sounds like her voice is straining all the time.

Bonnie Raitt wasn't really considered good looking, was she?

People weren’t all those things at once back then, 0P.

"songwriter, dancer, actress, model, fashion designer, and humanitarian"

Oh, honey!

Bonnie Raitt was ten times the singer that Ronstadt is. And she knows it. People here get pretty vocal tones confused with good singing. Ronstadt was a choppy, blaring, shouting kind of singer with poor phrasing and breath control. She couldn't sustain notes so she either yelled them or they trailed off weakly. Her voice was powerful and pretty, but she's wasn't a great singer.

R27 , I thought Bonnie Raitt was good-looking. I thought she was sexy, her voice especially, how she played guitar.

I'm posting BR singing "Runaway" at the No Nukes concert. It's old and you can laugh if you like, but her voice and performance are F-in' sexy. (That's not BR in the thumbnail.)

I hate to compare and be a stan, but I do think she is more talented than Linda Ronstadt.

I agree that Raitt is better all round than Ronstadt, and she deserves plaudits for not constantly covering other people's hits.

OMG! R21 is that Star Jones on that record label?

I knew that bitch was OLD!

Talent is quantifiable. Bonnie is unquestionably more talented than Linda, by vast measures. But, like my church choir leader told me at age 13, boys don't make passes at girls who sing alto.

R13, I think she was still being billed as "Little Starlet Jones" back then. I think she was dating Ketty Lester.

Regardless, r34, I have never felt the urge to buy any more than the two Bonnie Raitt albums I own. I have all of Linda's records.

[quote]and she deserves plaudits for not constantly covering other people's hits.

All of Raitt's biggest hits were covers or songs written by others except Nick of Time which was written by her.

I get Linda isn't everyone's cup of tea, but these criticisms are ridiculous. Just a singer. As if that's such a bad thing. How many of these all around entertainers can sing Opera and traditional mariachi music? And pull it off successfully?

Why does DL delight in comparing women? Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, and Beyoncé are all huge talents.

Bonnie started it, r38.

I just checked and was shocked to find Linda has had only 1 Number One songs. She had 10 Top 10 hits.

[quote] But, like my church choir leader told me at age 13, boys don't make passes at girls who sing alto.

I've never heard this saying. Does it mean that singing soprano is the sexy pinnacle for women? IMO, Linda Ronstadt would probably not be considered soprano. Most female pop singers don't sing soprano, IMO.

r40, most of us bought her albums, starting with Heart like a Wheel in 1974.

What an insult to Linda Ronstadt....Beyonce is a no talent hack....she really cant sing and she definitely cant act. Just because people bought her dribble disguised as music does not make he a music powerhouse....people bought Justin Bieber songs and made him a superstar also...but he...and Beyonce are FAR from Iconic.

Christ no, I never bought a Linda Fucking Ronstadt album. Dafuq?

People who arent that familiar with her...or are too young....dont realize that the real treasure and talent of Linda Ronstadt are NOT on her radio top 10 hits....its in her albums...THATS where you find it...unlike most artists who have a hit or two on an album, but the rest sucks, Ronstadt albums were usually a master class in recordings...seriously....thats why you NEVER hear anything bad about her and only admiration.

Riatt was being polite. Ronstadt once was big 9as a performer). The one thing she shares with Beyonce is a limited range.

[quote]Ronstadt was a choppy, blaring, shouting kind of singer with poor phrasing and breath control.

Every singer has their strengths and weaknesses, so it's best not to compare. Streisand was the only one who had it all. Yes, there were others who could do certain things better, but Barbra could do it all and then some. Honorable mention to Aretha, Ariana, Celine and Whitney.

Linda was only exceptional when she was belting, much like Shirley Bassey. They could really blow, but their soft singing voices and mid-ranges were nothing special.

Linda should have never attempted opera. She was way out of her league. Her performance in Pirates of Pennoli was dreadful.

You must not know music because Linda Ronstadt was one of the greatest voices of the 20th Century. No one will listen to Beyonce in the future. She stole Tina Turner’s act and her voice is a strained mess.

Streisand never attempted opera or sang in other languages.

R49 That is not true. On Classical Barbra, she sang in other languages.

And she sang in French and German on other albums and TV specials.

Albums and Tv specials are not live performances.

Linda sang live for forty years and maintained her voice. She was on Broadway for almost a year doing Pirates, and did her Mariachi show for two years on Broadway and on the road.

Streisand was an infrequent live performer and her voice crumbled when she started to tour regularly much later in her career.

R51 You are an idiot. You never said anything about "live" in your original post, which I corrected. Fuck off.

If you want to say that Barbra is superior to every other female singer, then be adult enough to deal with criticism.

The Streisand loons are a tiresome bunch who think the sun rises and sets on her ass.

Barbra Streisand is the only person in the world who can act, sing, and dance (aside from Corky).

"Beyoncé is a songwriter..."

[quote]If you want to say that Barbra is superior to every other female singer, then be adult enough to deal with criticism.

I never even said that. You said that Barbra never sang in other languages, which is demonstrably false.

Again, fuck off.

R31, who’s the chick doing the background vocals? She’s got an amazing voice herself

"if I were a boooyyyyy!!!!"

I think it's Rosemary Butler, R57.

Beyonce can’t even read let alone write.

Beyonce is so OVERRATED!

Finally, her songs are hot charting.

But is pink still the navy blue of India?

And is the buttcrack still the new cleavage?

That Babe Paley poster is a nasty drunk. How old is the ancient racist queen? I'm guessing 75. It's time for bed pops.

R63 is an impoverished queen living 15 years ago when Beyonce was still a thing.

I'm not impoverished. And I'm not a queen or old like you Babe Paley. Ronstadt herself likes Beyonce. Most people in the music business do. Singers have ears - unlike dying Streisand fans.

[quote] I like most of the mainstream female vocalists. I like Sia. They’re all good — Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Katy Perry, they have plenty of talent and they can perform. And I like that little group called First Aid Kit.”

Also, Ronstadt seems to understand her place and doesn't inflate her level of importance. You should take notes, old queer - Babe Paley. Y'all don't want a fight with me. Watch your mouth old man and go to bed now. You're drunk.

[quote]I had a lot of formidable competition. Joni Mitchell and Carole King — I felt like the freshman class and they were the senior class. Fortunately, I’ve never felt that music is a competition, so it doesn’t matter if Joni Mitchell can sing better than I can, or Bonnie Raitt, who can sing rings around me anytime.

I always enjoyed Linda's music. But I have to agree she was a terrible actress. And she sounded like crap live.

I DO so hugely enjoy seeing endless posts about Barbra Streisand on a Linda Ronstadt and Beyoncé thread.

[Quote] All of Raitt's biggest hits were covers or songs written by others

Bonnie did not take the easy route and cover megahits in a soft rock fashion, as Linda did.

It took Bonnie a long long long time to really break through. She was very well known among musical circles and was part of that whole West Coast rock scene, but she didn’t break into the upper charts and pop/adult radio until fairly late in her career. That shows diligence on her part to keep plugging along, and the record companies faith in her. They knew eventually they’d get a hit from her.

I've said it before. Linda Ronstadt was the classical recitalist of rock. Her concerts and albums were "recitals" of classic rock material. She wasn't an entertainer (like Bette Midler) or a dancing mogul (Madonna) or an artsy punk (Patti Smith). But when she let out that wail with the break in her voice, she embraced millions of people. She deserves every accolade.

Linda Ronstadt is an artist. Beyonce isn't. You're welcome.

Bonnie's mighty tight......

I don't see much artistry here from Linda. Rosemary Clooney, OTOH, is right in the pocket, even with a somewhat diminished voice. Linda has a pretty voice. She was no intrepreter.

Beyoncé may or may not be an artist. But she will be in the history books for a myriad of accomplishments in her career and our culture. Ronstadt was neither an artist or an activist. She made popular records in the 1970s and 80s. She had crude pretensions of being an artist. She was more the hot chick who could really sing. Cover songs.

She was a tremendous singer.

r74 is obviously a troll to make a comment like that....or completely ignorant.

Beyonce is so five years ago.

Linda Ronstadt seems desperate to not have this documentary about her mediocre career not be ignored. She gives interview after interview to say she didn't want it done and doesn't think much of her singing ability. She doesn't want attention and doesn't care. She did it all wrong and it took her too long to get better. No one cares Linda. But ya, it did. Ronstadt is not an artist and doesn't have the soul of an artist. She speaks in the most mundane ways about the sound of her own voice. Bonnie Raitt or Joni Mitchell would not dwell on such things. Linda is kind of dumb and shallow. A bit mean. Surprise.

She is insightful about a few things, but she never did know how to just feel music. She had to take a perspective on it. She had no passion, soul or rhythmic sense - still she was too loud to be a nice pop singer. That's why she fails to be remembered. When you listen to Bonnie Raitt you hear a woman who feels what's she's saying and riffs on it with the emotional resource of her great musical gift. She's not just singing third rate songs because they sound broken down California lite and she'll look good with her hair in her face. Ronstadt changed from micro mini skirts, to super short denims, to porn socks to prom dresses with updos, Mexican costumes to MooMoos. She expected people to believe what she was feeling because she surrounded herself with authenticity. But she conveyed no feeling. Just a look and an impressive sound. So, ronstat WAS a crude version of BEYONCE. But Bey is the queen of everything. Her heart is in it.

DaLinda has no feeling for rhythm or soulfulness or the timing & beat of music. She's just a singer. Pedestrian. And she admits it herself - not a great one for much of her career. I was not alive in the 1970s when Ronstadt was hot, but she is kind of the groupie chick singing all the dude's songs after she fucked them right? I'm sure it was more organic than that. She sings what she loves, that much is true. YET, she did great disservice to so much she claims to love. She's quite bad at most things. Pretty when quiet, and impressive when belting. With nothing in between. Not a great vocalist at all. Her voice might have been stellar with some training. As is, she wasn't as good a singer as her contemporaries, even if her vocal tones were more pure. She sounded so pretty on Hasten Down The Wind. But she didn't sing it well. A good singer has better control of her voice.

Beyoncé sure does.

r78 is clearly delusional

[quote]Linda Ronstadt seems desperate to not have this documentary about her mediocre career not be ignored.

You can say Rondstadt didn't have a great voice, but to say she didn't have a great career just makes you an ignorant asshole.

And Beyonce is over.

Everyone is over at some point. Musical careers are shorter now than ever. I stand corrected R80. I phrased that wrong. Ronstadt's career was not mediocre. She was (almost) the Beyoncé of her time. Super famous and successful and good looking and musically experimental. I was referring to her constant downgrading of herself in all these self promoting interviews. Ha. She doesn't want anyone else's interpretation of her to be the final word. She's a cold woman, fighting a tough battle. She sounds honest but what's the point? What she should say is that she thought she was better than she is. She thought she was a great singer and time has proved that she's not. Everyone agrees.

Nobody agrees

This is typical Linda Ronstadt. Some attitude of sensitivity arrives with a big voice & clumsy singing. Legato Linda - where the fuck is it? Did you lose it on the way to the piano? NO. Her voice was always choppy and blaring. She couldn't finish a phrase well - she cuts them abruptly short or they trail off in wobbly weak consonants. Correcting this is part of basic vocal training. Linda makes the same mistakes in almost all of her live singing. And recordings. Blue Bayou also has these jerky vocal moments when she sounds like someone suddenly plugged her voice into a wall socket. She murders the moment, then finishes on a not bad diminuendo. She demonstrates little self awareness, apart from her hairstyle. Maybe that's why the eldergays love her?

[quote] I beg to differ. Ronstadt was a talented singer. There’s no comparison.

I took the liberty of editing your paragraph, op.

she doesn’t across as someone who wants her fans to love her. She’s very matter of fact and cold, even bitchy.

R84 is incapable of making his own declarative statement? Why edit the OP? We heard him. Dog whistle to ancient fags to pile on Beyonce. Ronstadt defenders are weak men. Because some of the world changed and got better. Singing and our appreciation of it evolved. Keep Linda in your hearts. I can assure you she doesn't give a rusty fuck. She doesn't care about what her fans think. She's cold - like her work. She realizes she was not a great singer, so she doesn't care if you love her. She communicated no feeling when she sang. Don't mistake a pretty voice for a sensitive artist. Linda was p r e t t y

Beyonce doesnt give a fuck about you or any of her fans...all she cares about is your money.

Linda admires Beyonce. Who doesn't.

I don't understand how and why Linda Ronstadt is compared to Beyonce. Totally different genres. You can maybe (and that's stretching it) compare Beyonce to Diana Ross in the 70s where a black female singer becomes an all encompassing entertainment.

Huh? r89. Diana Ross is also more talented than Linda Ronstadt. That's true.

Don't get TOO upset over this thread, Ronstadt admirers.

OP is merely a provocateur. And a brain-dead one at that.

[quote]Linda admires Beyonce. Who doesn't.

I don't. I don't.

It’s a lousy comparison.

Now if only there would have been a glamorous, beautiful, black pop diva in the 1970s with a limited voice but nonetheless a performance quality so unique and identifiable that it made her the breakout star of the coolest, slickest, highest regarded girl group of the previous decade...

R83 that is a horrible recording that is painful to listen to. You can't judge anyone's voice from that.

Beyonce is not a songwriter - she gets co-writing credit on songs by changing one word. People act like she is the second coming..I don't get it. Any innovation she has shown has been proven to be stolen from other artists. Sure she can sing but she's no Jennifer Hudson.

I doubt Beyonce has much input in the songwriting process. If you check the credits of her 2013 album, for example, you'll see that most of the songs have multiple writers ("Drunk in Love" has EIGHT).

The song Smash into you - she got songwriting credit on it. They changed one word. Smack to Smash. The song was now smash into you which made no fucking sense but they did it so it could give her songwriting credit. From what I understand songs submitted to her include an agreement that she WILL get co-writing credit.

Can she actually spell anything she claims to have written? Beyaki, I mean.

WHAT ABOUT LANA DOUCHE REY THE FEMALE BOB DYLAN!!!!!

Beyonce is the greatest performer ever. I didn't say singer. Bey's command over an audience rivals Sinatra, Elvis and Streisand. Her out there persona makes Linda Ronstadt seem dim. Linda didn't write any of her songs either.

[quote]Beyonce is the greatest performer ever.

Except that Beyonce IS the greatest performer in the world. AND a better singer than Ronstadt. These are facts to anyone under 60.

Ancient white gay men on DL don't like Bey, because....you know.

Go on, try it. Don't be afraid.

Pretty Hurts. Beyonce has a beautiful agile voice. Incredible vocal gifts and so much performance fire. Ronstadt was cute.

Your fave could never. Linda Ronstadt scares sick children. Beyonce is LOVE.

I don't think Linda could do this. History in the making.

Thanks for killing another thread Beyonce loon.

[quote] Linda didn't write any of her songs either

Honey, if you think Beyonce has anything to do with the writing of her "songs" aside from slapping her name on them, as banal as they are, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you

The whole world is looney for Beyonce. 72 old white gays remember Linda Ronstat.

Beyonce is beautiful, no doubt. Beyond that, well, my mother always said if I couldn't say anything nice about someone, don't say anything at all.

Beyonce loves you R110. She's a queen for all men. Honestly she's too perfect.

Muriel, paywall please.

There will be no walls around Beyonce!! Open the window of your racist heart and let some love in R112. I can see your Halo.

Maybe there's something wrong with me but I don't think any of these singers are worth fighting over. I think I have at least one album by each of them

Did I unleash the Beyhive in here? Sorry, didn’t mean to.

BEYONCÉ XO.

The only Bey Once songs I can recall are Single Ladies and Go Crazy Right Now.

I saw the documentary and I too thought Bonnie Raitt's comparison was a little incongruous. Maybe she meant both Linda Ronstadt and Beyonce' were extremely popular female performers who went solo after being in a group.

Linda Ronstadt had a beautiful voice and was in the forefront of women rock headliners, however, she didn't compose her own music, perform in movies, or make music videos. I think most of her hit songs were covers. I like both of them a lot but Beyonce' seems to display more skills, yet Linda performed in more genres.

Beyoncé will be forgotten in her own lunchtime. Manufactured and utterly forgettable.

I think Bonnie was talking about their place in pop culture and being the IT performer of the time..the big contrast is that Ronstadt seemed to be annoyed & somewhat resigned to the media hype whereas Beyonce cultivates and feeds the machine. I enjoyed the documentary....Ronstadt was probably a manager/record label nightmare when she was making creative decisions but in retrospect, she made some cool artistic u-turns and detours. You get the sense that she was satisfied with what she accomplished...

I remember when she won a Grammy in a best Latin category and backstage a reporter asked her a question in Spanish and she got all flustered and couldn’t answer!