Linda Ronstadt really was an exquisite performer

Who?

r1 shut the fuck up.

She really was awesome.

A nimble, sensitive storyteller.

The more belty '77 performance just about moved this girl to tears

That name is a tragedy though.

I saw her in concert, once. Her voice annoys me!

R5 she really leaned into her Mexican heritage, but that name could not possibly be more German.

She and Debbie Harry really needed to get their double chins sucked out during their prime.

r8 or maybe they just had acceptance for themselves the way they were.

I fell in love with her voice the first time I heard this and have remained a dedicated fan ever since.

She's in my top 3 favorite female vocalists. Versatile. Strong, beautiful voice.

Rondstat

“Great tits to snort coke off of.” -Gov. J. Brown

Everyone says it, but it's because it's true--Linda really could sing anything. Her vocal control, technique, and power was incredible, but she was also able to emote in a way that many technically proficient singers don't. She had the best of both worlds in that regard.

Long, Long Time.

Linda gets bonus points for being a pragmatic advocate for the gays:

"We were at a bookstore once when my kids were little. My son made it very clear that he wanted to get a book on animals. He picked one out and when we got home, I read it and it’s about homosexuality [laughing] across every species! Walrus homosexuality, zebra homosexuality, whales, whatever, it’s all there. It’s called ‘Animal Exuberance.’

The basic premise of the book is that homosexuality really helps family. And you know, people say, ‘Well gays are anti-family, so I’m anti-gay’ which is just bullshit. Because what homosexuality gives you is an unpaired female, or an unpaired male – who’s there with two extra hands to help you take care of the kids, which ensures the survival of the young ones. That’s what it’s for. And it is in every animal all through the biological world. You really should read ‘Animal Exuberance,’ because it has careful science under it. And you’ll see that homophobia is anti-family values. Period, end of story."

Maybe I've lived my life under a rock, but I didn't know Linda played guitar.

She and Jim Carrey (sp?) lived together for awhile. She was a big star and he was working in "In Living Color". He was embarrassed because he was broke and he was living in her big palatial house. They were the oddest couple I'd ever heard of until I read about Woody Harrelson and Glenn Close! Years ago, they were a couple and kept it under the radar.

I never knew that R18—very weird but kind of funny. She apparently saw him perform at the Comedy Store and asked him after the show if he would open for her on tour. In this article it says he was living with his parents while continuing to date her:

"Carrey says Ronstadt, who was in her mid-30s at the time, was so down to earth she didn't mind that he was living with his parents, or that he would come to pick her up for dates in his "crusty, rusty" Chevrolet Bel Air. "I couldn't open the passenger door," he says. "She said, 'Just roll the window down,' and she crawled in the window.""

Linda liked 'em young.

I've heard she had high school and college boys brought to her hotel rooms to service her on tour in the '70s.

I heard her singing Poor Wandering One on the Broadway Sirius channel the other day.

I was impressed that she could sing those high soprano parts.

R21 I forgot Linda was on Broadway in The Pirates of Penzance (and in the film adaptation). Gorgeous singing.

[quote] Linda gets bonus points for being a pragmatic advocate for the gays: ... Because what homosexuality gives you is an unpaired female, or an unpaired male – who’s there with two extra hands to help you take care of the kids

Huh? I guess you could call that being an advocate for gays that stay single their whole lives and want to serve as babysitters for hetero breeders.

R23 I don’t know if she was misrepresenting the book, but I think the general concept is that, partnered or not, most gay people don’t have kids of their own, so they are able to fulfill the role of additional help in raising them (usually as uncles/aunts). I don’t know what the sociological evidence is for this, but it kind of makes sense. Her point stands true that being anti-gay is anti-family because gay people can still play important roles in family dynamics.

Linda liked sizemeat.

I think she fucked the hot guy that was in her What's New? video.

Cocks belong in my pussy, and if you're not up to it, you can sit at the kids' table!

Huge admiration for her as an artist. She pretty much did what she wanted and didn’t give a fuck.

Rock, pop, country, standards, show tunes, new wave: she just recorded what she felt like recording. And that voice just soared.

She got a bad rap for all the cover singles but those were so successful her record company wouldn’t release any of her original compositions as singles. I think it dinged her credibility but not really her fault.

They don’t make them like her anymore. Sadly.

Whoops. I forgot.

Mariachi music.

That bitch had creative balls that puts today’s pop tarts to shame.

This was an underrated one I remember best from when they used it in a toothpaste commercial:

[quote]She got a bad rap for all the cover singles but those were so successful her record company wouldn’t release any of her original compositions as singles.

Except for "Try Me Again," on Hasten down the Wind, which she wrote with Andrew Gold, I don't think she had any original compositions.

[quote]She and Jim Carrey (sp?) lived together for awhile.

Oh Linda...why?

Oh well, her talent and the fact that she took on Howard Stern via his sidekick Robin on some talk show years ago more than make up for the Jim Carrey thing.

I thought it took her 3 albums to lighten her touch doing standards. Her first effort What's New seemed too heavy handed. And she couldn't sing anything. She got by with Pirates of Penzance but was really out of her element doing La Boheme.

[quote]And she couldn't sing anything.

Oh, please. Those became [italic]the[/italic] versions of those songs for many of us. "Couldn't sing anything." Some people.

[quote] Oh Linda...why?

Sizemeat

I'll never forgive her for her tone deaf and unnecessary Motown covers.

Saw her at the Saenger with the Beastie Boys

When I listen to her, now, it sounds like she's yelling. Yes, powerful, but sounds more like yelling. Even her old stuff.

R37 I get that impression from someone like Katy Perry, but Linda? No.

I saw her in concert in London in the 70s. As many here have noted, she had a glorious voice. But, my God, the woman had no stage presence at all and no idea how to talk to the audience between songs. She’d chirp a “Thank you” or “Thank you so much!” and go on to the next song (gloriously). I wasn’t expecting Bette Midler-style patter and jokes (never mind backup singers, costume changes, sets and choreography), but, jeez, Linda, give us something between songs. Or just stand there and sing all the numbers on Heart Like A Wheel, please (an album I still listen to).

I love to hear her sing the Everly Brothers' music.

One of the great voices of our time.

Has anyone seen this documentary on her from 2019? It has good reviews. I'm considering buying it.

R39 agree completely. I saw her when I was in high school. Terrible stage presence. But I’m still a huge fan. The HBO doc on her is amazing.

Despite her massive talent as a vocalist, I really don't think Linda fully had the chutzpah for stardom—if anything, she was too humble. There didn't seem to be much ego there, and I suspect that's why her stage presence felt underwhelming at times. I think the emotion in her voice still came through in those performances (and she always sounded flawless), but I don't think she had the type of personality to really "give a show"—there wasn't a spectacle to be had. It was just her singing the songs, which doesn't work for everybody.

[quote]Linda Ronstadt really was an exquisite performer

Exqueeze me, Mary Wells Christ.

She was no Pat Benatar, but she was good.

Hmm. Didn't realize she was a dud on stage. OP calls her an "exquisite performer."

I've been watching a couple of videos (different eras) of Stevie Nicks singing "Edge of Seventeen" and I admit she just has stage presence and connects with her audience.

Adios

Back in the day, she was damned good...

I also saw Ronstadt in The Pirates of Penzance on Broadway. Her voice was still glorious, but no need for her own stage patter as Gilbert and Sullivan supplied it all. (And Kevin Kline, with his pirate shirt open down to there, supplied all the sex appeal.)

This gem just came up on Spotify. Love the power behind her voice, she's so great.

R47 I love Stevie, but she has never had the kind of vocal prowess or versatility that someone like Ronstadt had. Ronstadt is a technically impeccable singer, even if she's not charismatic. Her performances are exquisite in that they are always pointed and very balanced. From a vocal perspective, she always nailed it.

There is plenty of room for charisma, too, of course. I adore Courtney Love, for example, even though probably 75% of your average pop music listeners (maybe more) would say she "can't sing", but the power and feelings are searing enough for it to not really matter. If the singer is serving the song they're singing, whatever that may be, they always earn my respect. Linda served her songs well. So did Stevie. And even Courtney. What they each served was quite different, though.

I, too, went down a Linda Ronstadt rabbit hole this past weekend. While viewing some of her videos, I couldn't help but see psychical similarities to Selena Gomez. Interestingly, after doing a quick Google search, I discovered that Selena is due to play Linda in an upcoming biopic! I'm most familiar with Selena from "Only Murders in the Building" and her cooking show on Max, so this casting news caught my curiosity. I'm hopeful the film does Linda's extraordinary narrative justice, capturing her talent and life’s journey.

Reclaiming her roots.