History Music / LindaRonstadt

* [[{{Biography}} Autobiography]]: 2013's ''Simple Dreams''
* BreakoutCharacter: Her early 1970s backup band went on to become the Music/{{Eagles}}. You might have heard of them.

* CanonDiscontinuity: Some of her albums, including ''Get Closer,'' ''Winter Lights,'' ''We Ran,'' ''Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind'' and ''Dedicated to the One I Love'', are out of print.
** Physically. They are all still available online for streaming and download.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Her declining health has prevented her from appearing at many ceremonies and tributes, including her 2014 induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. When she was unable to appear alongside Dolly Parton and [=EmmyLou=] Harris in promoting a new ''Trio'' box set, some of the TV shows they appeared on arraigned for fans to send their well-wishes to her, even displaying them on air.

* MotorMouth: Talks a mile a minute in interviews and concerts, often giving blunt and candid opinions on a variety of topics. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2r2gMUox8Q&t=197s See for yourself!]]
** Got her in trouble in 2004 when during a concert at the Aladdin Theatre in Las Vegas she criticized then-President UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush and praised Creator/MichaelMoore and his documentary Fahrenheit 9/11. While it drew a mixed reaction from the crowd, it got her evicted from the theatre and became a national controversy. Not that it stopped her, as she continued giving the monologue at her summer concerts through 2006. At one 2006 Canadian concert, she called Bush an idiot and a racist.

** BreakupSong: "You're No Good"
** ObsessionSong: "Long Long Time"

** (Stone Poneys)
** "Some of Shelley's Blues"
** (Solo)
** "Lovesick Blues"
** "White Rhythm and Blues"
** "Morning Blues"
** [[Music/BobDylan "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues"]]
** "I Feel the Blues Movin' In"

* DoesNotLikeShoes: She frequently went barefoot both on stage and several of her early album covers.

After 1982's ''Get Closer'' performed below her previous three albums - which has been attributed to Ronstadt struggling to adapt to the new music video format popularized by MTV - she went in a more experimental direction. She released three consecutive big band ballad albums with The Nelson Riddle Orchestra, ''What's New'' (1983), ''Lush Life'' (1984), and ''For Sentimental Reasons'' (1986). She then released an album of Spanish-language Mariachi music, ''Canciones de Mi Padre'' (1987), in celebration of her Mexican ancestry.[[note]]Her great-great-grandfather Friedrich Ronstadt emigrated to Mexico from Germany in the 1840s, married a Mexican woman, and changed his first name to Federico. As she liked to explain, the Ronstadt family never crossed the border into the US, the border crossed them; the area of what is now Arizona where they settled became part of the US after the Gadsden Purchase.[[/note]] With 2 million copies sold in the US and 10 million sold worldwide, it is the most successful non-English language album in American history. She again found mainstream commercial and critical success late in the decade. First with the massively successful single "Somewhere Out There" from the ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'' soundtrack, which peaked at #2 in 1987, then with the highly acclaimed and successful album ''Trio'' (1987) which she recorded in a trio with Music/DollyParton and Music/EmmylouHarris. She fully [[WinBackTheCrowd won back the crowd]] in late 1989 with ''Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind'', which was a major critical and commercial smash. It sold well through 1990 and its two lead singles ''Don't Know Much'' and ''All My Life'', duets with Aaron Neville, were both top 20 hits in 1990 and won Ronstadt and Neville the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance With Duo or Group With Vocal for two consecutive years, in 1990 and 1991, respectively.

After 1982's ''Get Closer'' performed below her previous three albums - which has been attributed to Ronstadt struggling to adapt to the new music video format popularized by MTV - she went in a more experimental direction. She released three consecutive big band ballad albums with The Nelson Riddle Orchestra, ''What's New'' (1983), ''Lush Life'' (1984), and ''For Sentimental Reasons'' (1986). She then released an album of Spanish-language Mariachi music, ''Canciones de Mi Padre'' (1987), in celebration of her Mexican ancestry.[[note]]Her great-great-grandfather Friedrich Ronstadt emigrated to Mexico from Germany in the 1840s, married a Mexican woman, and changed his first name to Federico. As she liked to explain, the Ronstadt family never crossed the border into the US, the border crossed them; the area of what is now Arizona where they settled became part of the US after the Gadsden Purchase.[[/note]] With 2 million copies sold in the US and 10 million sold worldwide, it is the most successful non-English language album in American history. She again found mainstream commercial and critical success late in the decade. First with the massively successful single "Somewhere Out There" from the ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'' soundtrack, which peaked at #2 in 1987, then with the highly acclaimed and successful album ''Trio'' (1987) which she recorded in a trio with Music/DollyParton and Music/[=Emmylou=]Harris. She fully [[WinBackTheCrowd won back the crowd]] in late 1989 with ''Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind'', which was a major critical and commercial smash. It sold well through 1990 and its two lead singles ''Don't Know Much'' and ''All My Life'', duets with Aaron Neville, were both top 20 hits in 1990 and won Ronstadt and Neville the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance With Duo or Group With Vocal for two consecutive years, in 1990 and 1991, respectively.

After 1982's ''Get Closer'' performed below her previous three albums - which has been attributed to Ronstadt struggling to adapt to the new music video format popularized by MTV - she went in a more experimental direction. She released three consecutive big band ballad albums with The Nelson Riddle Orchestra, ''What's New'' (1983), ''Lush Life'' (1984), and ''For Sentimental Reasons'' (1986). She then released an album of Spanish-language Mariachi music, ''Canciones de Mi Padre'' (1987), in celebration of her Mexican ancestry.[[note]]Her great-great-grandfather Friedrich Ronstadt emigrated to Mexico from Germany in the 1840s, married a Mexican woman, and changed his first name to Federico. As she liked to explain, the Ronstadt family never crossed the border into the US, the border crossed them; the area of what is now Arizona where they settled became part of the US after the Gadsden Purchase.[[/note]] With 2 million copies sold in the US and 10 million sold worldwide, it is the most successful non-English language album in American history. She again found mainstream commercial and critical success late in the decade. First with the massively successful single "Somewhere Out There" from the ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'' soundtrack, which peaked at #2 in 1987, then with the highly acclaimed and successful album ''Trio'' (1987) which she recorded in a trio with Music/DollyParton and [=EmmyLou=] Harris. She fully [[WinBackTheCrowd won back the crowd]] in late 1989 with ''Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind'', which was a major critical and commercial smash. It sold well through 1990 and its two lead singles ''Don't Know Much'' and ''All My Life'', duets with Aaron Neville, were both top 20 hits in 1990 and won Ronstadt and Neville the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance With Duo or Group With Vocal for two consecutive years, in 1990 and 1991, respectively.

* DreamTeam: Collaborated with Music/DollyParton and Emmylou Harris throughout her career, most notably in the group ''Trio''.

* ActorAllusion: Not only does she sing harmony on the track "Under African Skies" from Music/PaulSimon's Music/{{Graceland}}, Simon has confirmed that one of the verses is about her as well.

* IllGirl: Declining health from the onset of Parkinson's has forced Ronstadt's retirement and general withdrawal from public life. Not only can she no longer sing, but in recent public appearances she has been shown having trouble walking and sitting upright. She has also stated in interviews that she's given up driving and has some trouble with memory loss.

After 1982's ''Get Closer'' performed below her previous three albums - which has been attributed to Ronstadt struggling to adapt to the new music video format popularized by MTV - she went in a more experimental direction. She released three consecutive big band ballad albums with The Nelson Riddle Orchestra, ''What's New'' (1983), ''Lush Life'' (1984), and ''For Sentimental Reasons'' (1986). She then released an album of Spanish-language Mariachi music, ''Canciones de Mi Padre'' (1987), in celebration of her Mexican ancestry.[[note]]Her great-great grandfather Friedrich Ronstadt emigrated to Mexico from Germany in the 1840s, married a Mexican woman, and changed his first name to Federico. As she liked to explain, the Ronstadt family never crossed the border into the US, the border crossed them; the area of what is now Arizona where they settled became part of the US after the Gadsden Purchase.[[/note]] With 2 million copies sold in the US and 10 million sold worldwide, it is the most successful non-English language album in American history. She again found mainstream commercial and critical success late in the decade. First with the massively successful single "Somewhere Out There" from the ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'' soundtrack, which peaked at #2 in 1987, then with the highly acclaimed and successful album ''Trio'' (1987) which she recorded in a trio with Music/DollyParton and [=EmmyLou=] Harris. She fully [[WinBackTheCrowd won back the crowd]] in late 1989 with ''Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind'', which was a major critical and commercial smash. It sold well through 1990 and its two lead singles ''Don't Know Much'' and ''All My Life'', duets with Aaron Neville, were both top 20 hits in 1990 and won Ronstadt and Neville the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance With Duo or Group With Vocal for two consecutive years, in 1990 and 1991, respectively.

After 1982's ''Get Closer'' performed below her previous three albums - which has been attributed to Ronstadt struggling to adapt to the new music video format popularized by MTV - she went in a more experimental direction. She released three consecutive big band ballad albums with The Nelson Riddle Orchestra, ''What's New'' (1983), ''Lush Life'' (1984), and ''For Sentimental Reasons'' (1986). She then released an album of Spanish-language Mariachi music, ''Canciones de Mi Padre'' (1987), in celebration of her Mexican ancestry. With 2 million copies sold in the US and 10 million sold worldwide, it is the most successful non-English language album in American history. She again found mainstream commercial and critical success late in the decade. First with the massively successful single "Somewhere Out There" from the ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'' soundtrack, which peaked at #2 in 1987, then with the highly acclaimed and successful album ''Trio'' (1987) which she recorded in a trio with Music/DollyParton and [=EmmyLou=] Harris. She fully [[WinBackTheCrowd won back the crowd]] in late 1989 with ''Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind'', which was a major critical and commercial smash. It sold well through 1990 and its two lead singles ''Don't Know Much'' and ''All My Life'', duets with Aaron Neville, were both top 20 hits in 1990 and won Ronstadt and Neville the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance With Duo or Group With Vocal for two consecutive years, in 1990 and 1991, respectively.

She got her start in the band The Stone Poneys where she immediately garnered attention from record executives - too much attention, actually - which led to tensions that brought about the band's breakup. Ronstadt then went solo, departing from the folk-rock sound of The Stone Poneys to a Country Rock sound on her debut solo album ''Hand Sown...Home Grown''. While it was a commercial failure, she emerged at the forefront of the West Coast Country Rock movement in the early 1970s. She built a following and found some commercial success with her fourth album, 1973's ''Don't Cry Now''. She finally broke out with 1974's ''Heart Like a Wheel'', driven by two massive hits, "When Will I Be Loved" and "You're No Good". While ''Heart Like a Wheel'' was a hybrid of Country Rock and a more mainstream Rock/Pop sound, Ronstadt moved in a more mainstream Rock direction with her next two albums, ''Prisoner in Disguise'' (1975) and ''Hasten Down the Wind'' (1976). She reached her commercial peak in the late 1970s/early 1980s with ''Simple Dreams'' (1977), ''Living in the U.S.A'' (1978) and ''Mad Love'' (1980), in which she was one of the best-selling and highest-grossing musicians in America. The success of her concert tours of the era was unprecedented for a female solo act, as she was the first to sell out stadiums and arenas.

* CoverVersion: All of her songs.

[[caption-width-right:250:"You and I march to the beat of a different drum"]]

Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American pop singer from Tucson, UsefulNotes/{{Arizona}}, who started her career in the 1960s and has gone on to sell over 60 million albums worldwide. Creator/CaseyKasem described her as "the queen of remakes" for her uncanny ability to transform long-forgotten oldies into modern pop hits.

Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American pop singer from Tucson, UsefulNotes/{{Arizona}}, who started her career in the 1960s and has gone on to sell over 60 million albums worldwide.

** Ronstadt herself could count as this in the context of The Stone Poneys. All the extra attention Ronstadt received compared to the rest of the band lead to their break up.

* SpotlightStealingSquad: While with The Stone Poneys, Ronstadt received much more attention over the rest of the band, including where record executives had her record the commercial single ''Different Drum'' with session musicians without telling the rest of the band. This lead to tensions that brought about their break up and Ronstadt going solo.

She got her start in the band The Stone Poneys where she immediately garnered attention from record executives - too much attention, actually - which lead to tensions that brought about the band's breakup. Ronstadt then went solo, departing from the folk-rock sound of The Stone Poneys to a Country Rock sound on her debut solo album ''Hand Sown...Home Grown''. While it was a commercial failure, she emerged at the forefront of the West Coast Country Rock movement in the early 1970s. She built a following and found some commercial success with her fourth album, 1973's ''Don't Cry Now''. She finally broke out with 1974's ''Heart Like a Wheel'', driven by two massive hits, "When Will I Be Loved" and "You're No Good". While ''Heart Like a Wheel'' was a hybrid of Country Rock and a more mainstream Rock/Pop sound, Ronstadt moved in a more mainstream Rock direction with her next two albums, ''Prisoner in Disguise'' (1975) and ''Hasten Down the Wind'' (1976). She reached her commercial peak in the late 1970s/early 1980s with ''Simple Dreams'' (1977), ''Living in the U.S.A'' (1978) and ''Mad Love'' (1980), in which she was one of the best-selling and highest-grossing musicians in America. The success of her concert tours of the era was unprecedented for a female solo act, as she was the first to sell out stadiums and arenas.