Linda Ronstadt first gained notice as the pure-toned, country-tinged vocalist fronting the Stone Poneys, a 1960s folk-rock outfit that interpreted songs associated with Mike Nesmith and Tim Buckley. Her talent for picking strong material proved equally valuable once she reached pop superstardom in the later 1970s, when she delivered interpretations of work by artists ranging from Dave Edmunds and Elvis Costello to Chuck Berry and Roy Orbison. Over time she further demonstrated her range through recordings devoted to jazz standards, traditional Mexican repertoire, and straight country.
While attending Arizona State University she encountered guitarist Bob Kimmel. The pair relocated to Los Angeles and added guitarist and songwriter Kenny Edwards, forming the Stone Poneys. The trio quickly became a fixture on the California folk scene and issued their debut album in 1967. Their follow-up, Evergreen, Vol. 2, contained the Top 20 single “Different Drum,” credited to Michael Nesmith. After completing one additional album with the group, Ronstadt departed at the close of 1968 to pursue a solo path.
Her initial solo efforts, Hand Sown Home Grown (1969) and Silk Purse (1970), emphasized her country background and included several honky-tonk selections. The self-titled 1971 album marked a turning point, spotlighting session players who would soon form the Eagles and presenting a gentler, more relaxed take on the country-rock style she had already explored. By incorporating material from songwriters such as Jackson Browne, Neil Young, and Eric Anderson, the record also underscored her ties to folk-rock. Don’t Cry Now, issued in 1973, repeated the approach with greater commercial reward, yet Heart Like a Wheel (1974) refined it to perfection and established her as a major star. The set’s hit covers—“You’re No Good,” “When Will I Be Loved,” and “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore”—propelled the album to number one and sales exceeding two million copies.
Prisoner in Disguise, released in fall 1975, mirrored the blueprint of Heart Like a Wheel and achieved comparable success. Hasten Down the Wind (1976) indicated a temporary plateau even as it climbed higher on the charts than its predecessor. Simple Dreams (1977) broadened the template by enlisting a more rock-oriented band that invigorated the Rolling Stones’ “Tumbling Dice” and Warren Zevon’s “Poor Poor Pitiful Me.” The album became her biggest seller, occupying the summit of the charts for five weeks and moving more than three million units. With Living in the U.S.A. (1978) Ronstadt ventured into new wave territory, covering Elvis Costello’s “Alison”; the release again reached number one. Mad Love (1980) found her committing fully to a new-wave sound, including three Costello songs and a synth-heavy production. Although commercially viable, the album hinted that her established formula was losing momentum, a notion confirmed when Get Closer (1982) became her first project since Heart Like a Wheel to miss platinum certification.
Recognizing the need for a shift, Ronstadt took the lead in a Broadway staging of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance and its film adaptation. That experience prompted a partnership with arranger and conductor Nelson Riddle, resulting in the 1983 collection of pop standards What’s New. Despite mixed critical response, the album climbed to number three and surpassed two million in sales. The subsequent Lush Life (1984) and For Sentimental Reasons (1986) continued the pre-rock standards format under Riddle’s direction.
Late in 1986 Ronstadt returned to contemporary pop with “Somewhere Out There,” the theme from the animated feature An American Tail, recorded with James Ingram; the single peaked at number two. She also revisited her country origins in 1987 by teaming with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris for the Trio album. Its success led to a second collaboration, 1999’s Trio II. Both Trio projects plus previously unreleased tracks later appeared in the 2016 box set The Complete Trio Collection. That same year she issued Canciones de Mi Padre, a collection of traditional Mexican songs that unexpectedly became a hit. Two years afterward she released Cry Like a Rainstorm—Howl Like the Wind, her first contemporary pop album since Get Closer. The set featured four duets with Aaron Neville, among them the number-two single “Don’t Know Much,” and sold more than two million copies.
She revisited traditional Mexican and Spanish material on Mas Canciones (1991) and Frenesi (1992). A return to pop arrived with Winter Light (1994), which produced no hit singles, as did Feels Like Home (1995). In 1996 she issued the children’s album Dedicated to the One I Love, followed by We Ran in 1998. Two years later she delivered the holiday set A Merry Little Christmas. Another standards collection, Hummin’ to Myself, appeared in 2004, succeeded by the 2006 collaboration Adieu False Heart with Ann Savoy of the Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band.
Adieu False Heart proved to be Ronstadt’s final studio album. She toured in support during 2007, including a performance at the Newport Folk Festival; although the record peaked at number 146 on the Billboard charts, it earned a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Folk Album. She contributed to the Chieftains’ San Patricio in 2010, yet the following year informed The Arizona Daily Star of her retirement. Three years later she published the memoir Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir, disclosing in pre-release interviews that Parkinson’s disease had influenced her decision to step away. Early in 2014 she was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; unable to attend, she was honored by an intergenerational ensemble featuring Emmylou Harris, Stevie Nicks, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, and Carrie Underwood. Around the same period Rhino issued the compilation Duets.
In early 2019 Ronstadt released Live in Hollywood, an archival recording of a 1980 concert originally broadcast on HBO.
