A Bite of Linda Ronstadt 🍪
How the girl raised on a ranch became the “First Lady of Rock”
Monday Bites are bite-sized musician spotlights & playlists by Grace Lilly.
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• 3 min read •
“The most successful female rock star in the world.”
It’s hard to imagine, but before Linda Ronstadt broke onto the scene in the 1970s, women musicians had never sold out stadiums. She was the first to achieve that level of popularity.
Young people loved her, women loved her, men loved her (she was even President Obama’s childhood crush). Willie Nelson famously said, “There are two types of men in this world: those who love Linda Ronstadt, and those who have never heard of her.”
It’s easy to see why she had this effect. Standing at just 5’2”, her voice is big enough to fill arenas, surreally strong and powerful. Friend and collaborator Emmylou Harris remarked,
“No one had a voice like Linda.”
Equipped with a remarkable talent for captivating audiences, she blended genres like rock, folk, country, pop, and the ranchera music she sang with her family growing up.
It was the magic formula: Linda became one of the top-selling female artists of the 70s and one of the most successful musicians of all time. Her 1977 album Simple Dreams even displaced Fleetwood Mac’s uber-successful Rumours on the Billboard chart at the height of their popularity, taking the No. 1 position for five consecutive weeks.
Her impact on music is profound; her mega-success proved to record labels that women could accomplish just as much as men. Without Linda, we likely wouldn’t have greats like Diana Ross, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Rihanna, and more, or the dozens of future lady superstars that millions of people will love. Linda changed things.
Thanks, Linda.
Linda Ronstadt
The basics
🤝 American singer
🤝 b. 1946 (Tuscon, Arizona)
🤝 “The first female rockstar”
Why you should know her: A global superstar during the Golden Age of rock and the first woman ever to headline arena tours, Linda paved the way for generations of women artists. Her ninth album, Living in the USA (1978) was the first album by any recording act in music history to ship double-platinum (having sold over 2 million advance copies).
If you like
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✨ Maggie Rogers
✨ The Eagles
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✨ Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young
✨ Gracie Abrams
Known for
🏆 Her distinctive vocal style, praised for its range, power, and emotional depth
🏆 Her “hugely anticipated tours;” the first woman to sell out stadiums
🏆 Her record-breaking popularity; most of Ronstadt's albums are certified gold, platinum, or multi-platinum
🏆 Lending her voice to 120+ albums that were not her own, collaborating with artists like Frank Zappa, Warren Zevon, Johnny Cash, and Neil Young
🏆 11 Grammy Awards, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award; an Emmy Award; nominated for a Tony Award and a Golden Globe
🏆 Outspoken advocacy for environmental and community issues; championing gay rights and marriage equality
🏆 Awarded the National Medal of Arts and Humanities and the Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievement
Bite-sized facts
🍪 Raised on a ranch in Arizona; her father was of Mexican descent
🍪 Her heritage played a big role in her childhood; sung Mexican music with her family, inspired by Mexican singer Lola Beltrán
🍪 At 14, started a folk trio with her sister Gretchen and brother Peter; played small venues as “the Three Ronstadts”
🍪 Moved to LA at 18 to make music; got her first record deal at 20 as the lead singer of a folk-rock trio, the Stone Poneys
🍪 Released her first solo album at 22 and toured with The Doors, Neil Young, The Eagles, and Jackson Browne in her early twenties
🍪 Launched into superstardom in 1975 after releasing 2 platinum-selling albums in one year, Heart Like a Wheel and Prisoner in Disguise
🍪 By 32, had 6 platinum albums and was the first female “arena class” rock star
🍪 Became the “highest-paid woman in rock” (in 1978 alone, she made over $12 million — equivalent to $58 million in 2024)
🍪 Was popular with other musicians as a friend and collaborator; sang with Paul Simon on the Graceland track, “Under African Skies” (the 2nd verse pays tribute to her: “Take this child, Lord, from Tucson, Arizona”)
🍪 Surprised audiences in the 80s by working with composer Philip Glass, conductor Nelson Riddle, and performing on Broadway
🍪 Was one of the best-selling acts of the 1980s, with multi-platinum selling albums Mad Love (1980) and Canciones de mi Padre (1987)
🍪 In the 1990s, adopted a daughter, Mary, and a son, Carlos
🍪 Retired in 2011, revealing that she can no longer sing as a result of a degenerative condition, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
🍪 Her music has had enduring popularity; her 1976 Greatest Hits album was certified 7x platinum in 2001
Songs & dates
♫ 1969 Releases her first solo album, Hand Sown… Home Grown; called the first alternative country record by a female artist
♫ 1970 Gets her first solo hit and her first Grammy nomination with the single “Long Long Time” off her second album, Silk Purse
♫ 1974 Singles “You’re No Good” and “When Will I Be Loved” reach No. 1 and No. 2 on the Billboard charts, from the No. 1 double-platinum album Heart Like a Wheel
♫ 1977 Becomes the first female recording artist to have 2 songs in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten at the same time — “Blue Bayou" and “It’s So Easy” from her album Simple Dreams
♫ 1980 “How Do I Make You” and “Hurt So Bad” become Top 10 hits from Mad Love, her 7th consecutive platinum-selling album; includes tracks by Elvis Costello
♫ 1987 Gets a No. 1 single with “To Know Him Is to Love Him” from the No. 1 album, Trio, recorded with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris; wins a Grammy Award and nomination for Album of the Year
♫ 1987 Canciones de mi Padre becomes the best-selling non-English-language album in U.S. music history; wins a Grammy Award
She said
⭐ “Art is for healing ourselves, and everybody needs their own personal art to heal up their problems.”
⭐ “In the United States we spend millions of dollars on sports because it promotes teamwork, discipline, and the experience of learning to make great progress in small increments. Learning to play music together does all this and more.”
⭐ “Everybody has their own level of doing their music... Mine just happened to resonate over the years, in one way and another, with a significant enough number of people so that I could do it professionally.”
We love Linda
Willie Nelson
“There are two types of men in this world: those who love Linda Ronstadt, and those who have never heard of her.”
Pat Benatar
“There are a lot of good female singers around. How could I be the best? Ronstadt is still alive!”
Linda Ronstadt Playlist
I gathered my fav Ronstadt songs, from me to you with love. Like & save on Spotify and listen all week 💗
Where to start
28-year-old Linda live
Linda performing her hit song “When Will I Be Loved” and the fan favorite “Willin’” from her No. 1 album Heart Like a Wheel
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With Dolly and Emmylou
Watch Linda sing “The Sweetest Gift” with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris in 1976 on Dolly’s TV show, Dolly
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“Cleans you, thrills you... may even keep you from getting busted”
Did you know that Linda Ronstadt did vocal work for commercials in the 1960s? Hear 21-year-old Linda sing with Frank Zappa in this ad for Remington electric razors:
Down the rabbit hole
If you wanna dive even deeper:
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice (2019)
Premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival and winner of the Best Music Film Award at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, this musical biography documents one of the most successful female singers — and one of the most successful recording artists — of all time. Featuring Dolly Parton, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, and more.
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Growing up, I liked her songs and would sing along to them, but subsequently forgot about them. Thank you for reminding me.
Such a beautiful and thoughtful tribute to Linda! Love her and love this piece ~ thank you 😊 🙏