Following the chart-topping Heart Like a Wheel, Linda Ronstadt really hit her stride. Her next two albums — 1975’s Prisoner in Disguise and 1976’s Hasten Down the Wind — both went Platinum, making her the first woman to release three straight million-selling albums.
Both records sound great, and find Ronstadt at her most confident and creative vocally, knocking rockers and ballads alike out of the park.
Linda Ronstadt was frustrated that her growing profile and critical acclaim wasn’t paired with bigger commercial success, so she decided to leave Capitol Records and sign with Asylum. She was still under contract to Capitol for one more record, though, so she recorded her fifth album knowing it would be released by her old label.
Wouldn’t you know it, that album — 1974’s Heart Like a Wheel — became her first smash hit. It reached #1 on the Billboard albums chart and landed its first single — ‘You’re No Good‘ — at #1 on the Hot 100. Third single ‘When Will I Be Loved’ made it to #2.
Linda Ronstadt quickly took the California music scene of the 70s by storm, enchanting everybody with her unique beauty and her mesmerizing voice. As 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.”
She drew talent like a magnet. Her session musicians during live shows in the early 70s included a couple of up-and-comers named Glenn Frey and Don Henley, who soon decided they should start up a band of their own. That’s right… we have Linda Ronstadt to thank for the Eagles.
Following the dissolution of The Stone Poneys, it was time for Linda Ronstadt to embark on a solo career. She jumped right in, releasing her first two albums within a year of each other.
Both her solo debut, 1969’s Hand Sown…Home Grown, and its follow-up, 1970’s Silk Purse, followed a similar pattern. They were collections of dynamic folk and country covers with a few originals mixed in (though not Ronstadt originals… she almost never wrote her own songs).
It’s time for another of my favorite Meet Me in Montauk features: a deep dive! The latest honoree is Ms. Linda Ronstadt.
So far I’ve given the Deep Dive treatment to Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Madonna, Bob Marley, Lana Del Rey, The Rolling Stones, Jim Croce, Jason Isbell, and Dire Straits. That means I’ve listened to and written about every one of their studio albums.
I’ve also done a Shallow Dive of Barbra Streisand, in which I tackled ten of her most popular and/or acclaimed albums (she has 37, which made a full Deep Dive impractical).
Meet Me In Montauk 