Continuing my Deep Dive into the discography of Linda Ronstadt…

I’m going to hop around in the chronology a little bit today to highlight a quartet of albums that found Ronstadt collaborating with other women.

Ronstadt has had a 50+ year friendship and creative partnership with two of the greats, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris. Early in her career, she had covered their songs and featured them on her records, and the three artists discussed recording a full album together.

They tried to do just that in the mid-70s, but scheduling conflicts and competing record contracts kept it from happening. It wasn’t until 1987 that the trio finally collaborated on an album, titled (appropriately) Trio. It found them covering traditional folk and country songs, as well as some of Parton’s compositions.

Trio was a major critical and commercial success, going Platinum, winning a Grammy, topping the Country Albums chart, and placing today’s SOTD at #1 on the Country Singles chart. It’s a lovely collection that features gorgeous harmonies by the three icons.

It took 12 years, and more record label speed bumps, before the ladies revisited the formula. Trio II was released in 1999 to similar acclaim and slightly lower sales. It added another Grammy to the shelves of all three women.

That same year, Ronstadt and Harris recorded and released an album together titled Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions. This album included songs by more contemporary songwriters, including Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen, Patty Griffin, and Leonard Cohen. Western Wall was one of the most rewarding listens of my Deep Dive. It’s a beautifully produced (by Glyn Johns) and emotionally resonant collection.

Lastly, Ronstadt’s final studio album was Adieu False Heart, a 2006 collaboration with Cajun musician and singer Ann Savoy. The women trade lead vocals, with Savoy singing Cajun standards in French and Ronstadt interpreting a range of song styles. It’s a nice listen, if a bit unorthodox as a swan song.