![]() ” In retrospect, Ronstadt has called her debut period the “bleak years. The latter album produced her first solo hit, the sorrowful “Long, Long Time. On Hand Sown … Home Grown (1969) and Silk Purse (1970), Ronstadt teamed with Nashville studio musicians for an ebullient, if jangly country sound. ![]() Ronstadt fulfilled her Capitol recording contract as a solo performer, turning out some of the first albums to fuse country and rock styles. Doheny Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90069.Īs lame. ![]() Appeared as Mabel in The Pirates ofPenzance on Broadway, 1981, and in a feature film, 1983 appeared as Mimi in La Boh ème off-Broadway, 1984.Īwards: Recipient of Grammy Awards for best female pop performance, 1975, best female pop performer, 1976, and (with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris) best country performance, 1987 recipient of American Music Award, 1978, and Academy of Country Music Award, 1987.Īddresses: Office -c/o Asher, 644 N. Sang at Jimmy Carter ’s inaugural concert, 1977. Has made numerous concert tours in the United States, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. With Bob Kimmel and Kenny Edwards, formed group the Stone Poneys, 1964-68, had first Top 40 hit, “Different Drum, ” 1967 solo artist, 1968. Education: Attended Catalina High School, Tucson, and the University of Arizona. daughter of Gilbert (a hardware-store owner) and Ruthmary (Copeman) Ronstadt. Ronstadt told Rolling Stone that her band was “rejected by the hippest element in New York For the Record …įull name Linda Marie Ronstadt born July 15, 1946, in Tucson, Ariz. By that time, intense touring, drug abuse, and a series of disappointing concert appearances as openers for the Doors caused the Stone Poneys to disband. Their only hit as a group came in 1967, when “Different Drum, ” a cut from their second album, made the charts. The Stone Poneys signed a contract with Capitol Records in 1964 and released a single, “Some of Shelley ’s Blues, ” in early 1965. With Kimmel and guitar player Kenny Edwards, Ronstadt formed a group called the Stone Poneys, a folk-rock ensemble reminiscent of the Mamas and the Papas and the Lovin ’ Spoonful. Ronstadt attended the University of Arizona briefly, dropping out at eighteen to join her musician boyfriend, Bob Kimmel, in Los Angeles. Not that anyone expected her fame to grow to the dimensions of that voice. ![]() She didn ’t surprise anyone by becoming a singer. Aaron Latham, a classmate at Tucson ’s Catalina High School, wrote in Rolling Stone that by her teens Ronstadt “was already a larger-than-life figure with an even larger voice. At the age of six she decided she wanted to be a singer, and she promptly lost all interest in formal schooling. Ronstadt herself enjoyed harmonizing with her sister and two brothers -she was proud when she was allowed to take the soprano notes. Ronstadt was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, the daughter of a hardware-store owner who loved to sing and play Mexican music. As the singer tells it, she developed a habit of rebellion early in life and stuck to it with singleminded determination. Time reporter Jay Cocks calls Ronstadt “gutsy, ” “unorthodox, ” and a challenger of creeds. She is no fad ’s prisoner her compelling voice wears no disguises. ” Jefferson concludes, “In a field where success is often based on no more than quick-study ventriloquism, Linda Ronstadt stands out. Newsweek contributor Margo Jefferson attributes this success to Ronstadt ’s voice, which she describes as having “the richness and cutting edge of a muted trumpet. Almost every Ronstadt experiment has met with critical acclaim and, surprisingly, with fan approval and hefty record sales. Just when she seemed pegged as a pop idol, however, she turned her talents to opera -in The Pirates of Penzance and La Boh ème -and to torch songs accompanied by the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. In the 1970s Ronstadt churned out a veritable stream of pop hits and heartrending ballads that delighted country and rock fans alike. Few performers in any medium have proven more daring than Linda Ronstadt, a singer who has made her mark in such varied styles as rock, country, grand opera, and mariachi.
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