![\"M-32-LINDA-RONSTADT\"](\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/M-32-LINDA-RONSTADT.jpg\")
<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\nBy Jeff Tamarkin<\/b><\/p>\n
Linda Ronstadt will never sing again. That\u2019s the unfortunate reality the superstar vocalist has had to come to terms with since being diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s disease. \u201cI know I\u2019d still be singing, because I\u2019ve sung my whole life,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019d at least be singing in the shower or in my car or harmonizing with somebody. But I can\u2019t do any of that now. I\u2019m grateful that I can talk, and I don\u2019t know how much longer that\u2019s going to last.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ronstadt\u2019s final album, Adieu False Heart<\/i>, a collaborative effort with singer Ann Savoy, came out in 2006. Recently Ronstadt published her memoir, Simple Dreams<\/i>, which offers an insightful glimpse at her musical journey from rock and opera to country and traditional Mexican\u2014music she was exposed to by age 10\u00a0growing up in Tucson, Ariz.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not the greatest singer that ever was, and I\u2019m certainly not the most successful singer that ever was,\u201d she says with characteristic self-deprecation. \u201cBut maybe I was the most diverse singer during the period of time I was working. So I wanted to write about why I made those choices and how it was not an arbitrary thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ronstadt\u2019s career achievements are stunning. With nearly a dozen Grammys (and more than twice as many nominations), she has released 30 studio albums and sung on more than 100 others\u2014and sold more than 60 million albums worldwide. She\u2019s earned 19 gold, 14 platinum and seven multiplatinum albums.<\/p>\n
But the stats only tell part of the story. From her first hit \u201cDifferent Drum\u201d with the Stone Poneys in 1967, to her string of Top 10s including \u201cYou\u2019re No Good,\u201d \u201cWhen Will I Be Loved,\u201d and \u201cBlue Bayou,\u201d to her unforgettable standards with arranger Nelson Riddle and her collaborations with Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton, she\u2019s<\/p>\n
regarded as one of the finest interpretive vocalists of the past century. She will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Did writing the book come naturally?<\/b><\/p>\n
I\u2019d never written anything, not even a journal or a diary, and I only had one letter that my parents had saved. Otherwise it was from my memory, which is failing. I had to check with everybody and ask, \u201cDo you remember it this way?\u201d I also had a good copy editor who checked dates. Otherwise, I\u2019d have people dying way before they ever had children.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the first music you heard?<\/b><\/p>\n
It was probably two records by the Trio Calaveras, and Pastora Pav\u00f3n Cruz. Pastora was a flamenco singer, considered the greatest of the 20th century. I remember when I was very little watching that record spin around at 78 RPM and listening to those songs\u2014they just blew me away.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You\u2019re not a fan of records.<\/b><\/p>\n
People ask me what records I listen to at home, and the dirty little secret is I hardly listen to any records\u2014ever. I go out to hear live music, and musicians come over. All of the recorded music I did was a live experience for me, but then I never listened to it again. Music to me is always a work in progress, especially in the early stages when I\u2019m just learning it, climbing around in the rigging and trying to check out the architecture of the song. Then we\u2019d play it night after night and refine it, and I\u2019d learn how to really phrase, and I\u2019d be flying around without even thinking about it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When did you feel most confident with your voice?<\/b><\/p>\n
It was after 1980. When I went to Broadway to do The Pirates of Penzance<\/i> and did the Nelson Riddle albums, I learned a tremendous amount. Singing the Mexican recordings I learned even more. I was able to expand my voice. The Mexican stuff was harder than anything I ever did. By the time I got to [1992\u2019s] Frenesi<\/i>, I could learn stuff and just do it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How did your labels feel about your frequently changing styles?<\/b><\/p>\n
They didn\u2019t want me to do it. They were horrified! But I was lucky and got away with it. To their credit, once they saw that I was determined, they helped the best they could. But [Elektra\/Asylum] didn\u2019t know how to sell Mexican stuff. We probably could have sold 300 times more records if they\u2019d known how to sell records in Latin America. And I didn\u2019t want to have to go down there to play because some of those venues are dodgy. You have to show up with a gun to collect your money.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Did Peter Asher, your producer and manager, choose the songs?<\/b><\/p>\n
No\u2014but he had plenty to do. He was an excellent producer and a great troubleshooter, and he really knew how to get the best out of the musicians. Peter was good at hearing the ideas and he could recognize the better ones and string them on a thread. That\u2019s what a good producer can do. I did a lot of the arranging myself, and the musicians contributed a tremendous amount.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Producer-engineer George Massenburg was vital to your sound. \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
George taught me how to overdub. He had a very methodical way of doing vocal overdubs. That liberated me in the studio because I knew that I could sing anything I wanted. I could throw down any vocal with reckless abandon because if we didn\u2019t like it, we could edit it out with his surgical precision. He was the guy who pioneered that way of cutting something in mid-molecule and splicing it onto something else and making it sound absolutely natural. After digital recording came into use, we really could fly with those.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What\u2019s your personal favorite album?<\/b><\/p>\n
I did my best singing on [1993\u2019s] Winter Light<\/i>\u2014my voice and my musicianship were the best they were ever going to be during those years. I could sing pretty much whatever I set out to do. I\u2019m sure my early records would make me absolutely cringe and ruin my week\u2014I never listen to them, although sometimes I go back to them for reference.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Who was your favorite collaborator?<\/b><\/p>\n
Emmylou Harris was the longest running, but I couldn\u2019t narrow it down to one song because we just fell into each other\u2019s vocal groove so beautifully. We sang well together and we made a different sound than either of us did as an individual. I loved singing with Aaron Neville, too. It was like heaven because I can\u2019t do the things he can do. I did a lot of duets on the Mexican records, and that was fun. That music has such beautiful harmonies. I was also very happy with the record I made with Ann Savoy. I had just a\u00a0tiny piece of my voice left and I could barely sing so we made a very quiet record.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Which recent singers do you like?<\/b><\/p>\n
I like Adele\u2014she\u2019s an amazing singer.\u00a0Amy Winehouse was that way too\u2014she had a very urgent story to tell and great musicianship. I think Pink is really good. She\u2019s a good writer and she\u2019s really footed in the blues. And I like Alicia Keys.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Do you pay attention to critics?<\/b><\/p>\n
No. I learned early on not to read reviews, because if you believe the good ones you have to believe the bad ones. You don\u2019t do it for prizes or praise or publicity. You do what you need to do.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What\u2019s next for you?<\/b><\/p>\n
There\u2019s a lot of physical therapy in\u00a0my future, I suppose. (laughs<\/i>) In terms of music, I\u2019m really involved with this little group called Los Cenzontles that has a cultural center in San Pablo, Calif. I\u2019ve turned a lot of people on to them. I introduced them to the Chieftains and Ry Cooder.<\/p>\n
Dave Hidalgo introduced them to<\/p>\n
Taj Mahal. And Jackson Browne has been involved with them.That\u2019s where my musical family is in this part of the world. I have<\/p>\n
my musical family in Tucson and then I<\/p>\n
have my musical family here. They do a<\/p>\n
better job of teaching kids how to sing, dance and play than any place<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve ever seen.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LINDA RONSTADT\u00a0 One of music\u2019s most versatile voices reflects on her genre-defying career By Jeff Tamarkin Linda Ronstadt will never sing again. That\u2019s the unfortunate reality the superstar vocalist has had to come to terms with since being diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s disease. \u201cI know I\u2019d still be singing, because I\u2019ve sung my whole life,\u201d she […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3805],"tags":[7403,6069],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12295"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12295"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12297,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12295\/revisions\/12297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}