Linda Ronstadt

Linda Ronstadt

Linda Ronstadt's illustrious career has earned her numerous prestigious awards and accolades. She boasts 11 Grammy Awards, demonstrating her remarkable talent and enduring impact in the music industry. Additionally, Ronstadt has been honored with three American Music Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, and an ALMA Award, showcasing her versatility across different genres and mediums.


Her albums have achieved remarkable commercial success, with many being certified gold, platinum, or multiplatinum in both the United States and internationally. Ronstadt's contributions to music have been recognized with nominations for a Tony Award and a Golden Globe award, underscoring her influence beyond the realm of music recordings.


In recognition of her exceptional contributions to Latin music, Ronstadt was awarded the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award by the Latin Recording Academy in 2011. Furthermore, she received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy in 2016, a testament to her enduring impact on the music industry.


Linda Ronstadt's influence extends beyond music awards and recognitions. In April 2014, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, solidifying her status as a legendary figure in rock and popular music history. Her significant contributions to arts and humanities were further acknowledged when she was awarded the National Medal of Arts and Humanities on July 28, 2014.


In 2019, Ronstadt received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, jointly with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris, commemorating their collaborative work as the group Trio. Additionally, she was among the five distinguished honorees who received the 2019 Kennedy Center Honors for their lifetime artistic achievements, reaffirming her lasting legacy in the world of music and culture.


Linda Ronstadt's remarkable discography reflects her enduring popularity and commercial success in the music industry. Over the course of her career, she has released a total of 24 studio albums and 15 compilation or greatest hits albums, showcasing her versatility and breadth as an artist.


Her impact on the charts is equally impressive. Ronstadt charted an impressive 38 singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Among these singles, twenty-one reached the top 40, highlighting her consistent presence and appeal to audiences. Notably, she achieved the coveted number one spot with "You're No Good," a testament to her chart-topping prowess.


In the UK, Ronstadt's influence extended across the pond, with notable chart success for her collaborations and solo releases. Her duets "Somewhere Out There" with James Ingram and "Don't Know Much" with Aaron Neville both achieved significant chart positions, peaking at numbers 8 and 2 respectively. Additionally, her single "Blue Bayou" reached number 35 on the UK Singles charts, further solidifying her international appeal and acclaim.


On the album front, Ronstadt's impact on the US Billboard Pop Album Chart is equally noteworthy. She charted an impressive 36 albums, with ten albums reaching the top 10 and three albums achieving the coveted number 1 spot. This consistent success underscores her enduring popularity and influence as a recording artist.


Through her chart-topping singles and albums, Linda Ronstadt has left an indelible mark on the music industry, earning her a place among the most celebrated and influential artists of her generation.


Linda Ronstadt's illustrious career is marked by a rich tapestry of collaborations with artists spanning diverse genres, showcasing her remarkable versatility and vocal prowess. She has worked with a wide array of musicians, including iconic figures such as Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Bette Midler, Billy Eckstine, and Frank Zappa, among many others. Ronstadt's collaborations extend across a broad musical spectrum, from country and folk to rock, jazz, and beyond.


Her contributions to over 120 albums and her impressive record sales, exceeding 100 million records, firmly establish her as one of the world's best-selling artists of all time. Critics and fans alike have lauded her exceptional vocal talent, with Christopher Loudon of Jazz Times praising her as "blessed with arguably the most sterling set of pipes of her generation."


In the early 2000s, Ronstadt made the difficult decision to reduce her musical activities as she sensed her singing voice deteriorating. She released her final solo album in 2004 and her last collaborative album in 2006, culminating in her final live concert in 2009. In 2011, she announced her retirement from singing, attributing it to a degenerative condition initially diagnosed as Parkinson's disease but later determined to be progressive supranuclear palsy.


Despite her retirement from performing, Ronstadt has remained active in the public eye, engaging in public speaking tours and authoring her autobiography, "Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir," released in September 2013. Her life and career have been further immortalized in the documentary "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice," offering audiences a deeper insight into her remarkable journey in music.


Linda Maria Ronstadt was born into a tight-knit family in Tucson, Arizona, on July 15, 1946. She was the third of four children born to Gilbert Ronstadt, a successful machinery merchant who operated the F. Ronstadt Co., and Ruth Mary Ronstadt, a devoted homemaker.


Growing up on the family's 10-acre ranch, Linda shared her childhood with her siblings Peter, Michael, and Gretchen. Peter later served as Tucson's Chief of Police for a decade from 1981 to 1991. The Ronstadt family was featured in Family Circle magazine in 1953, reflecting their presence and influence within the community. Raised with a Roman Catholic upbringing, Linda's early years were shaped by the warmth and support of her family and the picturesque surroundings of their ranch in Tucson.


Linda Ronstadt's family history is deeply rooted in the rich tapestry of Arizona's pioneering heritage. Her father hailed from a long line of Arizona ranchers and was of Mexican descent, with ancestral roots tracing back to Germany. The Ronstadt family's legacy in Arizona spans various fields, including wagon making, commerce, pharmacies, and music, all of which are commemorated in the University of Arizona's library.


Linda's great-grandfather, Friedrich August Ronstadt, known as Federico Augusto Ronstadt, immigrated to Sonora, Mexico, in the 1840s from Hanover, Germany, before settling in the Southwest, then a part of Mexico. He married a Mexican citizen and eventually made Tucson his home, contributing significantly to the city's development and mobility as a wagon maker.


On her mother's side, Ruth Mary Ronstadt, Linda's mother, hailed from a background of German, English, and Dutch ancestry. Ruth Mary grew up in Flint, Michigan, where her father, Lloyd Groff Copeman, made notable contributions as a prolific inventor. Copeman held nearly 700 patents and invented various household appliances, including an early electric toaster, refrigerator devices, the grease gun, the first electric stove, and a precursor to the microwave oven. His innovative rubber ice cube tray alone brought him substantial royalties and left an enduring mark on the world of kitchenware.


Linda Ronstadt's professional journey began in the mid-1960s when she emerged as a prominent figure in California's burgeoning folk rock and country rock scenes, which played significant roles in shaping post-1960s rock music. She joined forces with Bobby Kimmel and Kenny Edwards to form the Stone Poneys, a folk-rock trio, where she served as the lead singer.


Transitioning to a solo career, Ronstadt released "Hand Sown ... Home Grown" in 1969, a record that has been hailed as the first alternative country album by a female recording artist. While widespread fame initially eluded her during this period, Ronstadt actively toured with iconic artists such as the Doors, Neil Young, and Jackson Browne. She also made numerous television appearances and lent her vocals to albums by various artists.


Ronstadt's breakthrough came with the release of chart-topping albums like "Heart Like a Wheel," "Simple Dreams," and "Living in the USA." These albums propelled her to become the first female "arena class" rock star, setting records as one of the highest-grossing concert artists of the decade. Dubbed the "First Lady of Rock" and the "Queen of Rock," Ronstadt was voted the Top Female Pop Singer of the 1970s. Her rock-and-roll persona was as iconic as her music, gracing the covers of Rolling Stone, Newsweek, and Time magazines on multiple occasions.


In the 1980s, Linda Ronstadt expanded her artistic horizons by venturing into Broadway, where she earned a Tony nomination for her role in The Pirates of Penzance. She also collaborated with renowned composer Philip Glass and explored traditional music genres, showcasing her versatility as an artist. One of her notable collaborations during this period was with conductor Nelson Riddle, a move considered unconventional for a rock-and-roll artist at the time. However, the risk paid off, and Ronstadt continued to be one of the music industry's best-selling acts throughout the 1980s.


Her albums during this era, including Mad Love, What's New, Canciones de Mi Padre, and Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind, achieved multi-platinum status, further solidifying her place as a top-selling artist. Despite her immense success, Ronstadt remained active in touring, recording, and collaborating, releasing celebrated albums like Winter Light and Hummin' to Myself.


Most of Ronstadt's albums have been certified gold, platinum, or multi-platinum, reflecting her widespread appeal and commercial success. With over 100 million records sold worldwide and a reputation as one of the top-grossing concert performers for over a decade, Ronstadt emerged as the most successful female singer of the 1970s and one of the most accomplished female recording artists in U.S. history.


Her contributions to music transcended genres, as she opened doors for women in rock and roll and other musical genres by championing songwriters and musicians, pioneering chart success in the concert circuit, and embracing various musical movements throughout her career.