"Oh, I can sing in my brain; I sing in my brain all the time."

September 1, 2019 2:54 PM

Linda Ronstadt's Parkinson's disease silenced one of the greatest singing voices of our time. Earlier this year she spoke before a sellout crowd about her life and the concurrent release of her first-ever live album—Linda Ronstadt: Live in Hollywood—made from newly-uncovered tapes of a made-for-TV concert in 1980. This week she spoke with the New Yorker about the upcoming documentary Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice
posted by Johnny Wallflower (13 comments total)

Good interview; I always liked her singing and it's heartbreaking that she can't do it at all now. I never felt like she got enough credit from contemporary critics in the '70s but it doesn't seem like that ever bothered her.

Here's Linda, Dolly and Emmylou doing After the Gold Rush from Letterman's show from twenty years ago.
posted by octothorpe at 3:23 PM on September 1, 2019 [20 favorites]

Five consecutive platinum albums does a lot for one's attitude toward critics, I assume.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 3:52 PM on September 1, 2019 [10 favorites]

What a good thing she started so young!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 3:56 PM on September 1, 2019

Linda is a treasure, and both the albums she did with Dolly and Emmylou are outstanding.
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 3:58 PM on September 1, 2019 [6 favorites]

It may seem trivial, but she really did have one of the most enjoyable Simpsons guest appearances.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:41 PM on September 1, 2019 [7 favorites]

Chrysostom, the writer of that episode said once that the Spanish Plow King song "remains the most beautiful thing I've ever heard."
posted by Space Coyote at 8:54 PM on September 1, 2019 [5 favorites]

My favorite is Canciones de Mi Padre!
posted by The Toad at 9:13 PM on September 1, 2019 [6 favorites]

Her bigger hits really didn’t show off her voice all that much, with maybe the exception of Blue Bayou. But when she had a song that allowed her to showcase what she could do, her voice was one of the purest out there. Her Spanish language work often has some fantastic singing. (She’s from here in Tucson, and her family goes back a ways here. The name Ronstadt is on a lot of things out here.)
posted by azpenguin at 10:14 PM on September 1, 2019 [3 favorites]

I will be reading all the links after I have queued up the necessary background music, beginning with a favorite from her days with the Stone Poneys, Different Drum, which I just learned was written by Mike Nesmith. Jesus, what a sweet voice.

Thanks for this post.
posted by she's not there at 10:19 PM on September 1, 2019 [3 favorites]

Linda's cameo is absolutely the best 15 minutes of the 3 hour Eagles documentary.
posted by humboldt32 at 8:10 AM on September 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

I mean, the 2:40 mark of this song ... good lord, what a voice.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 11:07 AM on September 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

Nesmith sang a comic version of Different Drum on the Monkees TV show once.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 11:42 AM on September 2, 2019

God bless her for the Nelson Riddle albums. And so much more.
posted by davidmsc at 10:37 PM on September 2, 2019 [3 favorites]