Linda Ronstadt facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Linda Ronstadt
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Ronstadt in 1976
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| Birth name | Linda Maria Ronstadt |
| Born | July 15, 1946 Tucson, Arizona, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1965–2011 |
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Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer. She was famous for performing and recording music in many different styles. These styles included rock, country, light opera, and Latin music.
Ronstadt won 11 Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards, and an Emmy Award. Many of her albums sold so many copies they were certified gold, platinum, or multiplatinum. She was also nominated for a Tony Award and a Golden Globe award. In 2014, she was welcomed into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2019, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris for their group, Trio.
Ronstadt released 24 studio albums and 15 compilation albums. She had 38 singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. One of her most famous songs, "You're No Good", reached number one. She also collaborated with over 120 artists, including Dolly Parton, Frank Zappa, Paul Simon, and Johnny Cash.
After 2000, Ronstadt noticed her singing voice was getting weaker. She performed her last concert in 2009 and announced her retirement in 2011. She later shared that she could no longer sing because of a health condition. Since then, she has written a book about her life called Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir. A documentary about her, Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice, was released in 2019.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Linda Maria Ronstadt was born in Tucson, Arizona, on July 15, 1946. She was the third of four children. Her father, Gilbert, was a machinery merchant, and her mother, Ruth Mary, was a homemaker. The family lived on a 10-acre (4 ha) ranch.
Ronstadt's family had a rich history. Her father's family was from Mexico and Germany and played a big role in Arizona's history. They were involved in wagon making, business, and music. Her great-grandfather, Federico Augusto Ronstadt, moved from Germany to Mexico and then to the American Southwest.
Her mother's family was of German, English, and Dutch heritage. Her maternal grandfather, Lloyd Groff Copeman, was an inventor with nearly 700 patents. He invented an early electric toaster, an electric stove, and the flexible rubber ice cube tray.
Start of Her Music Career
Ronstadt's childhood was full of music. She listened to many kinds of music, like Mexican folk songs, rock and roll, and country. She said that the music she heard at home inspired her entire career. She was influenced by singers like Lola Beltrán, Édith Piaf, Ella Fitzgerald, and Maria Callas.
At age 14, Ronstadt formed a folk trio with her brother and sister. They called themselves "the Union City Ramblers." In 1964, at age 18, she moved to Los Angeles to start a professional music career.
The Stone Poneys
In Los Angeles, Ronstadt joined her friend Bobby Kimmel and guitarist Kenny Edwards to form a folk-rock trio called the Stone Poneys. They released three albums between 1967 and 1968. Their biggest hit was the song "Different Drum", which reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Solo Career and Touring
After the Stone Poneys, Ronstadt started her solo career. Her first solo album, Hand Sown ... Home Grown, came out in 1969. It is considered one of the first alternative country albums by a female artist. Her second album, Silk Purse, included the hit song "Long Long Time". This song earned her her first Grammy nomination.
In the early 1970s, Ronstadt toured with a backing band that included Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner. These musicians later formed the famous band, the Eagles. They played on her third album, Linda Ronstadt.
Rise to Stardom in the 1970s
Ronstadt's career took off in the mid-1970s. She began working with producer Peter Asher, who helped her create some of her most successful albums. Their partnership allowed her to have more creative control over her music.
Heart Like a Wheel
Her 1974 album, Heart Like a Wheel, was a huge success. It reached number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and sold over two million copies. The album included the number 1 hit single "You're No Good" and another hit, "When Will I Be Loved". For this album, she won her first Grammy Award for the song "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)".
This success made Ronstadt a major star. She appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine for the first of six times.
More Platinum Albums
Ronstadt continued to release hit albums throughout the 1970s.
- Prisoner in Disguise (1975) sold over a million copies and featured the hit song "Heat Wave".
- Hasten Down the Wind (1976) also went platinum and won her a second Grammy Award. It included her version of the Willie Nelson song "Crazy".
- Simple Dreams (1977) was her most successful album of the decade. It stayed at number 1 for five weeks and sold over 3.5 million copies in the U.S. It featured hit singles like "Blue Bayou" and "It's So Easy".
- Living in the USA (1978) was another number 1 album. It was the first album in history to be certified "double-platinum" for selling two million copies before it was even released.
By the end of the 1970s, Ronstadt was known as the "First Lady of Rock" and was the highest-paid woman in rock music.
Exploring New Music Styles in the 1980s
In the 1980s, Ronstadt decided to try new things. She wanted to explore different kinds of music beyond rock and roll.
Broadway and Operetta
In 1980, Ronstadt starred in the Broadway musical The Pirates of Penzance. Her performance was a huge hit with critics and audiences. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her role. She also starred in the movie version of the musical in 1983.
Pop Standards with Nelson Riddle
Ronstadt then decided to record albums of classic American pop songs from the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. She worked with the famous conductor Nelson Riddle. Together, they released three very successful albums:
- What's New (1983)
- Lush Life (1984)
- For Sentimental Reasons (1986)
These albums introduced a new generation to the Great American Songbook. What's New sold over three million copies in the U.S.
Trio and Country Music
In 1987, Ronstadt teamed up with her friends Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris to release the album Trio. The album was a massive success. It reached number 1 on the country charts and won a Grammy Award. They released a second album, Trio II, in 1999, which also won a Grammy.
Celebrating Her Mexican Heritage
In 1987, Ronstadt released Canciones de Mi Padre (which means "My Father's Songs"). The album was a collection of traditional Mexican folk songs that she grew up with. It became the best-selling non-English language album in U.S. history and won a Grammy Award. She later released two more Spanish-language albums, Mas Canciones (1991) and Frenesí (1992), which both won Grammys.
Later Career and Retirement
Ronstadt returned to pop music in the late 1980s. Her 1989 album, Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind, was a huge hit. It sold over three million copies and featured two famous duets with singer Aaron Neville: "Don't Know Much" and "All My Life". Both songs won Grammy Awards.
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Ronstadt continued to record albums in different styles, including country-rock, lullabies for children, and traditional folk music. Her final album, Adieu False Heart, was a collaboration with musician Ann Savoy released in 2006.
In 2011, Ronstadt announced her retirement from music. In 2013, she shared that she had been diagnosed with a degenerative condition that made her unable to sing. The diagnosis was later updated to progressive supranuclear palsy.
Personal Life
In the 1970s, Ronstadt was friends with California Governor Jerry Brown. In the 1980s, she was engaged to Star Wars director George Lucas, but they did not marry.
Ronstadt never married but adopted two children: a daughter, Mary Clementine, in 1990, and a son, Carlos, in 1994. She moved from Los Angeles to San Francisco in the late 1980s and later returned to her hometown of Tucson, Arizona, to raise her children.
Ronstadt has also been active in supporting causes she believes in. She has spoken out about politics, human rights, and protecting the environment.
Legacy and Achievements
Linda Ronstadt is one of the most successful and versatile female singers in music history. She has sold over 100 million records worldwide.
- She has 11 Grammy Awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
- She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
- She received the National Medal of Arts and Humanities in 2014.
- She was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2019.
Ronstadt's ability to sing in many different genres opened doors for other female artists. She introduced audiences to the work of many great songwriters and helped bring different styles of music, like country-rock and traditional Mexican music, to a wider audience.
Images for kids
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Ronstadt at the New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum, August 16, 1978
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Ronstadt on the cover of Cash Box; November 13, 1976
See also
In Spanish: Linda Ronstadt para niños
