Women's History Month intends to honor, inspire, educate, unite and promote women in the face of forces intent on subjugating and silencing them. It is about those who overcame overt and imbedded assumptions and prejudice to be their best selves. RGB said it well:
“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.”
DAY 31: LINDA RONSTADT
(Image from lindaronstadt.com)
Linda is one of the greatest vocalists of the past eighty years. Her multi-range voice helped her achieve noteworthy commercial success in rock, new wave, country, light opera, standards, operettas, and Mexican folk music.
It's not that she failed at one, and had to search out another genre to find success. Linda succeeded from day 1, and chose these others out of desire and personal challenge. Trusting her instincts & owning her path has resulting in an amazing life for this woman. The result: 24 studio and 15 compilation albums, with top 10 releases in every musical genre listed above, plus eleven Grammy Awards and numerous other awards.
She inspires me because she's a honest, hard-working, take-no-shit, humbly confident person, while graciously sharing her gifts with others.
Linda grew up on her Arizona family ranch with parents that loved all forms of music. Rock and roll, rhythm and blues, gospel, opera, country, and mariachi were listened to, played, and sang to. She has credited that broad range of influence for her dynamic style and interests.
At 14, she and two siblings began performing at small venues in the Tucson area. Four years later, a guitarist she had duetted with convinced her to join him in Los Angeles. 18 years old and determined, they formed The Stone Ponies and released a hit single, "Different Drum". Recording companies loved the song, but “only wanted the girl”.
Linda made her mark in the folk rock scene of Southern California. However, her record company really didn't know what direction to take her talents. A new producer, greater coproduction by herself, and a new record label resulted in her career exploding. Songwriters were thrilled when Linda recorded their creations because she was such an amazing interpretive singer, was highly capable in registers from contralto to soprano, and excelled at singing to a syncopated 6/8 time. The Eagles second release, Desperado, was floundering until Linda released her version of the title track. As the seventies closed, she was the highest paid female singer in rock.
Restlessness and diverse roots led her to take on new wave, classical standards, operetta, and other passion projects that all succeeded. She credits it to not forcing music into her style, but rather, sticking to what the song demands, and how it compels her.
Her supportive and encouraging nature helped others on their musical journeys as well. When her backing band wanted to split off and try it on their own, she was all for it.
Through it all, Linda has stuck to her ideals and her passions with commitment, compassion, the American arts, and staying true to herself in a world that initially just wanted her to be “the chick singer” with an all-male band.
Her Wikipedia entry is a great start in learning more about her, as is the CNN documentary “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice”. Plus, there's more at:
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