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Post by musicaamator on Jan 29, 2013 15:26:29 GMT -5
It never struck me that Linda might have dabbled in that stuff--maybe it's the angelic face. So I guess it wasn't too surprising that she did as told in her first cover story for Rolling Stone: "On the road to Bakersfield, Ronstadt talked some more about drugs. She has taken just about every drug around, she said in answer to a question. But she's given up almost every one. Grass once made her hands swell, she said. Cocaine made her "feel terrible. And I also can't take opiates." Nor can she drink. A steady diet of gin, she said, made her dizzy and she thought she had vertigo. Other drinks gave her skin rashes. She tried heroin "once or twice, but it's not for me." She can take speed and declared Methedrine her only remaining vice. "But it makes me sneeze too much."(source: www.ronstadt-linda.com/artrs75.htm) However, about 5 years later, in her Playboy interview she denies it all: "PLAYBOY: Are you claiming that all the stuff written about you in the past - the sex and drugs - was made up or distorted by the press?
RONSTADT: (Leaning toward the tape recorder) I've never taken drugs, not even an aspirin...
PLAYBOY: Come on, Linda.
RONSTADT: Look, if I did all the things that the newspapers said I did, I would have to be cloned. There are simply not enough hours in the day. Sure, the reports were exaggerated.
PLAYBOY: You mean you're not an authentic, hard-living rock 'n' roller?
RONSTADT: The real hard rock 'n' rollers are dead. The ones who survived paced themselves. But, yes, I am intense, and, yes I take chances, and, yes, I push it to the limit - but there is a limit."( www.ronstadt-linda.com/playboy80.htm) I like to think she did not do that stuff but if she said that the press exaggerated it, why would she admit to it in the first RS story? But then again, it was the 70's--I'm just glad she didn't get addicted to any of that. I mean she did do an Anti-Drug PSA: "This is Linda Ronstadt. If you get high, be sure you don’t die. Some drugs speed you up, and some drugs slow you down. Booze makes it all the more dangerous. Watch out for the things that might wreck you, or your pickup truck. "( psahub.com/30-second-psa/linda-ronstadt-1970s-rock-star-anti-drug-psa-from-wfmu/Not knocking her for experimenting, but I guess I just can't picture her doing that stuff, especially smack (if that is true). But then again I was floored to learn that Charlie Watts of the Stones was on smack too--and he was the least member of that band I thought would chase the dragon. What do you guys think? |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2013 17:58:43 GMT -5
The only one who knows for sure is Linda, but my guess is that she used some drugs for awhile...
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Post by erik on Jan 29, 2013 18:47:38 GMT -5
I don't think there is any question that she experimented with drugs; after all, it was the early 1970s when she did most of it, and who in her profession didn't do it, for whatever reason? But the operative thing to remember is that she never got so hooked on the stuff that she didn't live long enough to see her 40s, let alone her late 60s. She had the good sense to know what it could do, as she had seen it happen to Gram Parsons in 1973, and would see it happen to Lowell George in 1979.
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Post by Dianna on Jan 29, 2013 19:29:57 GMT -5
The drug subject was brought up years later, around 2005 during her hummin interview at her tucson home.. I can't recall the show.. but it's here or on harold's page.. she never denied taking drugs.. smoking, inhaling .. ect.. but she was never an addict or an abuser.. I found the clip.. on part 2.. she talks addresses it. www.lindaronstadt.com/files/CBSNSM/CBS_SundayAM.html |
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Post by sliderocker on Jan 29, 2013 22:35:42 GMT -5
The drug subject was brought up years later, around 2005 during her hummin interview at her tucson home.. I can't recall the show.. but it's here or on harold's page.. she never denied taking drugs.. smoking, inhaling .. ect.. but she was never an addict or an abuser.. I found the clip.. on part 2.. she talks addresses it. She addresses it but doesn't go into the specifics, but with the Playboy interview and this interview, I kind of wonder the news media of the 70s - with their obsession for emphasizing the drug culture of rock music - overemphasized what Linda did do in the way of drugs? After Elvis died, every rock star who died, according to the news media, died of a drug overdose even when the death wasn't caused by an overdose. There were enough who would die from an overdose but the news media was very irresponsible in calling every death an overdose. I would think Linda's drug use, whatever it was, wasn't as bad as what it was for others. Maybe more of a curiousity on her part, most of the time. |
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Post by Dianna on Jan 29, 2013 23:06:16 GMT -5
wasn't it reported during the 70's Linda had to have her nose cauterized from cocaine use? I remember somebody telling me that. Those writers could have twisted Linda' words up.. Linda seems very open about her music and many other things and is opinionated but she doesn't go into much detail about her personal life or struggles she might have or had. Some of us nosey people like me like to know. lol
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Post by sliderocker on Jan 30, 2013 4:15:57 GMT -5
wasn't it reported during the 70's Linda had to have her nose cauterized from cocaine use? I remember somebody telling me that.
I believe Linda was quoted in Rolling Stone as saying her nose had been cauterized twice because of cocaine use. And I've seen references to her admitting to drug use in other magazine interviews that can be read on the unofficial Linda Ronstadt website. As to whether...
Those writers could have twisted Linda' words up..
Anything is possible, including the possibility they made the words up. Or Linda said it, trying to convey she was part of that scene at the time (when she wasn't), and possibly never dreamed that someone somewhere would save all those interviews and post them on something called the internet (which didn't exist in the late 70s) for all to see and read, much to her (possible) embarrassment because of later denials. All it takes to damage credibility is for someone to say they didn't do it, and then someone else produces the article with the words that you say you didn't say or a photograph showing you doing something you denied. I recall another singer years ago who said she didn't smoke cigarettes, yet a short time after her denial, busted - foot in mouth (er um, cigarette in mouth, actually), complete with photo. It doesn't really do a lot of good for a celebrity to deny something in the internet age. Someone can find it, post it and then the celebrity is caught in a lie. It's probably something though that others wouldn't consider major, chalking it up as something to be blown off as a forgotten memory or something the celebrity doesn't genuinely remembers. We all remember the things that were important to us while painful, bad memories are usually - and hopefully - forgotten.
Linda seems very open about her music and many other things and is opinionated but she doesn't go into much detail about her personal life or struggles she might have or had. Some of us nosey people like me like to know. lol
Linda's forthcoming auto-bio may be as Erik hopes for: a recollection of her life, music and times in the music biz, the people she's known in her professional life, and little to nothing about her private life and struggles. When the CBS reporter asked Linda about relationships/marriage, I thought she was rather quick with her answer, a kind of answer that suggested she didn't like being asked the question but she was being put in a spot about it and came up with something to deflect it. Maybe there's some heartache and sorrow behind her reasons and it's best not to pry. It's her choice if she wants to discuss it but she chooses not to, and I think people (especially reporters) should respect her privacy with regards to that issue.
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Post by erik on Jan 30, 2013 10:14:02 GMT -5
Quote by sliderocker re. Linda and marriage:
I think she realized that marriage really wasn't something for her; and the fact that she had some "affairs" that went south may have compounded of it. But she has always been something of a wanderer; and it has to be said that showbiz is not really all that conducive to what we think is a "normal" life, especially when you get exposed to the excesses that drugs represent.
In any case, if she wants to go into detail about that in her memoir, that's fine; if not, that's fine too. Just strictly speaking for myself, my main interest would be in reading about her professional relationships and friendships that she cultivated over the years and how they've shaped her as a singer and as a person.
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Post by sliderocker on Jan 30, 2013 15:09:15 GMT -5
I think she realized that marriage really wasn't something for her; and the fact that she had some "affairs" that went south may have compounded of it. But she has always been something of a wanderer; and it has to be said that showbiz is not really all that conducive to what we think is a "normal" life, especially when you get exposed to the excesses that drugs represent.
All of this could be true, but I also think another part of the problem could've been Linda's expectations. Some of the interviews I've seen or read suggested Linda had some very high expectations of what she wanted in a relationship - like wanting a guy to be as successful financially as what she was. Nothing wrong with that other than it limits your chances for success, as you may end up passing someone by who could've been just perfect for you. Linda was well off financially so she didn't need another person's wealth, but I think she was caught in a societal mindset of the times that said a man must always be more successful than a woman, and that it's okay for a woman to marry someone far wealthier than what she was but it was never okay for the man who was less successful to marry a wealthy woman. It was sort of like the same mindset in which it was okay for a woman to marry an older man (but not too much older), but not okay for an older woman to marry a younger man (whether it was a few years younger or a lot younger). Relationships can be complex but the one expectation any man or woman doesn't need is a society's expectations.
In any case, if she wants to go into detail about that in her memoir, that's fine; if not, that's fine too. Just strictly speaking for myself, my main interest would be in reading about her professional relationships and friendships that she cultivated over the years and how they've shaped her as a singer and as a person.
I've got my doubts she will go into any great detail about her personal relationships. She doesn't seem to be the kiss and tell type. I'm not particularly interested in the personal relationships she's had, but I am interested in her as a person. Her auto-bio book should be part "This is what it's like being me," and part "These are the times I've lived through and people I have known and what I did during those times," and part "The music I've made in my life."
Quite honestly, she may have enough material for a 5-600 paged book, although her book may be like James Garner's auto-bio book. He also has lived quite a life in his 85 years of life, but his auto-bio book only totalled about 300 pages. I've got a feeling the publisher may have curbed it tot that little but still it's great read.
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Post by Dianna on Jan 30, 2013 15:30:15 GMT -5
well slide, her expectations may have been high for a partner but she was once engaged to a powerful and successful man, so if finances and power or equality of those things were her needs, it was certainly met with Lucas.
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Post by the Scribe on Jan 30, 2013 16:44:45 GMT -5
Linda did a RAD public spot against drugs way back in the day. You're No Good was playing in the background. I think it was late 70's. I kind of doubt she screwed around with drugs after that and probably not that much at all before that. She discovered her limits very early and made mostly good choices. It has to scare you or at least make you think when close friends like Belushi and Lowell George get taken down by that crap. It is a terrible waste and so self-destructive. I think she had the "maternal" bug to fulfill in the not so distant future and that probably helped to keep her on the straight and narrow. It made sense she mostly pulled out of the business to raise a family. It provided her with a good excuse to stay clean and it may have saved her life when you think about it.
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Post by Dianna on Jan 30, 2013 16:49:24 GMT -5
yes, I'm sure Linda was smart enough to figure out the serious outcome of drugs. it also seems even if she did try or wanted to her body had a bad reation towards narcotics and booze, so it probably didn't feel good and wasn't worth it.
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Post by sliderocker on Jan 30, 2013 16:49:34 GMT -5
well slide, her expectations may have been high for a partner but she was once engaged to a powerful and successful man, so if finances and power or equality of those things were her needs, it was certainly met with Lucas. True, but even that relationship went south, although that was after she was already established and quite successful. Same for Lucas, and he was probably the richer of the two. I say probably because no one really knows the true value of a celebrity's wealth except the celebrity and his or her accountants and maybe the companies that paid the royalties. But, I'm also reminded of how the news media often overexaggerates a celebrity's personal wealth and how only rarely in a blue moon are they on the mark. I recall the news media estimating Howard Hughes's personal wealth (before his death) as being over a billion dollars, yet when he died, when his estate was probated, he was worth $70 million. Still a rich man by any measure but nowhere near as wealthy as reported by the news media. Of course, Linda did date down once, when she dated actor-comedian Jim Carrey, back when he was just getting started. But, that relationship also didn't last long, though I wonder how many of her relationships may have been overexaggerations by the same news media? That is, they saw and reported something they thought was serious but it was never anything serious to begin with. As for her engagement to Lucas, pity it didn't work out for her. But, she has been pretty tight lipped about why the relationship ended, never saying which one of them was responsible for ending the relationship. I don't think Lucas has ever talked about their relationship either. It sort of makes me wonder if their former relationship could still be a sensitive issue for the both of them? |
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Post by the Scribe on Jan 30, 2013 18:27:52 GMT -5
She isn't the marrying type. Some couples do fine until marriage enters the picture. I read how they each adopted each others children but who knows how accurate that is.
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Post by sliderocker on Jan 30, 2013 21:36:02 GMT -5
She isn't the marrying type. Some couples do fine until marriage enters the picture. I read how they each adopted each others children but who knows how accurate that is. Since I don't know Linda personally, I can't really say one way or the other whether she is or isn't the marrying type. That she's a long time single person suggests she isn't the marrying type, yet there could be other reasons why she's single and her single status could be a subject she doesn't consider anybody else's business. |
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Post by voigt kampf on Jan 31, 2013 0:18:50 GMT -5
Lucas discussed the relationship briefly in a 60 Minutes interview.
If I recall correctly, he said Linda was the love of his life, and they
broke up because he wanted to get married but she did not.
She continued to record at Skywalker Studios for at least a
decade after their breakup, so I don't think it was acrimonious.
And wasn't he reported to have attended one of her concerts
in the last few years?
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Post by the Scribe on Jan 31, 2013 10:31:45 GMT -5
Regarding George sometimes all it takes is the talk of marriage to break up a long time relationship. As far as Jim Carrey is concerned I would think he may have been more of a boy-toy or someone to turn the pages of War and Peace for her as she read.
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Post by Richard W on Jan 31, 2013 11:45:49 GMT -5
One does wonder how Albert Brooks fit into the scheme of things...
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Post by the Scribe on Jan 31, 2013 12:49:37 GMT -5
One does wonder how Albert Brooks fit into the scheme of things... I know. I never considered him as funny. Amusing maybe. But obviously he has good taste although he did let her get away but that may have been more Linda. Always the curious and restless soul. |
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Post by sliderocker on Jan 31, 2013 15:27:14 GMT -5
I know. I never considered him as funny. Amusing maybe. But obviously he has good taste although he did let her get away but that may have been more Linda. Always the curious and restless soul. I never quite got what Linda saw in Steve Martin...that one still is a headscratcher for me. Curiously, I was trying to look up any possible articles on George Lucas and Linda, but did find this one website which had a list of men she had dated. Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin was one, one which I don't ever remember hearing anything about. Every other guy on that website they had her as dating I remember reading back in the 70s or 80s. Plant, I'm not so sure about. I found another website - a quasi-astrological website that seemed to be patterned on wikipedia, if it wasn't a direct offshot. I say quasi because it didn't really go into much of anything as it related to astrology, although it did list Linda's time of birth on July 15, 1946 as 5:39 pm mountain time. Again, something new for me. There were a couple of other entries I found curious and maybe questionable, as again, I didn't remember hearing or reading anything about them. One was about Linda going into rehab in the 90s. That just struck me as bogus as one would think it would've been reported at the time. The other was the discovery in 1998 that Linda had a problem with sleep apnea that required her to be hospitalized. Again, something I hadn't heard prior. And again, it just strikes me as being bogus, of the National Enquirer variety. |
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Post by philly on Jan 31, 2013 16:41:14 GMT -5
One does wonder how Albert Brooks fit into the scheme of things... Remember this from People in '79: Returning to L.A. abruptly mid-tour, he met Ronstadt at a party. "I was going with Linda just before big things started happening for her," says Albert. "We liked each other because we had the same fear of performing." They were together two years, under the same roof for one. And Albert's old girlfriend Linda Ronstadt has said that Brooks "turned me into a human being." "That's right," Albert confides. "When I first met her she was a Volvo. I said, 'Linda, as a car you're not going to work out.' " The two are still close but also didn't work out. Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin was one, one which I don't ever remember hearing anything about. Every other guy on that website they had her as dating I remember reading back in the 70s or 80s. Plant, I'm not so sure about. Maybe this picture gave them the idea:  *****P.S. be on the lookout for an interview NPR's Laura Sydell did with Linda last friday about her interest in American and Mexican traditional music. Haven't been able to find it, don't think it's been published yet... |
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Post by sliderocker on Feb 1, 2013 4:53:02 GMT -5
I remember that photo but still couldn't see Linda and Robert Plant dating any more than I could see Linda and Mick Jagger dating. Just thinking about Linda dating Jagger gives me the willies.
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Post by musicaamator on Feb 1, 2013 7:23:20 GMT -5
Yea, that's a new one on me with being linked to Robert Plant. But guess we'll never really know as Linda has been very private with her private life. Interesting that she dated so many comedians--must like guys with sense of humour although I remember on her 1983 Carson interview she said she was a sucker for musicians (love it when Carson turns to the Tonight Show band and asks "Any honest musicians?"). So her hook-ups with Brooks, Martin, Carey are interesting though head scratching. Maybe it was the drugs.  |
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Post by sliderocker on Feb 1, 2013 16:32:04 GMT -5
Yea, that's a new one on me with being linked to Robert Plant. But guess we'll never really know as Linda has been very private with her private life.
Maybe she'll discuss something of her private life in her autobiography. I was looking at some of the news media reports from 2011 when it was first announced she was writing her autobiography, and some of those reports suggested part of the book would cover her private life. But, in other interviews and stories I've read on Linda, she makes it clear ehr private life is taboo. Don't ask because she's not going to tell. And until her book is released, it's just speculation at this point as to what will be in the book and what won't. People hoping for a kiss-and-tell may be disappointed.
Interesting that she dated so many comedians--must like guys with sense of humour although I remember on her 1983 Carson interview she said she was a sucker for musicians (love it when Carson turns to the Tonight Show band and asks "Any honest musicians?"). So her hook-ups with Brooks, Martin, Carey are interesting though head scratching.
I sometimes wondered if Linda ever considered dating someone who wasn't in the business or in politics? Would it have made a difference in her life if the person she dated had been a "civilian," someone not in show business or politics? Some celebrities are married to people not in the business. Dolly Parton's husband has never sought to be in his wife's limelight. On the other hand, Elvis Presley longed to be with someone who didn't want to be in the business but the one he married actively sought to be in show business during their marriage. And the girls he dated after his divorce were all beauty queen types and who likewise sought the media spotlight or were aggressively pursued by the news media. Maybe he got more comfortable with the idea or like Linda, decided marriage wasn't for him.
Or maybe the truth of the matter for both of them, was neither actively stopped looking for someone they could be married to for life, but neither found someone they could be secure about to want marriage with that person. As I've often said, how many guys did she date who loved Linda Ronstadt (the celebrity) but not really Linda Ronstadt (the person)?
Maybe it was the drugs.
That might explain Jagger. There's a comment Linda made that's in the Quotes from Linda Ronstadt in which she talked about not wanting to kiss 17 guys in a row (or something like that) at her concerts because she didn't know where their mouths had been and it would be unsanitary and she'd have to brush her teeth every time. Jagger had been with quite a few women by his own admission, and by the time he and Linda dated, that total was probably already a staggering total. What was the difference between Jagger and the guys at her concert? I think the guys at her concerts might have been less of a risk than what Jagger might have been - unless his talk about the number of women he's been with was all BS, which it could've been.
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Post by hotwater on Feb 1, 2013 16:35:29 GMT -5
I remember that photo but still couldn't see Linda and Robert Plant dating any more than I could see Linda and Mick Jagger dating. Just thinking about Linda dating Jagger gives me the willies. LOL Glad to see i wasn't only one that felt that way on that ,,, |
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Post by Dianna on Feb 1, 2013 16:51:31 GMT -5
Plant sure has a freakishly large skull.
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Post by the Scribe on Feb 1, 2013 17:41:05 GMT -5
Plant sure has a freakishly large skull. Jagger is a "bad boy" and sex with him would be like having anonymous sex. One doesn't have to be good looking to be sexy or appealing. It's just sex and wouldn't mean much except for the fun and curiousity of it all. Linda is curious by nature. Curious as a cat I think. I can relate. Plant may have a big giant head but musically the man is doubly-awesome. Did you know that on average MOST celebrity types have heads that are larger than the average person? (little known factoid) I think a small head would be more freakish. |
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Post by Dianna on Feb 1, 2013 17:47:57 GMT -5
Not only that but he does have a mop too. lol.. which I can relate.. tons of hair.. Nothing against Mr Plant. I like him, just never realized that before!
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Post by sliderocker on Feb 2, 2013 5:05:12 GMT -5
Jagger is a "bad boy" and sex with him would be like having anonymous sex. One doesn't have to be good looking to be sexy or appealing. It's just sex and wouldn't mean much except for the fun and curiousity of it all. Linda is curious by nature. Curious as a cat I think. I can relate.
Anonymous sex? Somehow, I just can't see anyone who would say, "No! I don't want anyone to know I had sex with Mick Jagger!" As for Linda, well, there was her comment about her sex life in which she said she wished it was as good as a Snickers bar. I think she meant by that she's never been as sexually active as the news media made her out to be. A liberated female? Unquestionably. But, her reported sex life may be a lot more smoke and mirrors than actual fact.
Plant may have a big giant head but musically the man is doubly-awesome. Did you know that on average MOST celebrity types have heads that are larger than the average person? (little known factoid) I think a small head would be more freakish.
I've met a very small number (three) of celebrities up close and none of their heads were any larger than an average person. In fact, my head was probably larger than theirs! Linda's head doesn't appear to be oversized in relation to anyone else's head. Many celebrities are bigheaded (big egos) and have quite the drive to be successful but being a bit bigheaded isn't the same as having a big head. Of course, the ones with big heads...one might could make a case their parentage might include the gray aliens with big heads from outer space. Sounds like an old B-movie from the 50s. I could see the poster for the movie with the following caption: They came from outer space to mate with earthlings so they're offsprings could make rock and roll music!
Course, we know stuff like that can't happen, don't we? (Cue up music for The Twilight Zone! ;D)
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2013 9:25:05 GMT -5
Interesting point re: celebrities and their appearance... Three well known people I have met personally (Tift Merritt, Regina Spektor, and last but not least, Linda herself) were all surprisingly small in stature... not necessarily their heads specifically, but small overall
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