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Post by sliderocker on Sept 5, 2013 16:21:53 GMT -5
What is so funny (at least to me) is that, for all the emphasis the hoity-toity critics place on songwriting and pointing out that Linda did so little of it, so many of her biggest defenders and supporters are folks like Gretchen who are singer/songwriters themselves, and who appreciate a presence like Linda in the world. It's kind of a heartening development (IMHO). I really wished Gretchen ahd directed some of her songs to Linda's way rather than to the Nashville performers. Gretchen's own music was/is much closer to Linda's music and to the country-rock sound. But, I think some songwriters like Gretchen and Beth Nielsen Chapman (another singer-songwriter who placed a lot of songs in the country genre but whose own music was closer to being pop-rock than country) went where they could get their songs placed with other artists. Rock was primarily a shut off world because so many performers wrote their own songs. Of course, they could've placed their songs with many of the pop divas but they may not have felt their songs were right for the pop divas. Or they may not have liked the pop divas. With Linda, their songs would've been a good fit.
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Post by erik on Sept 5, 2013 16:34:07 GMT -5
Quote by sliderocker:
I think it all boils down to the fact that they knew Linda's modus operandi: that she needed to fall in love with a song, that it needed to choose her, rather than the other way around. If Linda had her ears more open to the contemporary material, especially in the 1990s, they might have had better luck. As it is, though, I think it's enough to know that Gretchen, Beth, and Matraca Berg (who did get the unexpected pleasure of having her song "Walk On" recorded by Linda) were hugely inspired by Linda to whatever degree they were. Even if Linda wasn't a songwriter like they were, they still considered her a role model, which I think is a huge compliment.
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Post by sliderocker on Sept 5, 2013 17:16:59 GMT -5
I think it all boils down to the fact that they knew Linda's modus operandi: that she needed to fall in love with a song, that it needed to choose her, rather than the other way around. If Linda had her ears more open to the contemporary material, especially in the 1990s, they might have had better luck. As it is, though, I think it's enough to know that Gretchen, Beth, and Matraca Berg (who did get the unexpected pleasure of having her song "Walk On" recorded by Linda) were hugely inspired by Linda to whatever degree they were. Even if Linda wasn't a songwriter like they were, they still considered her a role model, which I think is a huge compliment. Agreed, and with Linda, I use an argument that I used for Elvis when discussing with others who thought the Beatles were better or some other artist was better or what have you. Elvis inspired a lot of singers, songwriters and musicians, and many of them became the singers, musicians and songwriters because of him. If they were successful, their success was a reflection back on him. John Lennon said if it hadn't been for Elvis, there wouldn't have been a Beatles. Buddy Holly was heading towards a career as a country singer but became a rock and roller because of Elvis. He and Elvis became friends during Holly's short life. All you have to do is look at the number of artists who were inspired by Elvis. It was huge and it's still going on today, 36 years after Elvis left the building. In a similar fashion, Linda has inspired many who came after her, though most of those who have acknowledged her publicly have been other female performers. Now, with the announcement of her battle with Parkinson's, maybe the male artists who have been influenced by her will finally acknowledge her music on their music. I don't know why it's okay for male artists to acknowledge other female artists or female-fronted acts but not Linda. I sometimes think it has mostly to do with her own non-songwriting status. But, I think her influence is bigger than most people think and think now is the time to own up to that. It would be nice if they let her know now as I'm sure Linda can hear the echoes of her own music in the music of other artists, male or female. They shouldn't wait until it's too late to acknowledge her influence.
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