Linda on Harvest

[eddiejinnj]

listening to Linda on this album. her harmony vocals are so tight and a gorgeous contrast in her vocals brought depth to the chorus vocals. I think it important that she was on both Heart of Gold and Old Man. Both of which can arguably be in Neil's top ten most influential songs. eddiejinnj

[erik]

I would also add that Neil probably knew how valuable a singer Linda already was by that time, which is why he shanghaied her into helping him on those two tracks. Both Linda and James Taylor were in Nashville in February 1971, doing Johnny Cash's TV show, at the same time Neil was recording Harvest in town. And yes, her presence on those two songs, "Heart Of Gold" and "Old Man", were extremely essential.

[Richard W]

It's funny, though, how many people don't know that's Linda singing on those songs. My friend, Kevin, was playing some Young once and Heart of Gold came on. I'd recently turned him on to Frenesi, and asked him if he knew who was singing backup vocals on Gold. He had no idea. When I said it was Linda (and James), he gave me a look like I was making it up. I explained Linda and Neil's long-time association and he was quite impressed.

Another friend, Tracy, is a rabid Young fan and had no idea whatsoever of Linda's rather extensive involvement, both on stage and in the studio, with Young, and had, in fact, pretty much dismissed Linda until I changed her mind by giving her HLAW, which she loved.

Of course, I recognize that not everyone is as well versed in Ronstadt as we are here, but you'd think that people would at least read liner notes. (Liner notes: crikey, is that a dated reference or what?)

[erik]

Quote by Richard W:

It's funny, though, how many people don't know that's Linda singing on those songs. My friend, Kevin, was playing some Young once and Heart of Gold came on. I'd recently turned him on to Frenesi, and asked him if he knew who was singing backup vocals on Gold. He had no idea. When I said it was Linda (and James), he gave me a look like I was making it up. I explained Linda and Neil's long-time association and he was quite impressed.

Another friend, Tracy, is a rabid Young fan and had no idea whatsoever of Linda's rather extensive involvement, both on stage and in the studio, with Young, and had, in fact, pretty much dismissed Linda until I changed her mind by giving her HLAW, which she loved.

Of course, I recognize that not everyone is as well versed in Ronstadt as we are here, but you'd think that people would at least read liner notes. (Liner notes: crikey, is that a dated reference or what?)

I think it is because some people have a hard time wrapping their minds around the idea of a singer doing rootsy, C&W-influenced work at one end of her career, and tropical Latin jazz some twenty years later. Diversity, much as we like to claim otherwise, seems to be verboten in our popular culture today in a way it wasn't back in The Good Old Days.

[linda]

Mar 20, 2015 8:52:44 GMT -5 erik said:

Quote by Richard W:

It's funny, though, how many people don't know that's Linda singing on those songs. My friend, Kevin, was playing some Young once and Heart of Gold came on. I'd recently turned him on to Frenesi, and asked him if he knew who was singing backup vocals on Gold. He had no idea. When I said it was Linda (and James), he gave me a look like I was making it up. I explained Linda and Neil's long-time association and he was quite impressed.

Another friend, Tracy, is a rabid Young fan and had no idea whatsoever of Linda's rather extensive involvement, both on stage and in the studio, with Young, and had, in fact, pretty much dismissed Linda until I changed her mind by giving her HLAW, which she loved.

Of course, I recognize that not everyone is as well versed in Ronstadt as we are here, but you'd think that people would at least read liner notes. (Liner notes: crikey, is that a dated reference or what?)

I think it is because some people have a hard time wrapping their minds around the idea of a singer doing rootsy, C&W-influenced work at one end of her career, and tropical Latin jazz some twenty years later. Diversity, much as we like to claim otherwise, seems to be verboten in our popular culture today in a way it wasn't back in The Good Old Days.

 I tend forget how many songs she has lent her voice to.  I'm sitting here at work listening to Paul Simon's Graceland CD. She is background on the Under African Skies track. Great song and CD.  Is there anyone else who has worked on so many other artists work?  You have to wonder if there are songs she is background on that are not mentioned. 
 

[erik]

Quote by Linda:

I tend forget how many songs she has lent her voice to. I'm sitting here at work listening to Paul Simon's Graceland CD. She is background on the Under African Skies track. Great song and CD. Is there anyone else who has worked on so many other artists work? You have to wonder if there are songs she is background on that are not mentioned.

I think she has worked on hundreds of songs on other artists' records (all credited to her, I believe), at a number higher than almost any other female artist I can think of, with the possible exception of Linda's good pal Emmylou. She was, arguably, the most wanted woman in the business when it came to A-list artists working as backup vocalists, not just because of her name but also because of her reputation as a true professional, really willing to give what was wanted and not putting on any star airs or having a demonstrative ego. I personally feel that if her voice had held up, she'd probably still be doing the occasional backing vocals for other artists when she had the time.

There are, though, some who wanted to work with Linda but never got or seized the opportunity, perhaps partly out of fear. Trisha Yearwood, for instance, had wanted to sing with Linda almost from the start of her career; but there was always something (scheduling; record labels, etc.) that stopped that from happening. It is a real shame that such a duet never took place (and Trisha herself was, by her own admission, terribly heartbroken about Linda's Parkinson's diagnosis); but it is nevertheless a sign that Linda would have continued to be wanted had Fate not intruded.

[PoP80]

Linda's voice is so distinctive, even on these background vocals, that it's hard to understand why people wouldn't recognize her voice. Those two songs on Harvest are sublime and certainly among Neil Young's best. It's no wonder that Linda was so much in demand and collaborated with many different artists. Rosemary Butler is also a great back-up singer and it's too bad that she never really made it as a solo performer.

[linda]

Mar 20, 2015 14:13:32 GMT -5 erik said:

Quote by Linda:

I tend forget how many songs she has lent her voice to. I'm sitting here at work listening to Paul Simon's Graceland CD. She is background on the Under African Skies track. Great song and CD. Is there anyone else who has worked on so many other artists work? You have to wonder if there are songs she is background on that are not mentioned.

I think she has worked on hundreds of songs on other artists' records (all credited to her, I believe), at a number higher than almost any other female artist I can think of, with the possible exception of Linda's good pal Emmylou. She was, arguably, the most wanted woman in the business when it came to A-list artists working as backup vocalists, not just because of her name but also because of her reputation as a true professional, really willing to give what was wanted and not putting on any star airs or having a demonstrative ego. I personally feel that if her voice had held up, she'd probably still be doing the occasional backing vocals for other artists when she had the time.

There are, though, some who wanted to work with Linda but never got or seized the opportunity, perhaps partly out of fear. Trisha Yearwood, for instance, had wanted to sing with Linda almost from the start of her career; but there was always something (scheduling; record labels, etc.) that stopped that from happening. It is a real shame that such a duet never took place (and Trisha herself was, by her own admission, terribly heartbroken about Linda's Parkinson's diagnosis); but it is nevertheless a sign that Linda would have continued to be wanted had Fate not intruded."

I hope she was credited for her work as well as compensated.   As the expression goes, "She is preceded by her reputation".  I agree with you, she would still be singing today if not for Parkinson's. However, she still has a hell of a lot to offer. 

[Richard W]

Linda's briefest backup vocal has to be on Gold's "Lonely Boy". She sing exactly six words, "she's so much younger than you."

I've always appreciated Butler's tangy backup vocals wherever they appear.

[eddiejinnj]

I knew of her backup appearance on lonely boy but never really knew where she was in it. thanks!!!!! eddiejinnj

[RiTa]

I didn't know about all of her backup and duet stuff and by chance came across a youtube site called linda ronstadt guest performances with like 100 or more songs I never heard of. Not sure but are there liner notes on songs that get downloaded? Seems the way to get music today so people may not get the same information you would get on an album or cd.

[fabtastique]

Linda, unlike a lot of other singers, really seemed to love singing for her personal enjoyment, and not just as a "job". Thats evident from her interviews where she says that she sung daily, "with her hands in the dishwater" and also saying that its "too important to be left to professionals".

I am sure that was one of the reasons why she was involved in so many other projects and we keep getting lovely little snippets popping up.  I really loved the Andrew Gold duet "Can't Get Used To Losing You" which almost appeared from nowhere a few years ago and more recently the Joe Ely duet.



Until her unfortunate illness silenced her, the fact that she sung daily was surely a contributing factor as to why her voice was in such a fantastic condition and would have remained so for many years until Parkinson's took that from her. I'm still sadden by that, but new/old appearances that surface still give me something to look forward to and enjoy.

[erik]

Quote by fabtastique:

Linda, unlike a lot of other singers, really seemed to love singing for her personal enjoyment, and not just as a "job". Thats evident from her interviews where she says that she sung daily, "with her hands in the dishwater" and also saying that its "too important to be left to professionals".

Just as importantly, I think, is that she never saw being a singer as a mere job; for her, it was her life. She thrived on doing that; and the fact that she made tons of money doing it was just the icing on the cake, so to speak. If you love what you're doing, it's no longer just a job, it is something else entirely.

[eddiejinnj]

I wish she would try and do a background vocal for trish. I am not trying to be insensitive. if she can't do it she can't but she has given us snippets of song over the past year and she sounds like Linda. Some kind of Linda sound would be great. hey she kicked b**t whistling on Aaron's "everybody plays the fool." eddiejinnj