This day in history

[moon]

The website This day in history under music mentions Linda R first country hit

[ronstadtfan]

Music
1975

Linda Ronstadt has her first #1 hit on the country-music charts

By the end of the 1970s, the decade of her greatest commercial success, Linda Ronstadt was being hailed with honors like “the First Lady of Rock” and “Top Female Pop Singer of the Decade.” But neither of those titles captured the true breadth of her musical pursuits or of her popularity. As synonymous as she was in the late 1970s with the pop mainstream, Ronstadt began her rise to stardom working in an idiom as compatible with country-music fashions as with rock. In fact, her first top-10 hit was with the Hank Williams song “I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still In Love With You),” and the biggest hit of her career was “When Will I Be Loved,” which became a #1 hit on the country-music charts on this day in 1975.

“When Will I Be Loved,” a top-10 pop hit for the Everly Brothers in 1960, came from Linda Ronstadt’s 1975 breakthrough album Heart Like A Wheel, which yielded three top-10 hits each on the pop and country-music charts. ["When Will I Be Loved" was the only hit on both; "You're No Good" was a #1 pop hit that did not make the country charts, and the aforementioned "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)" and Neil Young's "Love Is A Rose" were #2 and #5 country hits, respectively, but did not have an impact on the pop charts.] While Ronstadt’s dabbling in new wave and disco on her subsequent albums may have seemed to mark her as a trend-follower, in fact they reflected a natural eclecticism would become even more pronounced in future stages of her career.

Over the course of 30 active years (and counting) since her 1975 breakthrough, Linda Ronstadt has recorded songs by such diverse songwriting giants as Hank Williams, Elvis Costello, Gilbert and Sullivan, Smokey Robinson, Sam and Dave and Cole Porter, as well as an entire album of traditional Spanish canciones. Her eclectic musical journey out of youth and into middle age also included a return to her country-tinged roots with the album Trio, recorded with country superstars Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris and a #1 hit on the country-music album charts in 1987.

[erik]

Yes, "When Will I Be Loved?" was Linda's sole #1 solo C&W hit (it was kept out of the penthouse on the pop singles chart only by the Captain and Tenille's "Love Will Keep Us Together"), but it wasn't her first penetration of the C&W singles chart. That would actually be "Silver Threads And Golden Needles", which got up to #20 in May 1974.

[MokyWI]

Linda Ronstadt dabbled in disco? Pretty sure that never happened. Unless you count her vocals on "Lotta Love" by Nicolette Larson in 1978 and I don't know that she contributed to that song. If she did, that is as close to disco as Linda ever got.

[eddiejinnj]

What made you think of "Lotta Love", Mike? I mean there is a horn session to it but never considered it a disco song. I remember being happy for Nicolette and I bought her first album because Linda was on a number of tracks. eddiejinnj

[erik]

Linda, I think, only seriously dabbled in disco (if at all) on "All That You Dream". As to Nicolette Larson, while Linda did backing vocals on a number of tracks on Nicky's debut album Nicolette, "Lotta Love" wasn't one of those tracks. She did do backing vocals on "Mexican Divorce", "Give A Little", and "Come Early Morning".

[eddiejinnj]

I like "Come an Early Morning". They sound great together. Probably should have been a country single with Linda's star power at the time. eddiejinnj

[MokyWI]

"Lotta Love" has a very defined disco beat/groove/arrangement to it. It was in heavy rotation in the disco clubs back in the day. I wouldn't call it disco, but it has an element of disco to it. Wasn't sure if Linda lent her vocals to "Lotta Love" although I know she was on several other tracks from the Nicolette album. "Lotta Love" being the big single from that album. "All That You Dream" disco? I will have to go back and listen to the live performance. "Real Love" by the Doobie Brothers was another song that had a disco vibe to it. It also was played in the clubs. "Lotta Love" and "Real Love" was morning music to bring the energy down once the tweaker's left. One NYC DJ used to play those two along with Linda's "You're No Good" for me at the Saint.

[eddiejinnj]

Life is perception. Not disco at all to me and I used to dance with girls with Candies on. lol It is as is a little bit danceable imo. I didn't go to adult clubs (at the time of the song's release) but there was one under 21 club for a little bit in the town I was from. I can see a different mix could make it more disco for sure. eddiejinnj