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Post by the Scribe on Jan 30, 2019 0:29:25 GMT -5
James Ingram died today. RIP and thanks for the great music.SOMEWHERE OUT THERE
Album: An American Tail: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack (1986) Charted: 8 UK 2 USA
This popular duet was written for the Steven Spielberg-produced animated film An American Tail. In the movie, a family of mice from the Ukraine immigrates to the United States, but loses young Fievel along the way. One lonely night, Fievel (Phillip Glasser) and his sister Tanya (Betsy Cathcart), separated by a long distance, sing "Somewhere Out There" in the hopes of reuniting. Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram were enlisted to sing the pop version, a romantic ballad about two separated lovers who take comfort in the fact they are looking out at the same starry sky.
Film composer James Horner teamed up with songwriting duo Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil to write the tune. Horner and Mann composed the music, while Weil wrote the lyrics. Weil spoke of the experience during a 2014 interview on The Paul Leslie Hour: "At that time, which was the mid-'80s, animation was kind of dead. And we thought that this film would barely be seen because it was about a Jewish mouse. And so, we just loved the script and we had the opportunity to work with Steven Spielberg because he was executive producer. And so, we felt very free in writing the songs for this movie because we thought no one would be listening."
Ronstadt's regular producer Peter Asher also produced the duet, which proved to be a challenge. Asher explained in a 2018 Songfacts interview: "She and James Ingram, when we did 'Somewhere Out There,' never actually were in the studio at the same time, which is more common now but was a bit less common then. And getting it all to fit together, matching their vibratos and the last note and stuff like that, which again in Pro Tools would be two seconds, took quite a while because I had two separate takes of each of them separately. But, for reasons I can't quite remember, they weren't in town at the same time.
So, yeah, duets, you've got to figure out who sings what and all those obvious challenges and get two great vocals that fit together, ideally at the same time, but often not. I think she and Aaron [Neville] were together at the same time on 'Don't Know Much,' but certainly she and James Ingram on 'Somewhere Out There' were not."
Linda Ronstadt & Barry Mann - Somewhere Out There-Live
The song won two Grammy awards at the 1988 ceremony: Song of the Year and Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television. It was also nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, but lost to the Dirty Dancing hit "(I've Had) The Time of My Life."
The song also earned nominations for Best Original Song at the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards, but lost both prizes to "Take My Breath Away" from Top Gun. The music video, filmed in New York City, finds Ronstadt and Ingram in separate rooms, drawing scenes from the movie as they sing.
Ingram performed this with Natalie Cole at the 1987 Academy Awards ceremony.
This was used on the sitcom Designing Women in the 1990 episode "The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century: Part 2." It was also featured on the TV drama CSI: NY in the 2006 episode "Stealing Home."
The song was supposed to be called "The Mouse In The Moon." When Mann & Weil were brought onboard as songwriters, Weil asked to change the title.
www.songfacts.com/facts/linda-ronstadt-and-james-ingram/somewhere-out-there
Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram - Somewhere Out There (Live 1987)
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Post by the Scribe on May 1, 2019 1:37:12 GMT -5
YOU'RE NO GOODLinda Ronstadt began performing “You’re No Good” to close her live shows in early 1973 after her band member Kenny Edwards suggested it to her. She first included it in her setlist while opening for Neil Young. Ronstadt gave an early televised performance of “You’re No Good” on an episode of The Midnight Special which was broadcast December 21, 1973.
Ronstadt recorded her Heart Like a Wheel album with producer Peter Asher in the summer of 1974 at the Sound Factory; “You’re No Good” was a last-minute choice for recording, and while the song was Ronstadt’s suggestion, Asher recalls: “It was an odd coincidence. She’d been doing the song already, and it was always a favorite song of mine…the version I fell in love with [being by] the Swinging Blue Jeans”.[5] The original backing track intended for Ronstadt’s version of “You’re No Good” was recorded July 1, 1974. According to Bob Warford, a guitarist in Ronstadt’s touring band who played on the July 1 track, “They were trying to do an R&B version of the song, which was actually closer to the way we did it live than to the released version. We played it at a faster tempo live, which we did on that recording [ie. of July 1].”[5] Ronstadt vetoed the July 1 arrangement; she recalls: “It was just the wrong groove for me. I don’t think I knew how to phrase around [the players], certainly no fault of theirs. They were fantastic.”[5]
The final recording of the Ronstadt version of “You’re No Good” was made July 5, 1974. Ronstadt would recall: “Ed Black, who played six-string guitar and pedal steel, started to play a rhythm riff on his Les Paul. Kenny Edwards…the bass player…echoed the riff in octaves. Andrew Gold added a sparse drum track, giving me a basic track to sing over. We did a few takes, picked one we liked, and then Andrew, who always played guitars and keyboards went to work with Peter [Asher]and began to work up layers of guitar, piano, and percussion tracks.” Ronstadt recalls that during a playback after several hours of work, Val Garay, the engineer, accidentally erased Andrew Gold’s guitar solo from the track, necessitating Asher and Gold’s reconstructing that solo from scratch.[6]
In late August 1974 a string arrangement – by Gregory Rose – was added to the track at AIR Studios. According to a Classic Tracks article by Mick Hurwitz at MixOnline.com: “It ends with a strong, long-held note, which Asher conceived, executed by Garay with a slow riding of the level on the string faders during the final mix.”[5]
Capitol Records was unsure whether to release “You’re No Good” or “When Will I Be Loved” as the lead single off Heart Like a Wheel, only deciding to release “You’re No Good” a week after the album’s release.
dreamsinthewind.com/linda-ronstadt/
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Post by the Scribe on Jun 9, 2019 8:40:50 GMT -5
BACK IN THE USA Chuck Berry wrote Back in the USA in 1959, upon returning from an Australian tour. Following a grueling trip and having seen the depressed living conditions of Australian aboriginals, ole Chuck was delighted to be back on his home soil, so Back in the USA expresses his renewed joy at all aspects of American life.
Did I miss the skyscrapers Did I miss the long freeway From the coast of California To the shores of the Delaware Bay You can bet your life I did Till I got back to the USA
Looking hard for a drive-in Searching for a corner cafe Where hamburgers sizzle on an open grill night and day Yeah, the jukebox jumping with records back in the USA
Linda Ronstadt and Back in the USA:
Linda Ronstadt is one of the most successful women artists in rock history. She has a stunning number of albums to her credit and has sold over 100 million records. In the process, she has garnered a slew of awards and honors, culminating with her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. Ronstadt is an exceptionally versatile singer; she has collaborated with artists in the fields of rock, country, jazz and Hispanic music. Christopher Loudon of Jazz Times describes her as
“Blessed with arguably the most sterling set of pipes of her generation … rarest of rarities – a chameleon who can blend into any background yet remain boldly distinctive … It’s an exceptional gift; one shared by few others.”
In 1986, Chuck Berry performed for two concerts at the Fox Theater in St. Louis. In honor of his 60th birthday, an all-star cast of performers was assembled that included Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and Linda Ronstadt. The concerts were filmed and assembled into a documentary by Taylor Hackford. Robert Christgau pretty much nailed the resulting piece: Taylor Hackford’s film is a wickedly funny and moving rock-doc classic, exposing Berry the money-grubbing control freak without devaluing his genius in the process.
One of the performances at this concert was a duet of Back in the USA featuring Chuck Berry and Linda Ronstadt, who had previously released her own cover of Back in the USA. There is a fascinating back story to this performance.
despite Ronstadt having rehearsed with the band playing in the key of C, Berry’s guitar playing on the actual concert performance of “Back in the USA” necessitated the band performing in the key of G: [production assistant Mark Slocombe related] “Linda Ronstadt’s such a pro, you really don’t hear her strain or muff it. But…she was so pissed off when she walked off that stage she went right through the Green Room, right out the stage door, climbed into her limo and never came back for the second show.” The Ronstadt/Berry performance of “Back in the USA” was featured in the filmation of Berry’s sixtieth birthday concert: … according to Slocombe, “they had a hard time getting [Ronstadt] to sign the release for the [performance] because she was so pissed off.”
Anyway, here are Chuck Berry and Linda Ronstadt singing Back in the USA. Note that one of the backup guitarists is Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, who like all of us memorized every Chuck Berry guitar lick when he learned to play. Keith gets in a nice little guitar solo during the song, and I was unable to detect any of the supposed tension between Ronstadt and Berry.
FULL STORY AND ARTICLE: timscoverstory.wordpress.com/2015/05/11/back-in-the-usaback-in-the-ussr-chuck-berry-linda-ronstadt-the-beatles/
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Post by the Scribe on Jun 29, 2019 12:38:40 GMT -5
TELLING ME LIES
"Telling Me Lies" is a song written by Linda Thompson and Betsy Cook, which was included on Thompson's 1985 One Clear Moment album (her first solo album, after divorcing husband and former collaborator Richard Thompson). A more famous recording of the song, however, was Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris's version, which they included on their 1987 collaboration Trio. The song was also released as the album's second single, and it reached the top ten on the U.S. country singles charts in the fall of 1987. Parton, Ronstadt and Harris' recording of the song was nominated for a Grammy award in 1988 for Country Song of the Year.
Linda Thompson tells how the story came to Linda and the Trio"
Linda Thompson and Betsy Cook at the Grammy Awards. Telling Me Lies
written by Linda Thompson and Betty Cook © 1985 Linda Thompson / Firesign Music Ltd.
They say a woman's a fool for weeping A fool to break her own heart But I can't hold the secret I'm keeping I'm breaking apart
Can't seem to mind my own business Whatever I try turns out wrong I seem like my own false witness And I can't go on
I cover my ears I close my eyes Still hear your voice and it's telling me lies Telling me lies
You told me you needed my company And I believed in your flattering ways Told me you needed me forever Nearly gave you the rest of my days
Should've seen you for what you are Should never have come back for more Should've locked up all my silver Brought the key back to your door
I cover my ears I close my eyes Still hear your voice and it's telling me lies Telling me lies
You don't know what a chance is Until you have to seize one You don't know what a man is Until you have to please one Don't put your life in the hands of a man With a face for every season Don't waste your time in the arms of a man Who's no stranger to treason
I cover my ears I close my eyes Still hear your voice and it's telling me lies Telling me lies
I cover my ears I close my eyes Still hear your voice and it's telling me lies I cover my ears I close my eyes Still hear your voice and it's telling me lies
Read more: Linda Ronstadt - Telling Me Lies Lyrics | MetroLyrics
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Post by the Scribe on Jun 29, 2019 14:38:58 GMT -5
LONG LONG TIMEIn 1970, Linda Ronstadt released the song as a single and on the album Silk Purse. The single spent 12 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 25, while reaching No. 15 on Canada's "RPM 100", No. 8 on Canada's CHUM 30 chart, and No. 20 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart.
In 1971, Linda Ronstadt was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Female Vocal Performance for her rendition of "Long, Long Time".ronstadt.proboards.com/thread/4840/recording-session-long-time
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Post by the Scribe on Jun 29, 2019 18:23:28 GMT -5
ANGEL IN THE MORNINGAngel In The Morning" Linda Ronstadt & Yanka RupkinaRupkina, Yanka Yanka Rupkina was born in the village of Bogdanovo, Burgas region on 15 August 1938. She grew up in a family for whom the Strandja Mountain folk songs were part of both work and pastime. Thus, Yanka was introduced to the special techniques of the Strandja singing by her grandmother. In 1960 she earned her first prize - at the folklore festival in Gramatikovo. This was the acknowledgement from specialists for her outstanding talent and the purity of her unique Strandja style of singing.
In 1961 following her success at a contest, Yanka Rupkina joined the Bulgarian National Radio Folk Song Ensemble that was later known as La Mystere Des Voix Bulgares. At the end of the 1970's Yanka Rupkina, together with Eva Georgieva and Stoyanka Boneva teamed up for the Trio Bulgarka. With the Trio Bulgarka, she provided vocal harmonies on Kate's albums The Sensual World and The Red Shoes.
Rupkina subsequently performed as a solist for the national television and radio Bulgaria group, the Balkana. In 2005 she released a solo album 'Keranka', featuring guest appearances by Linda Ronstadt and Positive Black Soul.Kate BushYanka Rupkina says – “Producer Joe Boyd had followed my singing career, listened to me at the Koprivshtitsa Folk Festival and decided to invite me for some joint projects. It was he who described the Bulgarian folk songs as a phenomenon in music. We toured the world with the Balkana Band, which included some of the best folk music instrumentalists from the BNR Folk Band. For me an unforgettable moment was our concert at the Royal Festival Hall, in London, when George Harrison arrived with friends from California. This was a most emotional encounter – one of the Beatles had come to listen to me – and to our Bulgarian folk songs.”
Sounds from The Stranja Mountains
“I’ve never worked with a woman on such an intense creative level,” Bush told the Los Angeles Times, in December 1991, “because, it was strange to feel this very strong female energy in the studio. It was interesting to see the way the men in the studio reacted too, because instead of just one female, there was a very strong female presence.”
Composer Robert de Groot
This is the point when film composer Robert Jelmer De Groot arrived on the scene. Famous for his score for the film ‘The Seven Samurai,’ he too became fascinated by the voice of Yanka Rupkina, and the melancholy sound of the Stranja Mountains. He spent some time in Sofia, from 1997 onwards, composing and recording at the National Bulgarian Recording Studios. He explained that despite the dated equipment, they produced a warm pink sound, and were very good at production, with good studio musicians and engineers. Perhaps, at times, we all forget what Bulgaria is good at, and the latent talent kept hidden away in the wings.
Video of The Seven Samurai & Karanka by Yanka Rupkina
Habbo Beem Published on Sep 9, 2009 This Bulgarian traditional song is performed by the Bulgarian legend: 'Yanka Rupkina' who discovered the healing power of her own voice during the recovering from a plane crash in the Rhodope Mountains. Additional music compositions and arrangements by Habbo Beem. Album concept and production by Robert Jelmer de Groot. Music production, video concept & editing by Habbo Beem. Film footage from: 'The Seven Samurai', an Akira Kurosawa film.
This was also when I moved into the picture. Robert had an idea for a track which would be shared by Linda Ronstadt, Yanka Rupkina, the Dutch Symphony Orchestra and chorus. To be engineered and put together in Sofia, he needed some lyrics for Linda to sing. This was when Angel of the Morning – demon of the night – first found its way into being.
Angel of The Morning Yanka Rupkina & Linda Ronstadt
The most famous voice of the Strandja Mountain, Southeastern Bulgaria, belongs not only to Bulgaria but to the whole world. Fifty years on stage – as a solo artist, or as member of Bulgarka Trio, The Balkana Band and various folk choirs, Bulgarian folk singer Yanka Rupkina has won the love of audiences, and the respect of reviewers, with hеr enigmatic Strandja songs.
But she is also a part of my life, and through both she and Robert, I found that my world could get bigger, despite the crushing mediocrity and the bureaucratic tinkering we all suffered from in Bulgaria at the time, and the state suppression – that all artists felt – during communism. Now 78 years of age, Yanka still performs and has for many years enjoyed star status in the Balkans, and long may she keep singing!
But she is also a part of my life, and through both she and Robert, I found that my world could get bigger, despite the crushing mediocrity and the bureaucratic tinkering we all suffered from in Bulgaria at the time, and the state suppression – that all artists felt – during communism. Now 78 years of age, Yanka still performs and has for many years enjoyed star status in the Balkans, and long may she keep singing!
anglobalkan.blogspot.com/2017/02/angel-in-morning-yanka-rupkina-by.html
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Post by the Scribe on Aug 13, 2019 4:45:21 GMT -5
DIFFERENT DRUMMike Nesmith wrote this song in 1964, two years before he joined the made-for-TV group The Monkees. At the time, he was developing his skills as a folk singer - a far cry from the Hollywood-enhanced shenanigans and high-gloss pop songs The Monkees were known for. In 1965, he met John Herald, guitarist for a bluegrass/folk group called The Greenbriar Boys. They played songs for each other, and Herald loved "Different Drum." He brought it to his group, slowed down the tempo, and released it on the group's 1966 album Better Late Than Never! Linda Ronstadt heard this version and recorded it with her group The Stone Poneys (named after the Charlie Patton song "Stone Pony Blues), which is by far the best-known version of the song.
Like "Me And Bobby McGee," this is a song written and originally recorded by a guy that switched genders when a female recorded it. With a male narrator, the girl is tying him down, and he has to leave her to strike out on his own. With Ronstadt singing it, the girl become the one who is reigned in, and leaves her man so she can do her own thing. Notice that she ends up describing the guy as "pretty," which makes a lot more sense when it was Nesmith singing about a girl.
In this song, Ronstadt is ready to bail on a relationship, claiming they are very different people and she doesn't want to be tied down to one person anyway. It's a variation of both the "I want to see other people" and the "It's not you, it's me" breakups. Mike Nesmith wrote it in character - he was newly married and his wife was pregnant.
The Monkees were given very little control of their musical output, which didn't sit well with Mike Nesmith, who found out after he joined the ensemble that session musicians would be playing on their albums and hired guns would write their songs. Nesmith was a talented performer and songwriter, and he proved it with this tune, which he pitched for The Monkees. He explained in 1971: "Most of the songs I did write, they didn't want, so on the last few albums I didn't contribute much in the way of material. I took them 'Different Drum' and they said all it needed was a hook. They asked me to change it and told me it was a stiff."
The Stone Poneys were a folk trio of Ronstadt, Kenny Edwards and Bobby Kimmel. They released their first album earlier in 1967, and it went nowhere. This song was included on their second album, Evergreen Volume 2, later that year and appeared to be headed toward a similar fate. In dire financial straits, the band was driving to a meeting with their record company when their car broke down on La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles. At the gas station where they ended up, they heard this song playing on the radio - it had been added to the playlist at KRLA-AM, a huge station in LA. Suddenly, they had a hit on their hands.
Their fortunes improved, but the song only took them so far. After one more charting single ("Up To My Neck In High Muddy Water" - #93) the band broke up. Ronstadt went solo and charted a few minor hits from 1970-1974, but landed a #1 in 1975 with "You're No Good," launching her to stardom.
Bobby Kimmel did most of the songwriting in The Stone Poneys, who generally shared vocals like Peter, Paul and Mary. These songs rarely suited Linda Ronstadt's voice, but when she heard "Different Drum" by The Greenbriar Boys, she thought it was a perfect fit and a great opportunity to take a lead vocal.
Mike Nesmith played a short, intentionally awful version of this song on the "Too Many Girls" episode of The Monkees TV series. The episode aired December 19, 1966, which was shortly before Ronstadt released the song.
Fittingly, this song was far different than previous Stone Poneys material, and the male members of the group, Kenny Edwards and Bobby Kimmel, didn't even play on it. Ronstadt envisioned the song as an acoustic piece, but their producer, Nick Venet, had different ideas. When the group showed up for the three-song session at Capitol Records' Studio B in Los Angeles, there were a number of studio musicians there. Edwards and Kimmel played on two of the songs, but when it came time to record "Different Drum," they watched from the control room as the seasoned studio pros worked up the song under Venet's direction. Among the musicians:
Don Randi - harpsichord Al Viola - guitar Jimmy Bond - bass Jim Gordon - drums
There was also a string section conducted by Sid Sharp. Gordon and Randi also played on many of the Monkees recordings in place of the actual group.
Ronstadt did one run-through of the song before recording her vocal, start to finish, in the next take. As she developed her vocal talents, she came to hate the way she sounded on the song. "Today I will break my finger trying to get that record off when it's on," she said in the 2016 book Anatomy of a Song. "Everyone hears something in that song - a breakup, the antiwar movement, women's lib. I hear a fear and a lack of confidence on my part. It all happened so fast that day."
The Monkees were in their second (and final) season when this song reached its chart peak in January 1968. Mike Nesmith heard it for the first time on a Philadelphia radio station when the group was riding together in a limousine.
Nesmith recorded this himself in 1972 on a solo album called And The Hits Just Keep On Comin'. Nesmith had a substantial solo output after The Monkees TV series was canceled.
www.songfacts.com/facts/linda-ronstadt/different-drum Linda Ronstadt's 'Different Drum'She and songwriter Michael Nesmith talk about her first hit By Marc Myers Updated Oct. 31, 2013 1:09 pm ET www.wsj.com/articles/linda-ronstadt8217s-8216different-drum8217-1383149206
When the red light went on at Hollywood's Capitol Studios in 1967, singer Linda Ronstadt was scared. There to record "Different Drum"—her first lead-vocal single as a member of the Stone Poneys—Ms. Ronstadt was expecting to sing an acoustic ballad version of the song accompanied by her two bandmates.
Linda Ronstadt (shown in 1968) was caught off guard in the studio when confronted with new musicians and a faster arrangement. HENRY DILTZ/CORBIS
Instead, a new faster arrangement had been written, a rhythm section and string players were brought in to replace the other two Stone Poneys, and Ms. Ronstadt had just seconds to figure out how she was going to phrase the lyrics and make the song work.
Released in September 1967, the single—written by future-Monkee Michael Nesmith—peaked at No. 13 on Billboard's pop chart, launching Ms. Ronstadt's career and ushering in a new solo female folk-rock era. Ms. Ronstadt, 67, author of "Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir," published in September; Mr. Nesmith, 70; harpsichordist Don Randi, 76, and Stone Poney Bobby Kimmel, 73, talked about the song's evolution. Edited from interviews:
Michael Nesmith, who wrote the song pre-Monkees. MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES
Michael Nesmith: In 1964 I had been playing guitar in folk and bluegrass bands and wanted to sing solo. So I began writing songs. I wrote "Different Drum" early one morning on the back porch of my San Fernando Valley apartment. The lyrics, about a breakup, came fast—but they had nothing to do with my personal life. I was newly married with a pregnant wife.
Whenever I wrote, I liked creating little 'movies of the mind.' I was thinking about two lovers—one of whom decides they love different things. In later years, comedian Whitney Brown referred to "Different Drum" as the first "it's not you, it's me" breakup song.
In 1965 I met John Herald of the Greenbriar Boys trio. We sat down and began sharing songs. John loved "Different Drum" and slowed it down when he recorded it the following year for Vanguard Records.
Linda Ronstadt: I moved from Tucson, Ariz., to Los Angeles in 1965 to sing with Bobby Kimmel and Kenny Edwards. There were plenty of gigs at folk clubs then. Kenny played a Gibson mandolin, Bobby played a Martin guitar and I sang harmonies.
Naming our folk trio the Stone Poneys was Kenny's idea. He got the name from Charley Patton's song "Stone Pony Blues." In those days, the word "stone" also meant "heavy, man." Bobby was writing most of the songs then—but for his voice and range. At some point in late '66, I wanted a song that suited my voice so I could sing lead.
That's when I heard the Greenbriar Boys' single "Different Drum." I knew it could be a hit for us. In 1967, our producer at Capitol, Nik Venet, set up a recording session. It was at Capitol's Studio B, where Frank Sinatra recorded. The plan was to record three songs in three hours that day.
I thought we were going to record an acoustic ballad version of "Different Drum" with Bobby and Kenny. But when I walked into the studio, there were other musicians there I didn't know. Bobby and Kenny played on two of the songs, but on "Different Drum," Nik asked them to sit out.
Bobby Kimmel: Kenny and I didn't mind. It was always going to be a solo vocal feature for Linda anyway, and Nik wanted more going on instrumentally behind her. Kenny and I stood in the engineer's booth and watched and listened.
Ms. Ronstadt: At first, I wasn't happy. I thought we'd have a better shot on the radio with an acoustic version, since groups like Peter, Paul and Mary were having hits. But Nik insisted. He said he had asked Jimmy Bond to write an arrangement and brought in Don Randi to play harpsichord, Al Viola on guitar and Jimmy Gordon on drums. Bond played bass, and Sid Sharp arranged and conducted a string section. They were all there.
We didn't rehearse. I was just thrown into it. I was completely confused. I didn't have the lyrics in front of me—I sang them from memory. Since I can't read music, I didn't have a lead sheet either. I knew I could remember the words, but I wasn't sure how to phrase them with the new arrangement and faster tempo.
Different instruments pull different textures out of my voice, which was conditioned to sing with guitar and mandolin. The harpsichord and strings were going to be harder. We recorded the second take without any overdubbing. That became the version you hear on the record.
Don Randi: Jimmy Bond had me play a double-keyboard harpsichord that day, to give the song a psychedelic-pop feel. I only had the chord changes and made up the rest on the spot, including the solo. I had been trained as a classical pianist, so giving it a classical feel wasn't a problem.
By '67, I had recorded as part of L.A.'s Wrecking Crew studio band on hundreds of rock recordings, including sessions with the Beach Boys and Phil Spector. This was a nice change-up. Nik knew his stuff and went to bat for Linda with us before she came in, Nik told me, "Wait until you hear this girl sing. You won't believe it."
He was right. She had this innocence and humility that won me over. If she had been frightened, you'd never have known it. Linda was so down-to-earth and natural—she even recorded that song barefoot.
Ms. Ronstadt: I first heard the single when the band's car broke down in September '67. Soon after we pushed it into a gas station, I heard the guitar-harpsichord intro faintly coming from a radio in back of the garage. The mechanics had it tuned to KRLA—L.A.'s Top-40 AM station. I was stunned.
Mr. Nesmith: I first heard Linda's record on the radio in Philadelphia, while riding in a limo with the Monkees. No one in the car believed I had written the song. Linda did more for that song than the Greenbriar Boys' version. She infused it with a different level of passion and sensuality. Coming from the perspective of a woman instead of a guy, the song had a new context. You sensed Linda had personally experienced the lyrics—that she needed to be free.
Mr. Kimmel: The irony, of course, is I didn't sing or play on my group's biggest hit. But you know what? It wouldn't have mattered even if I had. It was Linda's time.
Ms. Ronstadt: I'll be honest—I was never happy with how I sounded. It took me 10 years to learn how to sing before I had skill and craft. Today I will break my finger trying to get that record off when it's on. Art wasn't meant to be frozen in time like that.
Everyone hears something in that song—a breakup, the antiwar movement, women's lib. I hear fear and a lack of confidence on my part. It all happened so fast that day.
www.wsj.com/articles/linda-ronstadt8217s-8216different-drum8217-1383149206
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Post by musedeva on Aug 13, 2019 16:54:44 GMT -5
Oh! My! Gawdess! THANK YOU for these above POSTS!!! I'm gonna spend a few hours taking that all in WONDERFUL Herstory!! Thank you for Shareing all that!
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Post by the Scribe on Aug 16, 2019 5:00:30 GMT -5
MR. PLOW
The Plow King Commercial
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Post by germancanadian on Aug 16, 2019 12:12:18 GMT -5
I'm a big Simpsons fan and I found Linda's guest appearance perfect. Definitely one of the show's top ten episodes. It helped introduce her to Generation X age fans.
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Post by fabtastique on Aug 16, 2019 13:16:21 GMT -5
The duet with Homer too on "Funny How Time Slips Away" is a gorgeous vocal by Linda ..... she literally could sing with anyone!
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Post by Partridge on Aug 16, 2019 22:08:37 GMT -5
I have an idea for the Homer Simpson track. Remove the Homer Simpson vocals and make it a sing-along karaoke track so that anyone can make their own duet with Linda. You will notice at the end of the song the male singer drops his Homer Simpson voice and does some actual harmonizing with Linda.
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Post by the Scribe on Aug 17, 2019 3:27:18 GMT -5
I have an idea for the Homer Simpson track. Remove the Homer Simpson vocals and make it a sing-along karaoke track so that anyone can make their own duet with Linda. You will notice at the end of the song the male singer drops his Homer Simpson voice and does some actual harmonizing with Linda.
Great idea.The Simpsons - Funny How Time Slips Away w/ Lyrics
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Post by Partridge on Aug 17, 2019 12:01:18 GMT -5
I've had modest success removing Linda's vocals to make her songs karaoke tracks- the album cuts that aren't mainstream. But to remove Homer's vocal while he's singing with Linda would no doubt require the master tapes.
My other karaoke idea is to take 6 (or more) of the Ronstadt/Neville duets and remove the Ronstadt vocals to create a sing-your-own duet with Aaron Neville, and remove the Neville vocals to create a sing-your-own duet with Linda Ronstadt.
And my final unrelated idea, I'm still waiting for the special 50th anniversary edition of Hand Sown... Home Grown, but instead they give me Abbey Road!
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Post by 70smusicfan on Aug 17, 2019 14:48:16 GMT -5
I often think removing Homer and adding a real duet vocal would make this a fabulous song, rather than a "comedy". I've often wondered if they couldn't do a Duets album like Frank Sinatra, using Linda's master tapes. Linda and Frank were never in the studio at the same time. I've often wonder if Willie Nelson couldn't add some harmonizing on Linda's take of his "Crazy". Others come to mind - what songwriters would you like to see adding harmony to Linda's takes of their songs.
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Post by germancanadian on Aug 17, 2019 15:06:40 GMT -5
A duet with Phil Collins would have been great.
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Post by the Scribe on Dec 5, 2019 15:13:33 GMT -5
WILLIN'Linda Ronstadt In Atlanta 1977 05 Willin'Linda Ronstadt makes Little Feat’s 1971 classi… Posted on 16/07/2018 by 1971: Classic Rock's Classic Year glamrock.blognook.com/2018/07/16/linda-ronstadt-makes-little-feats-1971-classi/Linda Ronstadt makes Little Feat’s 1971 classic “Willin’” her ownThe first time Linda Ronstadt saw Lowell George, he was singing in a bar in Atlanta, and she fell instantly in love. They embarked on a torrid romance that came to a sudden end a week later when Linda found out that Lowell was married, which he’d neglected to mention.
In fact, the news came courtesy of Lowell’s wife Elizabeth, who showed up at Linda’s door one morning. I’ve never heard Linda tell the story in exactly these words, but I’m under the impression that Elizabeth opened with something along the lines of, “I bet Lowell didn’t even tell you he’s married, did he?” Linda made no apologies for her sexuality, but she firmly drew the line at other women’s men, so that was the end of that.
For reasons that can best be summarized as “It was The Seventies”, the three remained friends until Lowell’s untimely passing in 1979 at age 34.
As far as the singles charts, AM radio, and the Grammys are concerned, Linda’s 1974 breakthrough album Heart Like A Wheel was borne aloft by “When Will I Be Loved”, “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore”, and especially “You’re No Good”, but I’m here to tell you that over on the FM band, right after “You’re No Good,” Linda Ronstadt was allllll about her cover of one of the gems of 1971, from Little Feat’s debut album, a Lowell George track called “Willin’”.
The fact is that Feat’s 1971 version was a dud. The whole album wasn’t quite as good as it should have been, but “Willin’” in particular was a mess. The first verse was spoken in a creepily cartoonish drawl that was seriously off-putting, so the band re-recorded it in much finer fashion in 1972 for their terrific second outing, Sailin’ Shoes. Linda’s version of “Willin’” on Heart Like A Wheel blows the shoes off both of ‘em.
In a way, it’s one of the ballsiest (sexist language duly noted) cover versions that a woman had yet recorded. Not only did she keep the gender as written (including the longing lament that “I see my pretty Alice in every headlight”), but she fully took on the hyper-masculine dime-store noir persona of the wounded, wasted truck driver in ways that nobody saw coming from this pretty little thing.
This is Lowell with Linda in a Polaroid taken by her producer Peter Asher; my edit of an original you can find here:
Linda wasn’t that man in the song, but she KNEW that man, she knew that man better than Lowell himself did. She grew up with plenty of ‘em passing through her family’s hardware store in Arizona (still Mexico when her family settled there in 1840), rolling through the grimy backroads of the southwestern desert before the interstates were finished, through the small towns that Linda had been through way too many times herself, riding behind truckers taking longer routes to avoid paying tonnage fees at interstate weigh stations.
And the drugs! Lord have mercy, the drugs. There’d never been a chorus like this before. Not that this was at all a glamorous portrait of drug use, but the matter-of-factness made it all the more startling. This wasn’t some groovy encouragement to drop out. This was about doing whatever it takes to finish the job.
Well I’ve been from Tucson to Tucumcari Tehachapi to Tonopah Driven every kind of rig that’s ever been made Ridden the back roads so I wouldn’t get weighed
And if you give me weed, whites, and wine And you show me a sign I’ll be willin’ To be movin’
Those words coming out of Lowell George’s mind are a wondrous thing, and in Linda’s voice, they’re nothing short of a miracle. When she sings lines like, “I’ve been warped by the rain, driven by the snow, drunk and dirty don’t you know” and “I’ve had my head stove in but I’m still on my feet, and I’m still….willin’” – this is way, way past Rosie the Riveter. This isn’t just a woman doing a man’s job. This is a woman the likes of whom had never come bounding out of a radio speaker in human history.
Not that she didn’t get plenty of shit for it at the time, and in many years since. A lot of men got very upset to find themselves made redundant in their own songs, which is a story for another day. Lowell, he loved what Linda did with “Willin’”, and incorporated some of what he learned from her into his own subsequent versions, which is also a story for another day.
For now, I’ve got two tasty live renditions of “Willin’” for you, in two very different contexts. The first is the one you’ve hopefully already been playing from the top of the post, from 1976, Linda comfortably getting on top of her game as the biggest woman in popular music (a fact WAY too easily forgotten), selling records and filling arenas in numbers that no solo artist of any gender had yet come close to achieving over such a long span (way WAY too easily forgotten).
She’s always been shy, never did get comfortable talking on stage, but here opens with a great story featuring 70s concert legends Showco, the Dallas-based production company that put on pretty much every great tour of the era. Those pictures of caravans of 18-wheelers carrying sound and lighting rigs for people like Led Zeppelin? That was Showco.
Linda tells the tale of them getting stopped at the German border on the way to this particular show, forced to unload and reload all the trucks for inspection and barely making this show in time, before launching into a sweet, bright version of what had already become a highlight of her set.
The second version is here below, for Lowell’s tribute concert in 1979. When he died so young (albeit not too suddenly; a man of too many appetites to stay ahead of them for long), his friends gathered in Los Angeles to raise money for Elizabeth and their 5 year old daughter Inara. (Inara has grown up to be a fine musician herself, btw. I first encountered her as one half of The Bird and the Bee, and she’s also a member of two other bands: Merrick, and The Living Sisters.)
Linda was there of course, as were Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Nicolette Larson, and surviving members of Little Feat (notably on this track: Billy Payne on piano). Other versions of “Willin’” were performed as an anthem of sorts. A ballad yes, but a rollicking tale told by a snake charmer. This time, Linda and friends slow it down half a beat to underscore the ache of loss that was always there in the song, and here brought fully into the spotlight.
There are so many great Linda Ronstadt performances, so many great songs by so many great male writers that she’s made her own, and yet to me, her version of “Willin’” towers over all of them.
While I’m here, I might as well link you to the version that I first heard, and that still sounds mighty fine, her recording of “Willin’” on Heart Like A Wheel.
Finally, it’s one thing to say that she used Lowell’s song to create an unexpected and unprecedented portrait of a hard-working woman, but it’s striking to see the ways in which women in popular music are still forced into such a limited handful of acceptable roles, and to contemplate the number of jobs and lifestyles that still aren’t realistically options for women in the world, nearly 50 years after this remarkable song’s debut back in 1971.Lowell George & Linda Ronstadt, - Willin' - Live 1975 WHFS FM MarylandGreat read on Little Feat and associated characters like Linda & Bonnieglamrock.blognook.com/2018/12/21/dirtyriverpolyphonyrocksgot-to-rise-above/
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Post by the Scribe on Dec 28, 2019 17:31:03 GMT -5
HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS
A Merry Little Christmas is a Christmas album and song by American singer/songwriter/producer Linda Ronstadt, released in 2000. It was the final release under Ronstadt's recording contract with the Elektra/Asylum Records label for whom Linda had recorded since 1973 (twenty-seven years to that point). John Boylan returned to the scene as Linda's producer - and manager - for this disc. Boylan remains Linda's official representative as of 2019.
It was the biggest-selling Holiday album of the 2000 Christmas season. It peaked at #179 on Billboard's main album chart and continued to sell year in and year out.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2021 14:09:39 GMT -5
YOU'RE NO GOODLinda Ronstadt began performing “You’re No Good” to close her live shows in early 1973 after her band member Kenny Edwards suggested it to her. She first included it in her setlist while opening for Neil Young. Ronstadt gave an early televised performance of “You’re No Good” on an episode of The Midnight Special which was broadcast December 21, 1973.
Ronstadt recorded her Heart Like a Wheel album with producer Peter Asher in the summer of 1974 at the Sound Factory; “You’re No Good” was a last-minute choice for recording, and while the song was Ronstadt’s suggestion, Asher recalls: “It was an odd coincidence. She’d been doing the song already, and it was always a favorite song of mine…the version I fell in love with [being by] the Swinging Blue Jeans”.[5] The original backing track intended for Ronstadt’s version of “You’re No Good” was recorded July 1, 1974. According to Bob Warford, a guitarist in Ronstadt’s touring band who played on the July 1 track, “They were trying to do an R&B version of the song, which was actually closer to the way we did it live than to the released version. We played it at a faster tempo live, which we did on that recording [ie. of July 1].”[5] Ronstadt vetoed the July 1 arrangement; she recalls: “It was just the wrong groove for me. I don’t think I knew how to phrase around [the players], certainly no fault of theirs. They were fantastic.”[5]
The final recording of the Ronstadt version of “You’re No Good” was made July 5, 1974. Ronstadt would recall: “Ed Black, who played six-string guitar and pedal steel, started to play a rhythm riff on his Les Paul. Kenny Edwards…the bass player…echoed the riff in octaves. Andrew Gold added a sparse drum track, giving me a basic track to sing over. We did a few takes, picked one we liked, and then Andrew, who always played guitars and keyboards went to work with Peter [Asher]and began to work up layers of guitar, piano, and percussion tracks.” Ronstadt recalls that during a playback after several hours of work, Val Garay, the engineer, accidentally erased Andrew Gold’s guitar solo from the track, necessitating Asher and Gold’s reconstructing that solo from scratch.[6]
In late August 1974 a string arrangement – by Gregory Rose – was added to the track at AIR Studios. According to a Classic Tracks article by Mick Hurwitz at MixOnline.com: “It ends with a strong, long-held note, which Asher conceived, executed by Garay with a slow riding of the level on the string faders during the final mix.”[5]
Capitol Records was unsure whether to release “You’re No Good” or “When Will I Be Loved” as the lead single off Heart Like a Wheel, only deciding to release “You’re No Good” a week after the album’s release.
dreamsinthewind.com/linda-ronstadt/ A bit more reading www.mixonline.com/recording/classic-track-you-re-no-good-linda-ronstadt-387624
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2021 12:19:01 GMT -5
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Post by PoP80 on Aug 2, 2021 9:02:19 GMT -5
Linda indicates in the article link in American Songwriter that her "phrasing was horrible" on Long, Long Time. To me, whatever imperfections are present in that recording are what makes it perfect. The emotions are raw and real, so everything else falls into place.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2021 13:19:23 GMT -5
LLT is a beautiful song, sang beautifully. A heartbroken young woman, her voice breaking with emotion, fit for a broadway play. Its better than Mabel's "Stay Frederic/Sorry her lot" in PoP for me.
LLT was & is my Linda emotional benchmark. She has sung others as good, but none more poignantly, except "Love Has No Pride" maybe.
I wish Linda had sung the version of "I Never Shall Marry", that she did in duet with Johnny Cash.
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Post by PoP80 on Aug 2, 2021 14:57:16 GMT -5
LLT is a beautiful song, sang beautifully. A heartbroken young woman, her voice breaking with emotion, fit for a broadway play. Its better than Mabel's "Stay Frederic/Sorry her lot" in PoP for me. LLT was & is my Linda emotional benchmark. She has sung others as good, but none more poignantly, except "Love Has No Pride" maybe. I wish Linda had sung the version of "I Never Shall Marry", that she did in duet with Johnny Cash. I would agree about the emotional impact of Long, Long Time and Love Has no Pride. Linda has that unmistakeable cry in her voice which adds to the gut-wrenching impact of these sad love songs.
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Post by eddiejinnj on Aug 2, 2021 16:05:42 GMT -5
Linda's Christmas album unfortunately was not the biggest seller of the 2000 Christmas season. Christina Aguilera's album went platinum. eddiejinnj
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2021 16:57:52 GMT -5
When I first heard Merry Christmas album, I was struck by its beauty in performance, choice and variety. Also that Linda had done one!
It was my first Linda CD & download, having always bought LPs before. I have loads of Christmas music, but bought MC because it was Linda, and was well rewarded!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2021 8:43:22 GMT -5
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Post by PoP80 on Aug 11, 2021 9:00:11 GMT -5
"No, Ronstadt never played an instrument in concert or on record. She never wrote her own songs, either." Incorrect information from this source, so I take this review with a grain of salt and pinch of sugar.
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