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Post by sliderocker on Oct 3, 2021 21:25:34 GMT -5
I think all of that is true. But what I also think is true is that virtually every songwriter that got their songs into Linda's interpretive orbit had nothing but great things to say about the way she interpreted those songs (hell, even Elvis Costello came around to that way of thinking, even if it was decades overdue).
All of that is true. Having Linda record their songs and doing justice to them is something I think every songwriter wanted in the 70s, especially give the money they could make from Linda's million selling albums. If the songs were released as singles and were the A-sides, there was more money to look forward to coming in as there would also be money from radio airplay. And you couldn't turn around in Linda's high watermark era and change radio stations without hear Linda coming up on the radio. Linda on the radio in the 70s and 80s could've meant millions for those who wrote the songs. Michael Nesmith has probably made more money from Linda's and the Stone Poneys's version of Different Drum than all the money he made from the Monkees's recordings. The song is still a huge oldies staple and will likely still be played after Michael and Linda are no longer here.
As for Elvis Costello, I'll tell you something. I think he was secretly out of the solar system when Linda recorded his songs, but he had to go along with his punk image and diss her versions of his songs. But, he's around my age (as were a lot of people who were in the punk scene) and Linda's recordings meant money coming in for him, especially if his career was long term and he was experiencing some lean times. Once the punk era faded in the long era and he was more established, he was free to be more open and complimentary towards those who had done his songs. Perhaps, also, as he grew older and more wiser, he looked at his younger self and realized how naive he had been about the music business. And realized Linda's audience and sales had no impact on his audience and sales. Both had different audiences but Linda recording his songs probably turned some of her audience on to Costello and he gained some new fans.
I can't fault Linda for being humble and having so much humility; it's a hell of a lot better than the rampant egotists that populate popular music these days (not all of them men, by the way). I only wish Linda had been more cognizant of the heart, the intellect, and the learned ability she possessed, and channeled it into something that was uniquely Linda Ronstadt. And again, it may not have been Gershwin, or Dylan, or Lennon/McCartney, but it would have been infinitely better than the dreck we have to put up with on the radio these days.
Agreed. I would've been happy if Linda had written two or three songs of her own, rather than some of the songs she recorded. Coming up with a melody and just using basic chords would've been fine. As the songs were recorded, the musicians could've added polish to the songs by using more chords. Not many people realize it, but singer Olivia Newton-John has written a lot of her own songs. She plays (or played) guitar and once commented she didn't know the more complex chords when she wrote songs, but her then-producer and friend John Farrar knew more complex chords and his touches made little gems of her songwriting efforts. Most of Olivia's albums featured one song or cowritten written by her.
Later on, she released albums in which every song was written or cowritten by her. And Olivia shared some things in common with Linda, one being from a very accomplished family and another being both of those families had expectations that did not lean towards their daughters having musical careers. Olivia admitted she had no interest in a scholastic career, and Linda was pretty much the same way. Linda had the impressive sales but Olivia did not deny her songwriting capabilities. Linda could've learned a thing or two from Olivia when it came to songwriting. ANd Linda probably could've taught Olivia about having a band and using her own band rather than using session musicians. Olivia's albums had too much polish to them, although many were good. She just needed a more raw sound.
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Post by sliderocker on Oct 3, 2021 21:50:42 GMT -5
Linda said she started off apologising for success, and was embarassed. Somethings in her childhood must have had a bad psychological effect, enviroment and adults (school and the housekeeper) I expect. Her Catholic guilt, I expect. And despite Linda saying she's no longer Catholic, well, if that's true, it shouldn't matter to Linda that she was born Linda Maria (or Linda Marie), and switching her name to Maria Linda because it's a Catholic tradition all children must have the name of a saint as their first name. Something like that is why I believe Linda is not the atheist or agnostic she claims she is, but in keeping with keeping her life private, she's not going to open up as to her actual beliefs. All the above aside, I suspect any bad psychological effect, environment and adults may have come from her parents and schooling. Here again, Linda has never discussed how she was dealt with when she misbehaved (except for the housekeeper smacking her on her bottom when the housekeeper was trying to brush her hair and she wouldn't sit still), but I suspect Linda experienced corporal punishment in her home and in the school. And like a lot of kids when they grew into adults, didn't want to admit to having been punished in that manner. Especially if it was severe. As Erik noted, Linda was busted when she skipped school at the age of 10 to go see Elvis in his first movie. And the movie theater was just around the corner from the Ronstadt's family store. I'd be willing to bet Linda wouldn't admit to getting spanked but that may have been what happened when she was caught. For a lot of parents back in those times, that was how they dealt with kids, with just a handful who were more forward thinking in dealing with their kids. And I've heard enough horror stories from kids who attended Catholic schools to feel sorry for the kids who were in those schools. But, I think schools run by evangelicals were just as bad or worse and think many kids had problems because of that. And I think a lot of kids fell through the cracks and never got help. I believe Linda saw a psychologist or psychiatrist in the 70s and she may have got help during that time, but she still held onto the belief of denial, never feeling what she did was any good. Perhaps that helped keep her down to earth, and humble. And it may be something we will never find out about.
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Post by sliderocker on Oct 3, 2021 22:37:02 GMT -5
Maybe Linda simply doesn't like to write songs. I think if she wanted to she would have done it. I don't believe a manager could have pushed her into writing songs.
It may be Linda didn't like writing songs when she was an active recording artist.However, she had a lot of down time in which she was doing nothing and Linda, by her own admission, admitting she could write songs but didn't want to because she felt her songs would be bad and she didn't want to contribute to the world's bad songs, is kind of perplexing, don't you think? For unless she actually wrote some songs, if she didn't, how could she know they would be bad? You have to try to know. And again, she could've used basic chords and come up with a melody and the songs could've been polished up in the studio.
As for a manager not being able to push Linda, well, we know her first manager was sort of a hands off manager. He didn't go with Linda to Nashville when Linda was going to be a guest on Johnny Cash's show, and when Linda was accosted by an associte producer or someone from the Cash show in her hotel room, he didn't want to rock the boat. Not even when that person made some suggestive remarks about Linda. Any good manager should've been on the line to ABC, to Johnny Cash himself, to anyone who was over that schlemiel and barbecued him to such an extent, he had no further career in show business.
(Sorry about the above, but that story Linda told gets me all riled up when I think about it.)
A good manager is someone who encourages his talent to get their feet wet doing different things. If I had been Linda's manager, I would've pointed out songwriting would bring her in extra money and if not covered in her contract, songwriting and publishing royalties could've been excluded from the record company's requirement that Linda repay costs associated with the production and distribution of the recording. Linda hated touring, and two or more songs per album could've kept her off the road and more at home.
Linda's touring helped pay the costs associated with her albums, but it also provided her with income she was missing out on because of the costs. Songwriting and publishing royalties could've kept Linda off the road for a quarter of the time she was on. That's another part of a good manager's job: point to advantages she may not be aware of. That's also why Linda doing movies would've been another good avenue. It would not be money the record company could not touch, unless Linda wanted to pay them off.
I write a lot of songs from time to time (even had a drawer full at one time). I can't picture Linda writing down 4 bar notes on a piece of paper and stuffing them in a drawer. To me writing songs is the equivalent to writing a term paper. Then it gets fed to the sharks in the music business.
I wrote a lot of songs in my time as well. I started writing when I was 10 (very young, I was) and wrote steadily until I was in my 40s, then started dropping off on writing. I used to write four or five per day, so that was the reason for the burn out. Like a lot of songwriters, I'm not trained by sight when it comes to writing down the notes. I can sight read music but until I play it on a keyboard instrument, I can't tell you how it sounds. I play guitar and have a little keybaord knowledge.
Most songwriters only make home recordings of what they're hearing in their head. And that to me, was something Linda (and Elvis, for that matter) could've done. Again. it didn't have to be polished, it could be basic demo songwriting: your acoustic guitar or keyboard and your vocal. When it's recorded in the studio, then it gets more polished. And the recording industry has people who can write down the notes and once hearing the songs, the musicians can flesh them out. I would've simply encouraged Linda to write one or two songs for her then-next album, project. She had a lot of time. She wasn't always in the studio or on touring.
As far as "Try Me Again" goes Linda said she wrote it all at once (a lot of it on a parking ticket). The really good songs usually come like that. Andrew Gold (AG) only showed her what chords to use on the bridge so Linda is correct about the fact that AG shouldn't have been given songwriting credit. The other 2 songs that Linda wrote where collaborations.
Could it have been because Kenny cowrote Lo Siento Mi Vida, someone thought it would be a good idea to give Andrew part of the songwriting credit on Try Me Again? Andrew showing Linda what chords to use on the bridge didn't qualify him for a songwriting credit. Andrew and Kenny both received points (royalties) from Linda's albums for their contributions, so could that have been a reason Andrew got the songwriting credit? I feel bad for Linda because it's truly all her own effort and it showed an incredible songwriter she could'v been if she had kept it going. And, by the way, when Linda recorded with Nelson Riddle or appeared with him in concert, how I wish Nelson would've taken Try Me Again and added his incredible orchestrations.
Maybe these "excuses" are just her response to get people to stop asking her about it and to change the subject, I don't know. She is already constantly being reminded how great a singer she is (which she IS one of the greatest singers). Now she would become Georgeanne Gershwin. I think that would be hard to take. Like I said above maybe Linda simply doesn't like to write songs. She doesn't like to be told what to do (which in that case she definitely wouldn't want to be around me, lol).
Linda not being told what to do, that could be something going back to her childhood. She has always exhibited signs of being stubborn, hating certain questions, clamming up or being cold when being asked about something she doesn't want to talk about, so I suspect your observation is 100% spot on. But, even though it is spot on, she can't control the questions she gets asked and the best way to make questions she doesn't like to go away is just to answer them without getting her hackles and defenses up. Every artists gets asked questions they hate, but instead of getting angry, most answer the questions and just move on to the next question they may not want to answer.
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Post by sliderocker on Oct 3, 2021 22:39:20 GMT -5
Don't think I've posted this song. If I have I'll delete it, but I just hear Linda on this beautiful song.
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Post by erik on Oct 4, 2021 8:49:50 GMT -5
Quote by sliderocker:
If it's one thing that this particular generation really doesn't do much of (primarily because they're involved in their generation's music [though that has been true of past generations as well]), it is understanding what made an Elvis or a Beatles possible, and why they were such big deals in their day; in short, today's audiences don't put those artists in any kind of historical context. Beyond that, I think the music business now is such that it simply isn't possible to have another Elvis or Beatles ever come down the pike again and shake things up.
With Linda--well, obviously she too is in that position. As Emmylou says, there's just no one who has ever had or ever will have a voice like Linda's. However, there are tons of female artists out there who revere her to the hilt, and who strive to achieve a level of excellence similar to Linda's by simply being authentically themselves. Linda's legacy does carry on in a lot of ways, but the media really never reports on it. It all goes back to what Upton Sinclair once said: "It's difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on him not understanding it."
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2021 10:20:00 GMT -5
Not being nationalistic, but I wonder if Peter Asher being British had personality and ethical differences to the American producers Linda had previously. Similarly, was Asylum label less domineering than Capital in Linda's early career? 1975 Rolling Stone by Ben Fong-Torres www.ronstadt-linda.com/artrs75.htmThere is a lot of mid-70s Linda history and analysis here. Linda not voting (last Nixon win) for being "at the fat farm", and about to start another diet, but eyeing cakes in a café is rather cute and very human.
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Post by sliderocker on Oct 4, 2021 13:55:34 GMT -5
If it's one thing that this particular generation really doesn't do much of (primarily because they're involved in their generation's music [though that has been true of past generations as well]), it is understanding what made an Elvis or a Beatles possible, and why they were such big deals in their day; in short, today's audiences don't put those artists in any kind of historical context. Beyond that, I think the music business now is such that it simply isn't possible to have another Elvis or Beatles ever come down the pike again and shake things up. With Linda--well, obviously she too is in that position. As Emmylou says, there's just no one who has ever had or ever will have a voice like Linda's. However, there are tons of female artists out there who revere her to the hilt, and who strive to achieve a level of excellence similar to Linda's by simply being authentically themselves. Linda's legacy does carry on in a lot of ways, but the media really never reports on it. It all goes back to what Upton Sinclair once said: " It's difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on him not understanding it." I haven't seen any artist come along who has the kind of charisma and talent that Elvis, the Beatles and Linda all had. Or any of the artists who were major artists in the 60s and 70s. Some may argue Garth Brooks (or Pudge Balding as I have often referred to him as since the 90s) has that charisma and talent, but Garth to me was overpromoted, which resulted in his albums being overhyped and oversold. And when he got his money, he stopped and said that was enough for him. He divorced his first wife (who was a knockout) so he could marry Trisha Yearwood (another knockout and a tremendous talent). I think he didn't want to do many more albums because of the law of diminishing returns. As with Michael Jackson, when the overhype and hysteria died down, so did the album sales and if Garth couldn't have albums selling twenty million each time out, well, he just didn't want to record. It seemed to be more about how much money he could make versus how much interest he has in the music. The hunger was gone and perhaps replaced with fear he might start producing failures. And he only wanted successes.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2021 14:43:07 GMT -5
My favourite male country & western singer was and is the late great Marty Robbins, he was very charismatic, very talented and like Linda sang different styles throughout his career.
Dolly Parton is charismatic of course. So was Dottie West. Suzi Quattro and Joan Jett as well, to varying extents.
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Post by sliderocker on Oct 4, 2021 23:07:09 GMT -5
Not being nationalistic, but I wonder if Peter Asher being British had personality and ethical differences to the American producers Linda had previously. I think Peter Asher being British certainly help bring a different focus to Linda's musical career for the better. The irony is that Linda's previous producers all had successes with other artists.
Nick Venet was an in-house music producer for Capitol and he worked on a lot of hit recordings for artists. He certainly nailed Linda's first hit, a song that should've been a number one but wasn't properly promoted by Capitol. How many songs can anyone name that only got to number 13 in Billboard's Top 100 that would go to remain an oldie goldie staple going on 54 years now? Most songs that were and are oldie goldie staples usually were somewhere in the Top 10. Records that were in Billboard's charts charting at number 11 or down typically are neglected on oldies radio stations. Not Linda's version of Different Drum.
Where Nick ran into trouble and the producers who followed him ran into Linda wanting to choose what songs she would record. And she wanted it her way. She didn't choose songs for their potential to be hits. She chose songs that appealed to her, which were country songs or ballads and who probably begrudgingly gave in to some rock treatments.
Chip Douglas Farthing Hatelid (yes, that is his real name) had produced hits for the Monkees and the Turtles, had been playing bass in the Turtles and arranged the horns on Happy Together. Linda seemed to have a lot of Monkee connections. Both Jackson Browne and Lowell George hung around with the Monkees and in Lowell's case, played on some of their songs. Chip also had a relationship with Linda but none of the songs he produced for Hand Sown, Home Grown produced any major hits. Maybe he was too close to Linda?
Elliot Mazer produced another hit for Linda, Long, Long Time but the recordings John Boylan produced on Linda were misfires. I think Linda's desire to sing country and to mostly rely on covers rather than new material defeated Elliot and John as producers. Linda could be stubborn and ornery about how and what she wanted to record. Capitol couldn't reach her and her producers couldn't reach her. She wanted her success her way. And I can't truly say I blame her but I also felt it wouldn't hurt to compromise.
Enter Peter. I believe he saw how he could shape Linda's artistic vision giving her what she wanted, while at the same time giving the record companies what they wanted. And he produced a happy medium. I think he taught Linda a few things, one being there's nothing wrong with compromising occasionally. Another, I think, was how to convey to musicians what she was hearing in her head. She was fortunate to have Kenny Edwards back in the fold as he arranged some of the songs Linda had hits on. Same for Andrew Gold and I think both of them also communicated Linda's ideas to the other musicians, so they were vital.
And I think Linda's albums and singles became less successful when Peter left and others started producing her or she produced herself. Kenny and Andrew also departed, but at least Waddy was around to help out occasionally. But, it seemed like Linda used musicians who put on more polish than a shining gleen to the music. And it seems like that was when Linda's sales started to decline.
Similarly, was Asylum label less domineering than Capital in Linda's early career?
Probably not. I don't have a lot of nice things to say about David Geffen. When he was elevated to head of Elektra-Asylum, he dropped artists he didn't like, axed Mike Nesmith's Countryside label that he had made a deal with previous Elektra-Asylum head Jac Holzman to handle the manufacture and distribution on. Nesmith had some other artists already signed and I've always wondered if he may have signed Linda to be on the label? It would've been a barrcudaish thing to do, but the music industry does have instances of record companies being shut down by bigger labels so they can grab certain artists.
Linda and Mike were friends and he'd always had gratitude because of Different Drum and showing the powers-that-be over the Monkees that Mike could write hit songs. Linda did mention she was expecting to be dropped if she didn't produce a hit album, so she was under a lot of pressure. Even more pressure when Prisoner in Disguise didn't do as well as Heart Like a Wheel. From things I read about Geffen in the 70s, he didn't seem like a nice guy. Most big record label people are not nice people. Some are pretty cold. And I always got a cold vibe whenever I read something about Geffen or thought about him. He definitely seemed like an a-hole. And that's probably about the nicest thing one can say about him.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2021 8:53:52 GMT -5
I always thought Linda felt guilty about leaving her parents the abrupt way she did, as she wrote in her book. But its understandable she did not want to be trapped as a homemaker as her mother and Suzy were, and the nuns preached.
The magnetism of music, same generation folk & boys was a strong attraction for a headstrong young lady.
Linda's mother's cancer must have weighed heavily on Linda's mind. PoP was inspired by Mrs R's love of Gilbert & Sullivan. Linda was performing in PoP when she lost her mum, and could not go home, it must have eaten her. I am sure CDMP was prioritised in Linda's mind by wanting to honour her father while he was still alive and well.
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Post by erik on Oct 5, 2021 8:54:31 GMT -5
Quote by sliderocker:
I don't know if that's completely accurate, because (and I've said this on multiple occasions) it doesn't take into account the artistic decisions she made of her own accord during the 1990's, starting with the two additional Spanish-language album she did (Mas Canciones; Frenesi) in 1991-92, both of which neither charted particularly well nor sold anything close to what Canciones De Mi Padre had done (which was 2.7 million copies). Every artistic decision she made after Cry Like A Rainstorm was entirely hers; and whatever can or might be said about the way Elektra supposedly failed to promote her properly, ultimately Linda herself has to take at least some of the blame for the decline in her popularity. What she and, I think, a lot of us may have seen as her artistic diversity seemed to a 1990's audience as total artistic insanity; and whether one thinks that's a fair assessment or not, the results seem fairly clear. The gap between Linda and the pop music audience was, and sadly in a lot of ways still is, too large to close (IMHO).
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2021 9:12:22 GMT -5
The truth was, as Linda knew, she was no longer a spring chicken. Pop stars were getting younger, she was old enough to be a parent to some of them, so what to do?
Going back to country/folk and blues, where more mature lady singers were accepted by *their* audiences.
Linda's children, health and later voice declining would have influenced her decisions, however she had IMO a mindset change of priorities - wanting to continue with music but at her own pace to fit in with all her other life balances, controlling things herself more.
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Post by eddiejinnj on Oct 5, 2021 9:18:52 GMT -5
Not sure body shaming Garth is productive. We didn't/don't like when it happened to Linda as fans. Garth's wife I am sure discusses Linda with him. eddiejinnj
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Post by eddiejinnj on Oct 5, 2021 9:25:59 GMT -5
Some television shows are retired while they are still at the top or near it. Art should not be about success as Linda says but in the rated arts such as television and pop music such ratings/rankings are a consideration for some artists perhaps re: legacy impression, etc. eddiejinnj
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Post by sliderocker on Oct 5, 2021 13:50:19 GMT -5
Not sure body shaming Garth is productive. We didn't/don't like when it happened to Linda as fans. Garth's wife I am sure discusses Linda with him. eddiejinnj I've never been a Garth fan, and as for pudgy, I can plead guilty to being that too. The nickname goes back to the late 90s and refers to a time when he was always threatening to retire from music. I also live in Oklahoma, where Garth is from, but I am from Texas originally and even though we are the same people, people from either state don't especially like the people who live in the other state. Used to get kidded by coworkers that I should like Garth because we were from the same state. I would say, "Garth is from Texas?" As I've always joked, Oklahomans are Texans who couldn't get their way in Texas, so they came north and formed their own state! But, you make a good point about it, Eddie. We didn't like it when it was done to Linda and I didn't like it when it was done to Elvis either. Or Ann Wilson, for that matter.
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Post by sliderocker on Oct 5, 2021 14:14:19 GMT -5
Quote by sliderocker: I don't know if that's completely accurate, because (and I've said this on multiple occasions) it doesn't take into account the artistic decisions she made of her own accord during the 1990's, starting with the two additional Spanish-language album she did ( Mas Canciones; Frenesi) in 1991-92, both of which neither charted particularly well nor sold anything close to what Canciones De Mi Padre had done (which was 2.7 million copies). Every artistic decision she made after Cry Like A Rainstorm was entirely hers; and whatever can or might be said about the way Elektra supposedly failed to promote her properly, ultimately Linda herself has to take at least some of the blame for the decline in her popularity. What she and, I think, a lot of us may have seen as her artistic diversity seemed to a 1990's audience as total artistic insanity; and whether one thinks that's a fair assessment or not, the results seem fairly clear. The gap between Linda and the pop music audience was, and sadly in a lot of ways still is, too large to close (IMHO). I don't see any disagreement between our comments. Linda has said every song that was on her albums, she chose to do, so she does bear the blame on her song choices contributing to her decline. I agree Elektra didn't do as good of a job of promoting Linda as what they (or Asylum) had done when she was in her prime, but the Spanish-language albums didn't help on sales with all audiences. And it didn't even help Linda in the Latino market. Maybe Linda should've recorded a German language album, give her German ancestry equal time? Linda's post- Cry Like a Rainstorm pop efforts, it just seemed to me it was Linda but not Linda, if that makes sense. If one listens to Linda's albums from her halcyon period, she had what one could call a sound that was distinctly hers. A Linda Ronstadt sound. Every artist had and has a sound their recordings were or are associated with, the moment you heard the beginnings of the their singles, you knew it was them. Linda seemed to lose her sound. Maybe it was Linda going into too many genres, being successful once or twice with a new sound, she forgot her basic hit sound? I don't really like saying she ticked off people with comments she made that were associated with old standards or the Spanish language recordings, but it has to be considered. But, once she got back to making commercial albums instead of specialized market recordings, I think she just lost the sound which was successful for her. And even though there were many of us who liked everything she did, she had ton win back those she lost or gain new fans. And it certainly seemed she wasn't too successful on either front, given the low sales.
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Post by sliderocker on Oct 5, 2021 15:09:55 GMT -5
The truth was, as Linda knew, she was no longer a spring chicken. Pop stars were getting younger, she was old enough to be a parent to some of them, so what to do?
While there's a lot of truth with that statement, there were also a push back as some artists and their record labels tried to make the excuse the reason the younger artists wasn't getting any hits was because of the so called dinosaurs dominating the charts and their baby boomer audiences contributing to that domination. The push back was in this was the same excuse the dinosaurs of the 1950s said when Elvis and the rockers came along and cut into the sales of the established artists, except it was in reverse. Elvis's market (and the rest of the rockers) was the teen market. Why should 40ish-something (and older) artists like Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett expect teen audiences should be buying their singles and albums? There was a lot of jealousy directed at Elvis because he was selling in numbers they had never seen. Elvis was a millionaire at 21. Sinatra may have been a millionaire but the other 50s dinosaurs who had been swept away by the rock and roll revolution? Some might have been lucky if they had $50,000 in their bank accounts.
Similarly, the baby boomers who had made so many pop-rock artists in the 60s and 70s held onto those artists as they grew up and continued buying their recordings. Old dinosaurs, yes, but the baby boomer generation wasn't the generation newer artists should've been competing for, although some did find some of the baby boomers liked them too. And even some of the Me genegration liked their music. But, each generation liked the music they grew up with and brought them as they grew into adults. Why was no spring chicken Linda to blame for an artists who couldn't sell to his or her generational audience. Their markets were different. They couldn't blame their failure to launch and failure to connect to their generational era audience on dinosaur rockers and their audiences.
Going back to country/folk and blues, where more mature lady singers were accepted by *their* audiences.
Wanna bet? Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers (and others) were among the country stars of the 60s and 70s complaining they couldn't get radio airplay and their sales were down because the newer artists were being embraced by country radio. What new rockers and their promoters at the record companies failed to do on the pop-rock charts, new country artists and their promoters at their record companies were actually able to do. Even country artists who had been more recent like Randy Travis and George Strait were swept off the radio. Alan Jackson led the charge that country had been killed by rock's influence on country, opposed to the old sound of the 50s and 60s. And even Erik has rightly noted the rise of bro-country, which doesn't sound like country.
Dolly's complaint was back in the 90s but her audience should've been loyal to her. But, if her audience didn't stay with her, where did they go? Same for Kenny and all the others? Was what happened in the 50s when Elvis came along and wiped off many of the artists who came before him what happened to country in the 90s when Garth Brooks came along? Did his success spell the ending of success for Dolly and Kenny, and all the others? And in no way am I comparing Garth to Elvis. Garth may be the RIAA champ on solo sales, but Elvis is the unofficial champ of solo sales in the US as the RIAA doesn't have an award for sales under 500K. If they did, it's said Elvis's US album total would be 600 million. RCA released so many repackaged albums after Elvis's death that sold just under 500K, the albums would push the total to 600 million or over.
Linda's children, health and later voice declining would have influenced her decisions, however she had IMO a mindset change of priorities - wanting to continue with music but at her own pace to fit in with all her other life balances, controlling things herself more.
Linda was always pretty much a homebody so staying home abd being a mother suited her. She didn't like touring, which being on the road is rough for anyone who does it, whether they are a truck driver or rock artist. Linda began to experience health issues in the late 90s and early 2000s, and there have been some who have suggested there is a link between their health issues and their occupations. I have family who were truck drivers. Some still are and some of them had heart attacks, while others had diabetes or cancer. Is there a link? I don't know, but i was on the road for 16 years, and I have health problems. And I knew I was dead tired from being on the road all the time. My first health issue showed up the first year after I quit being on the road. I was on the road every week, probably putting 1500 miles per week minimum and I was seriously worn down. Coincidence?
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Post by eddiejinnj on Oct 5, 2021 15:18:59 GMT -5
Emmylou has had a very successful career but considering how respected she is, she really doesn't have any of the huge sales Linda has had. It is the rare artist that has huge sales their whole career. We have talked of this very often. eddiejinnj
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2021 19:29:37 GMT -5
A telling thing IMO on Linda's size-shyness is how none of her original album covers had her full figure after CDMP. MC had her top half looking very alluring, but all after had her head (WL, FLH), eyes (WR), not at all (WW, MChr, AFH).
With her health-caused upsizing, deepened and less capable voice, Linda must have felt quite out of sorts with her Asylum days and figure. With Madonna as the new rock queen, Linda could not compete with the new era.
So Vegas playing her old hits, as Elvis did, or changing style as she tried. Linda made friends with Rosemary Clooney and I think was influenced by what Rosemary said had done, gone mellow.
Linda's musical contemporaries were all having to cope with middle age and new competitors, those who were writers did benefit, and if anytime in her life, that is when Linda could have tried her hand, using her experience etc.
Trio 2, FLH & WW teaming with Emmylou was Linda's best & I expect most assuring move. Lastly with another friend, Ann Savoy, for AFH. Linda's other "friends" were songs & songwriters she liked, and those were always dear to her.
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Post by sliderocker on Oct 5, 2021 23:50:29 GMT -5
Emmylou has had a very successful career but considering how respected she is, she really doesn't have any of the huge sales Linda has had. It is the rare artist that has huge sales their whole career. We have talked of this very often. eddiejinnj If you look at the huge sales of an artist or band, it's generally not every album from every decade but only from a certain era. The Beatles's catalog continues to sell very well, as does Elvis's catalog (which RCA-Sony does not have to pay royalties to his estate on anything recorded up to March 31, 1973, so they don't have to lie about his sales). Linda's continuous sales can likely be attributed to her albums from Don't Cry Now to Cry Like a Rainstorm, her albums which achieved gold, platinum or multi-platinum status. Those tend to be the albums which draw in new fans and maybe, just maybe, they will seek out the rest of Linda's album catalog. The RIAA has one other award, the diamond award, which I don't think Linda has achieved. An album must sell ten million copies. Linda had two greatest hits compilation albums, which were merged into one album, one of which sold a million copies at least while the other was a gold album. I want to say the merged greatest hits album is also a platinum. Multi-platinum, I believe.
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Post by eddiejinnj on Oct 6, 2021 8:18:53 GMT -5
Both of Linda's original GHs 1 and 2 were Platinum. Vol 1 Released in Dec 1976 (the album that I discovered Linda at age 13) is certified 7x Platinum and Vol 2 is certified as 1x Platinum. I have not heard of the sales for the combined release with a green scrapbook cover. eddiejinnj
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2021 8:38:24 GMT -5
Both of Linda's original GHs 1 and 2 were Platinum. Vol 1 Released in Dec 1976 (the album that I discovered Linda at age 13) is certified 7x Platinum and Vol 2 is certified as 1x Platinum. I have not heard of the sales for the combined release with a green scrapbook cover. eddiejinnj The green 1 + 2 might just have been a UK release. www.ronstadt-linda.com/toppopa2.htm
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Post by erik on Oct 6, 2021 8:46:04 GMT -5
Quote by sliderocker:
As I understand it, the first Greatest Hits compilation of Linda's has sold seven million copies, as of the last I heard. Obviously this is still three million short of diamond status; but that award is so hard to achieve, unless you're Garth Brooks, or the Dixie Chicks, or Mariah Carey. And in this day and age, it may no longer be possible to achieve that sales status for a single album.
If we're going by studio albums only, then Linda's biggest seller would likely be 1977's Simple Dreams, which sold 3.5 million copies in its first year of release, and spent five weeks at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart (the entire month of December, to be precise), and even a week at #1 on Billboard's C&W Album Chart.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2021 9:01:22 GMT -5
Back to songs, and "He Called Me Baby" could have been interpreted by Linda at any stage in her career. Here's Patsy Cline...
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Post by erik on Oct 6, 2021 9:08:24 GMT -5
There's also "I Can't Dance", which the late Tom T. Hall (alias "The Storyteller") wrote in 1970, and which Gram Parsons recorded in a surprisingly hard-rocking version for his posthumous album Grievous Angel:
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Post by RobGNYC on Oct 6, 2021 10:32:18 GMT -5
Both of Linda's original GHs 1 and 2 were Platinum. Vol 1 Released in Dec 1976 (the album that I discovered Linda at age 13) is certified 7x Platinum and Vol 2 is certified as 1x Platinum. I have not heard of the sales for the combined release with a green scrapbook cover. eddiejinnj The green 1 + 2 might just have been a UK release. www.ronstadt-linda.com/toppopa2.htmAccording to Discogs, the green-cover Greatest Hits 1& 2 was a UK release (Rhino, 2007). There was also an Australian version (same 23 tracks, Rhino, 1997): UK: Australia:
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Post by eddiejinnj on Oct 6, 2021 13:42:42 GMT -5
The link you posted, hb, needs to be updated. I have seen the page myself and it ends with Hummin' to Myself in 2004. So the Green GH was just a UK release? So if you wanted to get a new copy when released we couldn't have bought a copy here or we would have had to order online? When was the initial release? That one I have to say that I got used at a yard sale or thrift shop. I had purchased so many copies of the other 2 new and used over the years. Sorry, Rob, I read your post but I didn't see Rhino 2007 until a few seconds after I submitted post. So could you order from Rhino online here in U.S. or no? All a have a great night!!!! eddiejinnj
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Post by musedeva on Oct 6, 2021 13:50:54 GMT -5
I like this one!!
she and linda have a very similar face...diff nose....both HEART shaped!!!
...Love how she half cracks "baby" near the end.....what a VOICE!!!
Back to songs, and "He Called Me Baby" could have been interpreted by Linda at any stage in her career. Here's Patsy Cline...
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Post by musedeva on Oct 6, 2021 13:53:16 GMT -5
can totally hear Linda on this...with Keef backin' her up!
this is a GREAT Bar song!!! R.I.P. TH/GP
There's also "I Can't Dance", which the late Tom T. Hall (alias "The Storyteller") wrote in 1970, and which Gram Parsons recorded in a surprisingly hard-rocking version for his posthumous album Grievous Angel:
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2021 7:43:42 GMT -5
The link you posted, hb, needs to be updated. I have seen the page myself and it ends with Hummin' to Myself in 2004. So the Green GH was just a UK release? So if you wanted to get a new copy when released we couldn't have bought a copy here or we would have had to order online? When was the initial release? That one I have to say that I got used at a yard sale or thrift shop. I had purchased so many copies of the other 2 new and used over the years. Sorry, Rob, I read your post but I didn't see Rhino 2007 until a few seconds after I submitted post. So could you order from Rhino online here in U.S. or no? All a have a great night!!!! eddiejinnj You can buy them on ebay still. I have the DCC audiophile 1 & 2 for home use, so the green combo gets played on the move usually, though there are better compilation sets that include tracks from Linda's later albums. Rhino's "Linda Ronstadt The Collection" has 46 tracks on 2 CDs, MCDLX525
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