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Post by counselorscottie on Feb 23, 2020 10:42:54 GMT -5
Linda has said she started having vocal problems in 2000. Has she ever been more specific? I've studied voice, so I love picking apart the voice technically/analytically. Has she specified that she started to struggle during a recording project or concerts (for instance)? I remember hearing certain changes in 1998 when I bought We Ran--although, the voice is really always changing, and a female voice at 50 (ish) is likely to start going through changes due to menopause--more noticeably in a soprano than a mezzo or contralto...plus, Linda had been diagnosed with a thyroid condition, and your health always affects your voice. She sounded marvelous when I saw her and Emmy on the Western World tour, and then I remember scratching my head a little when I listened to Merry Little Christmas--the tone was beautiful and clear, but I remember wondering why her phrases were so short. Could have "just" been a choice, but there was very little legato singing. I don't agree with her that she had practically had no voice left by "Hummin' to Myself," though they might have done some dubbing. She wasn't what she had been 10 years earlier, but that really wouldn't be reasonable to expect. "I" remember thinking, "There's something really wrong. Maybe it's time for her to retire," listening to youtube videos of live performances between 2007 and 2009--I just figured it was deterioration due to age-obviously, we didn't know yet about her Parkinson's DX.
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Post by erik on Feb 23, 2020 13:26:38 GMT -5
I can't speak to the whole issue of when, where, and how Linda's voice started declining or what health issues besides Parkinson's (which was re-diagnosed as Progressive Supranuclear Palsy) might have started this, but I'll try to shine a little bit of light on it.
The thyroid condition, which is Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, caused her a lot of fatigue in the early-to-mid 1990s; and the cortisone treatments she had to take caused her weight to go way up for a period of several years, certainly through the Trio II and Western Wall periods (the remarks from some insensitive wags on YouTube and elsewhere about that are hard to take). But as to what she said about her beginning to have problems reaching for the right notes and pitch beginning right at the turn of the millennium, she likely noticed it first on the stage. It's difficult for her, and of course us as fans, to describe it, but she said it was like something would cramp up and freeze, so that she would strain to hit the proper notes in a song. Over time, the strain, at least to her, would become hard not to notice, as it seemed like she'd either hit the wrong note or she'd be barking or shouting more or less.
At some point, she realized she had a problem, but it was difficult for those immediately around her to see or hear; and they put it down to her being a perfectionist. And truth be told, she was a perfectionist (the arts/entertainment euphemism for someone who is a pain in the a**); but that in and of itself only goes so far. She sensed that the fans noticed the trouble she was having; but it wasn't until the final concert she gave with the mariachis in San Antonio in the fall of 2009 that she realized it was no longer working for her or for them. After that show, her performing career was over. And though she was trying to record another album towards the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012 that was a throwback to what she had done in the early 1970s, it was stopped because it wasn't just her voice that was failing her, it was her hands, because it made it difficult for her to play the guitar in the studio. The Parkinson's diagnosis wasn't made until just after the start of 2013; and she didn't go public with it until August of that year.
Others can fill in whatever gaps there are in what I've written here (and there are likely a few), but this is the gist of how I myself understood it.
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Post by counselorscottie on Feb 23, 2020 15:57:06 GMT -5
Hi, Erik--I knew "most" of this--except that she was trying to record another album in 2011. NEVER knew that! Interesting (and sad).
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Post by rick on Feb 23, 2020 17:30:45 GMT -5
I think for me, I first noticed something different about Linda's voice on "Western Wall." Sure, she could still go into her belt voice, but something seemed off and not the tone she had, say, on "Dedicated." I noticed it more on her Christmas album and then certainly I noticed it when I saw her perform in concert in 2004 in support of "Hummin' to Myself." Linda herself has talked about how she really had to push herself on that album. But she still didn't know what was wrong and she wasn't getting answers from doctors. This isn't to say that I don't enjoy "Western Wall" or "Hummin' to Myself" or "Adieu False Heart."
It still amazes me that she had the chops to do the harmony vocal with Jimmy Webb on "All I Know" in 2010/11 --
It isn't the kind of harmony vocal we know from, say, singing with Paul Simon on his 1986 "Graceland" album," but it's certainly a nice coda to Linda's singing career.
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Post by the Scribe on Feb 23, 2020 18:04:07 GMT -5
While contemplating this some of you might be interested in this woman's research which is doing just that.Sharry EdwardsSOUNDHEALTHThe Institute of BioAcoustic Biology & Sound Health has taught us that nothing is hidden from your own voice. You may be able to lie to your friends and deceive yourself with your words but the vocal frequencies do not lie. Vocal Profiling computer software can evaluate the frequencies, architectures and harmonics of your voice. Vast frequency based databanks can now be used to create a report of what you really think, who you are emotionally and the status of your health and wellness. The frequencies missing from your voice are just as important as those that are present. An entire matrix of information, from your DNA to your partner preferences can be evaluated.
The research being conducted by the Institute of BioAcoustic Biology is on the forefront of energy medicine; creating the doorway to our next dimension of health revolution. In addition, the techniques hold promise in answering questions about how our universe was formed, and how our aging and perception of time can be monitored using frequency.
About Sharry Edwards™
Named Scientist of the Year in 2001 for her work in BioAcoustic Biology by The International Association of New Science
Sharry Edwards™ is the pioneer in the study of Human BioAcoustic Biology. Her 30 years of research is being used at the Institute of BioAcoustic Biology in Albany, OH.
Sharry Edwards’ work is now included in The Duke University Encyclopedia of New Medicine, by Leonard A. Wisnecki and The Scientific Basis of Integrative Medicine, by Lucy Anderson. The effects of BioAcoustic Biology, now accepted by these prestigious medical encyclopedias, have unlimited health and wellness potential.
According to Edwards, “BioAcoustics Voice Spectral Analysis can detect hidden or underlying stresses in the body that are expressed as disease.” The vocal print can identify toxins, pathogens and nutritional supplements that are too low or too high. In addition, vocal print can be used to match the most compatible treatment remedy to each client. The introduction of the proper low frequency sound to the body, indicated through voice analysis, has been shown to control: pain, body temperature, heart rhythm, and blood pressure. It has also been shown to regenerate body tissue, and alleviate the symptoms of many diseases (in some cases, even those considered to be incurable).
www.youtube.com/channel/UCh8Dlbqo6plM861veeO6JDQ
The Potential of Sound
soundhealth Published on Aug 11, 2008 A great introduction to BioAcoustics form its founder and pioneer, Sharry Edwards. Created by Ben Powers.
Breaking the Barriers of Disease.wmv
www.nutrasounds.com
www.sharryedwards.com
www.lifespirit.org/shri1.html
www.soundhealthoptions.com/home/
ronstadt.proboards.com/thread/427/alternative-health-healing?page=15&scrollTo=66402 ronstadt.proboards.com/thread/5357/light-sound?page=2
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Post by eddiejinnj on Feb 23, 2020 18:36:36 GMT -5
Jimmy Webb song was what 2010 and then she did the Chieftains song and that was it I thought re: her intentions to record. Jimmy has discussed that he had to talk Linda into doing it by describing the way he saw it. I don't recall Linda having an intention of doing a whole 70's style album in 2011-2012. Wasn't she starting to work on book by then? Even if not, I just don't recall ever hearing this. Knowing something was up with her voice I can't see Linda putting herself up to her own and the public's scrutiny of such an album. Plus, didn't she want to do another album with Ann but never happened due to voice/health issues. eddiejinnj
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Post by erik on Feb 23, 2020 19:38:48 GMT -5
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Post by fabtastique on Feb 24, 2020 1:05:31 GMT -5
I think Linda talks about starting to lose the colour in her voice, that was when she noticed problems.
It’s a very descriptive way to highlight the issue and for me it hits the nail on the head. I noticed it on MLC - some of the sweetness in her voice had gone and she was hitting the notes, in all the right places but her voice sounded hard and forced, rather than powerful and controlled.
As she’s said in interviews her vocal chords were in great shape but she was losing her ability to control what she wanted to do with her voice which must have been both frightening and upsetting.
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Post by LindaFan5 on Feb 24, 2020 11:02:07 GMT -5
I saw Linda in concert 4 Times from 2000 - 2009. Very first got me was the Living in the USA tour in 1978. And I caught almost every tour she had after that. As a big, big fan I felt very attuned to her voice And I could tell when she was singing even deep background vocals on someone else’s songs even without seeing the liner notes. My grandparents were professional opera singers, as was my sister so I felt I knew a thing or two about singing voices. The funny thing is I did not recognize a decline in Linda‘s voice, right up until the end. However, I was very distracted by something else. Linda started using a Teleprompter and stared at it almost non stop. At the time it was completely baffling, butI now I understand it may have been helping her keep things on track. At the beacon theater concerts in New York City in 2006 up until she stopped singing I would notice the “elevator going to the wrong floor thing” once maybe twice per concert and did not think much of it. I like Linda singing loud and that’s what she did. I always thought it was simply a conscious decision to belt, which sounded powerful. My favorite late career Linda recordings are “Blue Prelude” and “Go Away From My Window.” I’d be lying if I said that I could sense anything limited about her voice on those. But now with the benefit of hindsight I realize the skills she used to shine so staggeringly on “El Crucifijo” or “I just don’t know what to do with myself” were altered later. But when she saiys “the audience noticed” at the end, I confess I did not.
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Post by PoP80 on Feb 24, 2020 14:52:38 GMT -5
Obviously, there has a also been a huge change in her speaking voice, which startled me the first time I heard it.
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Post by the Scribe on Feb 24, 2020 16:26:24 GMT -5
When I first heard Simple Dreams I was telling my college roommates Linda's voice had changed. There was something quite different about it...more nasal or something. Then I read an interview a couple of months later where Linda said she was suffering from the flu, bad cold and sinus infection when recording it. That worked out well for her.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2020 16:44:56 GMT -5
I think for me, I first noticed something different about Linda's voice on "Western Wall." Sure, she could still go into her belt voice, but something seemed off and not the tone she had, say, on "Dedicated." I noticed it more on her Christmas album and then certainly I noticed it when I saw her perform in concert in 2004 in support of "Hummin' to Myself." To my non trained ears, she sounded very strong during the Western Wall tour, her version of Blue Bayou raised the rafters and brought the house down. From the Christmas album on, is a different story...
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Post by eddiejinnj on Feb 24, 2020 16:59:55 GMT -5
The only thing in the Christmas album I think she could have changed would be too end HYAMLC with a long note but to fade away vs doing an almost "Blue Prelude"; abruptly ending loud note. What completely saves the song and becomes one of the best versions ever is her ability to go from powerful to sublime effortlessly to my ears. I love "Blue Prelude" too. The abrupt end was cool to me. She almost seemed pissed. Rob A., we saw the same Western Wall show. "When We Ran" was kick butt and better than the recorded version. It seemed so intense and spontaneous. She did blow the joint away!!! eddiejinnj
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Post by LindaFan5 on Feb 24, 2020 17:44:23 GMT -5
I will say the biggest change in her singing voice was the arrival of Get Closer in 82 after her Pirates stint. Every single thing - tone phrasing octave range power you name it was so much improved it took my breath away. To me, That change was more obvious from album to album than from western wall to the Merry Christmas one - IMO but we are Not talking improvement, we’re taking about struggle. Linda puts down some early ocher performances but Crazy Arms from 1972 is PERFECT. Had she done it when she was polished and more powerful vocally it might have lost something crucial. The last note of Crazy Arms is wobbly and I love it so. She says she was tired and sick when she recorded You’re No Good- I think that’s likely what served the song best. It translated into a ramped up desperation that the song required to become a performance masterpiece.
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Post by Sharry Edwards on Feb 26, 2020 20:09:20 GMT -5
Linda has said she started having vocal problems in 2000. Has she ever been more specific? I've studied voice, so I love picking apart the voice technically/analytically. Has she specified that she started to struggle during a recording project or concerts (for instance)? I remember hearing certain changes in 1998 when I bought We Ran--although, the voice is really always changing, and a female voice at 50 (ish) is likely to start going through changes due to menopause--more noticeably in a soprano than a mezzo or contralto...plus, Linda had been diagnosed with a thyroid condition, and your health always affects your voice. She sounded marvelous when I saw her and Emmy on the Western World tour, and then I remember scratching my head a little when I listened to Merry Little Christmas--the tone was beautiful and clear, but I remember wondering why her phrases were so short. Could have "just" been a choice, but there was very little legato singing. I don't agree with her that she had practically had no voice left by "Hummin' to Myself," though they might have done some dubbing. She wasn't what she had been 10 years earlier, but that really wouldn't be reasonable to expect. "I" remember thinking, "There's something really wrong. Maybe it's time for her to retire," listening to youtube videos of live performances between 2007 and 2009--I just figured it was deterioration due to age-obviously, we didn't know yet about her Parkinson's DX.
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Post by Sharry Edwards on Feb 26, 2020 20:13:32 GMT -5
would be glad to evaluate Linda's voice with our software ReVoice - if anyone can contact her remind her that we met in Columbus, Ohio - I did a tone for her that her manager liked - she had a needle problem with her foot - she was travelling with Mortonette Stephens, my friend who was also one of her back up singer. I'm also the Sharry Edwards that someone on your site posted info a few pages down - Institute of BioAcoustic Biology & Sound Health - SoundHealthOptions.com - We have helped others with their voices; especially after a stroke or trauma
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Post by Sharry Edwards on Feb 26, 2020 21:58:09 GMT -5
I run the Institute of BioAcoustic Biology in Albany, Ohio - I met Linda a few years back at a Columbus appearance
I would be happy to evaluate her voice is anyone can get in touch with her - SoundHealthOptions dot com
You could remind her that we met in her dressing room after the show - I did vocal tones that her manager liked she was travelling with my friend, Mortonette Stephens, at the time
we have helped many people recover their voice through our REVoice software contact me though the web site above
I'm also the Sharry Edwards that someone posted about few pages below
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Post by the Scribe on Feb 27, 2020 4:52:48 GMT -5
I run the Institute of BioAcoustic Biology in Albany, Ohio - I met Linda a few years back at a Columbus appearance. I'm also the Sharry Edwards that someone posted about few pages below. I would be happy to evaluate her voice if anyone can get in touch with her. Remind her that we met in Columbus, Ohio -in her dressing room after the show - I did vocal tones that her manager liked. She had a needle problem with her foot. She was travelling with Mortonette Stephens, my friend who was also one of her back up singers. SoundHealthOptions dot com soundhealthoptions.com/We have helped many people recover their voice through our REVoice software and would be glad to evaluate Linda's voice. Contact me though the web site above. If anyone can contact her - Institute of BioAcoustic Biology & Sound Health - SoundHealthOptions.com - We have helped others with their voices; especially after a stroke or trauma.
Hi Sharry. I was the one who posted your information in a few threads on this Linda Ronstadt Fans Forum site. I became aware of you while listening to a coasttocoastam interview many years ago. I recently noticed a change in George Noory's voice and reminded him of that coast interview and recommended he contact you or at least get you back on the show. I am a believer in sound healing.
Do you recall if her manager at the time was a man named John Boylan? If so he is probably the best hope we have of contacting Linda unless someone close to her comes here and reads this post. greateasternmusic.com/index.html
In looking over your site I see where Linda or anyone with a microphone on their computer can leave you a sample of their talking voice for analysis. I also see you have worked with neurological disorders, including Parkinson's. soundhealthportal.com/parkinsons/
I am sure Linda would appreciate any type of relief she could receive from your sound healing. It would give me (and the millions that love her) great hope and comfort to know there may be help as there is no known cure for her actual condition. That is why we NEED alternative healing methodologies. Your site is impressive as are the testimonials.
It is wonderful for you to reach out to Linda like this. I am hopeful we will somehow get this connection to take place.
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Post by the Scribe on Feb 27, 2020 5:06:24 GMT -5
Sharry, I sent the above post to greateasternmusic with hopes it makes it through to John. If someone knows another way I am sure they will also try. Thank you so much for reaching out!!!
and THANK YOU counselorscottie for creating this thread!
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Post by mused deva on Feb 28, 2020 0:43:12 GMT -5
isn't this FANTABulous!!! Positivity!!!!
I spent hours on Sharry's site the other nite.....sent my whole email circle links to her stuff on the coronavirus--FASCINATING!!!
I remember finding her years ago...and then somehow losing track
Definately getting back into her stuff soon!!
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Post by the Scribe on Feb 28, 2020 3:21:15 GMT -5
isn't this FANTABulous!!! Positivity!!!! I spent hours on Sharry's site the other nite.....sent my whole email circle links to her stuff on the coronavirus--FASCINATING!!! I remember finding her years ago...and then somehow losing track Definately getting back into her stuff soon!! Did you get to try her services? Experiments with light and sound machines have cleared the alzheimer's brains. I think this is the tip of the iceberg.
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Post by goldie on Feb 28, 2020 5:29:04 GMT -5
isn't this FANTABulous!!! Positivity!!!! I spent hours on Sharry's site the other nite.....sent my whole email circle links to her stuff on the coronavirus--FASCINATING!!! I remember finding her years ago...and then somehow losing track Definately getting back into her stuff soon!! Did you get to try her services? Experiments with light and sound machines have cleared the alzheimer's brains. I think this is the tip of the iceberg. Wouldn't it be wonderful if Linda were able to get some relief from her symptoms or even a cure? It is my hope they connect. Who more than Linda should understand the healing power of SOUND?
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Post by erik on Feb 28, 2020 10:12:55 GMT -5
I have to say that, even though she said that the pinpoint accuracy of her voice started to go on her after the turn of the millennium, I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary when I saw her in concert here in Los Angeles in both 2004 and 2006. She sounded like she was in as good a vocal form as she had ever been...but then again, she knows a hell of a lot more about Voice that I ever would (LOL).
And if any of us did notice that things were starting to go sideways with her voice, we probably didn't want to believe it was happening, and we didn't say anything, perhaps out of kindness and sympathy to Linda. After all, this was someone who once said that she hoped to be singing until she was 80; and I think all of us thought that she would.
But now that she knows what she has is in fact Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, which is far more insidious and serious than Parkinson's, her voice is likely just the first of her worries at this time.
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Post by musedeva on Mar 1, 2020 2:41:33 GMT -5
I haven't had the time to get back on that...i really was going thru all the Corona virus stuff she is talking about and linking to...she has a fantastic set of resources on there......
but I will be back on that..her sound therapy work......I have dabbled in this stuff for years......we need a Sharry Tune it On Up Fix for sure!!!! The other stuff I'm into right now is the vagus nerve vocal work....fascinating stuff re: accessing the unconcious voice and the autonomous systems
isn't this FANTABulous!!! Positivity!!!! I spent hours on Sharry's site the other nite.....sent my whole email circle links to her stuff on the coronavirus--FASCINATING!!! I remember finding her years ago...and then somehow losing track Definately getting back into her stuff soon!! Did you get to try her services? Experiments with light and sound machines have cleared the alzheimer's brains. I think this is the tip of the iceberg.
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Post by sliderocker on Mar 1, 2020 15:01:32 GMT -5
I can't remember the actual year, but I started noticing stories and interviews on Linda did during the 2000s, where she said she had retired because she was very sick. She didn't elaborate as to what was wrong with her, but given her other known health issues - her thyroid issue, her diabetes and the breast cancer issue she dealt with when she was 60, it's possible any of those health issues could've been causing her not to feel well. And I've wondered about the possibility if her Parkinson's - now Progressive Supranuclear Palsy could've been caused by any of the medications she was taking for her other ailments. That includes any chemo she took for her breast cancer. All pharmaceutical drugs have potential side effects, doesn't mean someone taking the medication will get them. Linda could've been one of those poor unfortunate souls who, if she was taking the pharmacy drugs, suffered from the side effects. I've seen some stories linking Parkinson's and the like to drugs for diabetics. And I've always wondered if Linda has suffered from the diabetic peripheral neuropathy, which I am afflicted with, and which of course is nerve pain and affects the hands and feet. And which also impacts one's neurons. Chemo is also a possible suspect as cancer patients deal with neuropathy as well, which is caused by the chemo treatments. If Linda has issues with diabetic peripheral neuropathy, it could be that condition plus any drugs she was taking for the problem could've affected her ability to walk and her ability to hold things in her hand. If she stopped taking any drugs prescribed for it, that would only have allowed the condition to worsen and open the door for something like Parkinson's and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy.
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Post by musedeva on Mar 1, 2020 22:29:29 GMT -5
very astute analysis........and sad......we take these scripts and just don't realize until too late....or worse....my mom was "diagnosed" as suffering "heart drop".......turns out it is a side effect of Verapamil....a high blood pressure med her doc of 25 years had her on for decades....we had never researched the med....my bad
she had to have a pacemaker installed for the "heart drop"...that's a whole other can of worms
in positivitea.....she is off the majority of her former blood pressure meds and mainly is on supplements...we refused the wifi aspect of the "pacer"
I would surmise that for linda the thyroid would most directly be related to the voice.....I just had a dear singer friend,,,back east,,,who had her entire thryoid removed...it had the bare beginning of cancer....now she speaks in a hooty whisper and can barely swallow and eat, they knicked her vocal cord on the right...that's the VA for ya
Like Linda always says "somethin's gonna get ya"
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2021 9:56:02 GMT -5
It is certain songs that I notice the changes in Linda's voice. Western Wall example
I did not in Merry Christmas, as the songs are very dressed up, but the Joni Mitchell song Linda sang was great!
Hummin' To Myself was sad, but Adieu False Heart was and is sweet. Its hard to tell. Mas Canciones is fine, so is Frenesi & Cry. I am not sure if We Ran or Feels Like Home reflect any of Linda's vocal decline.
What shows in photos, is Linda got new teeth, either dentures or implants, gone are the lovely ivories she used to flash in smiles.
Teeth replacement might have contributed to Linda's singing changing, due to affecting the shape and feel of her mouth, and maybe comfort as well.
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Post by MokyWI on Jun 9, 2021 12:21:15 GMT -5
I noticed a change in her voice at a show in Chicago in 2004. Maybe it was just the sound system or maybe Linda was just a little off that night in Chicago. Don't get me wrong, she still sounded amazing and gave a great show.
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Post by erik on Jun 9, 2021 13:02:37 GMT -5
I don't doubt that Linda started having more "off-nights" in terms of her voice after the turn of the millennium. All I can say is that I saw her at the Universal Amphitheatre (now sadly gone) for the third and final time in July 2006 (fifteen years ago [YIPE!!!}, and she still sounded in good form to me.
Of course, being who she is and the kinds of standards she set for herself virtually from the beginning, she was exceptionally sensitive to the changes, which became more extreme as time went on. I think she said that when she went to a specialist to diagnose her vocal larynx, the specialist said that she had the larynx of a teenager, extremely healthy and nothing out of place. Of course, that's only one piece of the puzzle; and it was the ability to control which notes she needed to hit that got affected. It couldn't have been pleasant to know that her larynx was as healthy in 2012 as it had been when she started out in 1966, but the electronic impulses needed to make the vocal chords vibrate properly had been cut off...and, most tragically, to learn the reason why that was the case.
It is what it is, however; and as her longtime producer and manager Peter Asher says, nobody could handle so drastic a change in a more intelligent and thoughtful way than her.
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Post by PoP80 on Jun 9, 2021 14:56:28 GMT -5
The last time I saw Linda in concert was August 2007 at Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay, L.I. Her voice sounded great to me and she seemed very relaxed on stage. It was an unexpected surprise when she brought Phoebe Snow onstage and they sang an incredible version of "World I Never Made." The last song of course, was "Desperado." Little did I know that would be the last time I would hear Linda sing that live.
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