Helming folk-rock trio The Stone Poneys, Linda Ronstadt scored her first top 40 hit with 1967’s “Different Drum”. That title also doubles as an apt description of the 11-time Grammy winner’s musical journey. Never sticking to just one genre, Ronstadt instead conquered them all. Recording and releasing hits in rock, folk, pop, country, and soul, she established herself as the top female singer of the 1970s and one of the most successful female recording artists of all time. Today, we’re reflecting on the life and legacy of Linda Ronstadt—born in Tucson, Arizona on this day (July 15) in 1946—as she celebrates her 81st birthday.
Linda Ronstadt Never Considered a Different Career Path
Growing up on her family’s 10-acre ranch in Tucson, Ronstadt cultivated a diverse musical palette, listening to everything from folk, rock, pop, country, opera, and the traditional Mexican ballads passed down from her father’s childhood.
“I never wanted to be anything but a singer,” she told Route magazine. “I thought that I would be singing at pizza parlors or Holiday Inns, or something like that. As long as I could make a living as a singer… I didn’t have an ambition when I started.”
By age 14, Linda Ronstadt was performing in local coffeehouses, fraternity houses, and other small venues as part of a folk trio with her brother Peter and sister Gretchen.
Upon graduating from high school, she headed to the University of Arizona. However, her foray into higher education was short-lived. During Easter break in 1964, she visited folk-rock guitarist Bobby Kimmel, a friend from Tucson who had moved to Los Angeles to further his music career.
Later that year, Ronstadt decided to leave college behind and move to Los Angeles, where she formed the Stone Poneys with Kimmel and guitarist-songwriter Kenny Edwards. Signing with Capitol Records, the band released three albums across 15 months, scoring their biggest hit in 1967 with “Different Drum”.
The song—written by a pre-Monkees Michael Nesmith—reached number 13 on the Hot 100.
A Star is Born
Ironically, the success of “Different Drum” ultimately spelled the Stone Poneys’ demise.
According to Linda Ronstadt, Capitol Records had wanted to push her as a solo artist from the beginning.
That only intensified post-“Different Drum”, with the trio thereafter billed as Linda Ronstadt and The Stone Poneys. After touring with the Doors, the band split in 1968. Still contractually bound to Capitol Records, Ronstadt put together her solo debut album, Hand Sown … Home Grown. Released in 1969, the LP has been billed as the first alternative country album released by a woman.
Ronstadt leaned into her country roots on her next two albums, Silk Purse (1970) and her self-titled 1972 LP. The latter featured a group of session musicians who would later form the Eagles.
1974’s Heart Like a Wheel became a turning point in Ronstadt’s career, giving the singer her first-ever number-one album and first chart-topping single (“You’re No Good”.)
At the 18th annual Grammy Awards, Heart Like a Wheel earned an Album of the Year nod, while Ronstadt won Best Country Vocal Performance, Female for her version of “I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love with You)”.
Reinventing the Wheel
From there, Linda Ronstadt became one of the biggest names in music. She was the first female recording artist to achieve three consecutive platinum albums, eventually extending that record to eight consecutive platinum albums.
By the time she retired from music in 2009, Ronstadt had racked up 21 Top 40 hits and 10 Top 10 singles. She has sold more than 100 million records across the world, boasting 11 Grammy Awards and joining the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
Despite changing the game for women in rock music, Ronstadt remains almost absurdly humble. Once asked what she would like people to remember about her, the “Blue Bayou” singer replied, “That I wasn’t very good, and I got better.”
Featured image by Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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Author: Erinn Callahan