Throughout her 30-plus years in the recording industry, Linda
Ronstadt has managed to plant a seed in virtually every music format, including
country, folk, pop, new wave and rock. With a diverse career spanning four
decades -- a string of platinum albums, a stint on Broadway, a Hollywood feature
film and several bilingual recordings -- it's no surprise that Linda Ronstadt is
considered one of America's most versatile performers.
Linda Ronstadt's first solo albums, 1969's Hand Sown Home
Grown and 1970's Silk Purse, showcased her country influences. 1973's Don't Cry
Now and 1974's Heart Like a Wheel solidified the equation. The latter rose to
No. 1 on the charts and established Linda Ronstadt as one of the decade's
leading recording artists. Furthering her sojourn into the world of pop-rock,
Linda Ronstadt released 1975's Prisoner of Disguise to critical acclaim. Simple
Dreams, released in 1977, featured two successful cover songs. Both the Rolling
Stones' "Tumbling Dice" and Warren Zevon's "Poor Pitiful Me" proved Linda
Ronstadt could rock with the best of them. More than three million copies were
sold and Linda Ronstadt occupied the No. 5 slot on the album charts for close to
five weeks. She regained the No. 1 position with 1978's Living in the U.S.A., an
album that saw her heading into new wave territory. For her next album, 1980's
Mad Love, she covered three Elvis Costello songs and scored another huge
commercial success. When 1982's Get Closer failed to reach platinum status,
Linda Ronstadt took a recording hiatus. The mid-'80s brought a collaboration
with James Ingram for the motion picture soundtrack An American Tail. "Somewhere
Out There," a pure pop duet, headed straight for the No. 2 slot. For 1987's
Trio, she invited Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris to help her recapture her
country flare. Linda Ronstadt found herself on the charts again with 1982's Get
Closer, which featured "I Don't Know Much," a No. 2 duet with Aaron Neville. A
series of bilingual albums followed -- 1987's Canciones de mi Padre, 1991's Mas
Canciones and 1992's Frenesi. Turning the tables once again in 1996, Linda
Ronstadt tried her hand at children's music, releasing Dedicated to the One I
Love. Her ever-changing recording career continues into the late '90s with We
Ran, an album that sees Linda Ronstadt tackling mature pop-rock ballads.
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