Editing Linda Ronstadt (section)

==== Most successful female singer of the 1970s ====
[[Image:Zangeres Linda Ronstadt op Schiphol, Bestanddeelnr 928-8976.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Ronstadt with producer Peter Asher and her band, 1976]]

[[File:Ronstadt-Eagles-Jackson-Browne-Toots-and-the-Maytals-Poster-1975.jpg|250px|thumb|1975 concert poster from Anaheim, CA featuring Linda Ronstadt, The [[Eagles (band)]], [[Jackson Browne]], and [[Toots and the Maytals]] with whom Ronstadt toured on several dates]]

Author [[Andrew Greeley]], in his book ''God in Popular Culture'', described Ronstadt as "the most successful and certainly the most durable and most gifted woman Rock singer of her era."<ref name="Greeley">{{Cite book |last=Greeley, Andrew |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/godinpopularcult0000gree/page/214 |title=''God in Popular Culture'' |publisher=Thomas More Press |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-88347-234-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/godinpopularcult0000gree/page/214 214-] |chapter=14:Ronstadt and Mellencamp: The Search for Roots |access-date=November 25, 2012}}</ref> Signaling her wide popularity as a concert artist, outside of the singles charts and the recording studio, ''[[Dirty Linen (magazine)|Dirty Linen]]'' magazine describes her as the "first true woman rock 'n' roll superstar ... (selling) out stadiums with a string of mega-successful albums."<ref name="Linen106" /> ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]'' gave Ronstadt a ''Special Decade Award'',<ref name="cashbox">{{Cite web |title=Cashbox |url=http://www.lindaronstadt.com/files/pwoi/Decade.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808223904/http://www.lindaronstadt.com/files/pwoi/Decade.html |archive-date=August 8, 2007 |access-date=June 24, 2007 |website=Special Decade Award}}</ref> as the top-selling female singer of the 1970s.<ref name="tiptheirhat" />

Her album covers, posters, magazine covers{{snds}}her entire rock 'n' roll image{{snds}}were as famous as her music.<ref name="Goldmine589">{{Cite magazine |last=DeYoung |first=Bill |date=February 21, 2003 |title=Home at Last: The Journey of Linda Ronstadt |url=http://www.ronstadt-linda.com/gold03.htm |url-status=live |issue=589 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924092043/http://www.ronstadt-linda.com/gold03.htm |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |access-date=April 28, 2014 |magazine=Goldmine}}</ref> By the end of the decade, the singer whom the ''[[Chicago Sun Times]]'' described as the "Dean of the 1970s school of female rock singers"<ref name="DeanofRock" /> became what ''[[Redbook]]'' called "the most successful female rock star in the world."<ref name="Redbook">{{Cite web |last=Kaye |first=Elizabeth |title=Linda Ronstadt: Why Is She the Queen of Lonely? |url=http://www.ronstadt-linda.com/intrb.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808110908/http://www.ronstadt-linda.com/intrb.htm |archive-date=August 8, 2007 |access-date=May 7, 2007 |website=Redbook}}</ref> "Female" was the important qualifier, according to ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine, which labeled her "a rarity ... to (have survived) ... in the shark-infested deeps of rock."<ref name="Time">{{Cite news |date=February 28, 1977 |title=Linda Down The Wind |work=Time {{subscription required}} |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,918735,00.html |url-status=dead |access-date=August 2, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928093855/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,918735,00.html |archive-date=September 28, 2008}}</ref>

Although Ronstadt had been a cult favorite on the music scene for several years, 1975 was "remembered in the music biz as the year when 29-year-old Linda Ronstadt ''belatedly'' happened."<ref name="people75">{{Cite web |last=Windeler |first=Robert |date=November 17, 1975 |title=When Will She Be Loved? Linda Ronstadt Finds the Time, at Last, Is Now |url=http://www.ronstadt-linda.com/artpeo75.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070107041451/http://www.ronstadt-linda.com/artpeo75.htm |archive-date=January 7, 2007 |access-date=May 18, 2007 |website=[[People (magazine)|People]]}}</ref>

With the release of ''Heart Like a Wheel''{{nsmdns}}named after one of the album's songs, written by [[Anna McGarrigle]]{{nsmdns}}Ronstadt reached number 1 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] chart;<ref name="BillboardWheelno1on200">{{Cite magazine |last=Caulfield |first=Keith |date=April 18, 2014 |title=Linda Ronstadt Rocks Highest-Charting Album in 24 Years |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6062513/linda-ronstadt-rocks-highest-charting-album-in-24-years |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140827134919/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6062513/linda-ronstadt-rocks-highest-charting-album-in-24-years |archive-date=August 27, 2014 |access-date=December 8, 2014 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]}}</ref> it was also the first of four number 1 Country Albums, and the disc was certified double-platinum<ref name="RIAAsearch">{{Cite web |last=RIAA |title=RIAA – Gold & Platinum |website=[[Recording Industry Association of America]] |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212231947/https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/ |archive-date=February 12, 2018 |access-date=February 28, 2016}}</ref> (over two million copies sold in the U.S.). In many instances, her own interpretations were more successful than the original recordings, and many times new songwriters were discovered by a larger audience as a result of her interpretation and recording. Ronstadt had major success interpreting songs from a diverse spectrum of artists.

''Heart Like a Wheel''{{'}}s first single release, "[[You're No Good]]"{{snds}}a rockified version of an R&B song written by [[Clint Ballard, Jr.]] that Ronstadt had initially resisted because [[Andrew Gold]]'s guitar tracks sounded too much like a "Beatles song" to her<ref name="producer3" />{{snds}}climbed to number 1 on both the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' and ''Cash Box'' Pop singles charts.<ref name="bronson">Bronson, Fred. ''The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits''. {{ISBN|0-8230-7677-6}}</ref> The album's second single release, "[[When Will I Be Loved (song)|When Will I Be Loved]]"{{snds}}an uptempo country-rock version of a Top 10 [[Everly Brothers]] song{{snds}}hit number 1 in ''Cashbox'' and number 2 in ''Billboard''.<ref name=bronson /> The song was also Ronstadt's first number 1 country hit.<ref name=bronson />

The album's critical and commercial success was due to a fine presentation of country and rock, with ''Heart Like a Wheel'' her first of many major commercial successes that would set her on the path to being one of the best-selling female artists of all time. Ronstadt won her first Grammy Award<ref name="1stgrammy">{{Cite web |title=The GRAMMYs: Past Winners Search |url=http://www.grammy.com/nominees/search |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225154149/http://www.grammy.com/nominees/search |archive-date=December 25, 2010 |access-date=February 28, 2016}}</ref> for [[Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance|Best Country Vocal Performance/Female]] for "[[I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)]]" which was originally a 1940s hit by [[Hank Williams]]. Ronstadt's interpretation peaked at number 2 on the country chart. The album itself was nominated for the Album of the Year Grammy.

''[[Rolling Stone]]'' put Ronstadt on its cover in March 1975. It was the first of six ''Rolling Stone'' covers shot by photographer [[Annie Leibovitz]]. It included her as the featured artist with a full photo layout and an article by [[Ben Fong-Torres]], discussing Ronstadt's many struggling years in rock n roll, as well as her home life and what it was like to be a woman on tour in a decidedly all-male environment.

In September 1975, Ronstadt's album ''[[Prisoner in Disguise]]'' was released. It quickly climbed into the Top Five on the ''Billboard'' Album Chart and sold over a million copies.<ref name = RIAAsearch /> It became her second in a row to go platinum, "a grand slam" in the same year (Ronstadt would eventually become the first female artist in popular music history to have three consecutive platinum albums and would ultimately go on to have eight consecutive platinum albums, and then another six between 1983 and 1990).<ref name=people75 /> The disc's first single release was "[[Love Is A Rose]]". It was climbing the pop and country charts but "[[Heat Wave (Martha and the Vandellas song)|Heat Wave]]", a rockified version of the 1963 hit by [[Martha and the Vandellas]], was receiving considerable airplay. Asylum pulled the "Love Is a Rose" single and issued "Heat Wave" with "Love Is a Rose" on the B-side. "Heat Wave" hit the Top Five on ''Billboard''{{'}}s Hot 100 while "Love Is A Rose" hit the Top Five on Billboard's country chart.
[[File:Linda Ronstadt - Cash Box 1976.jpg|thumb|left|Ronstadt on the cover of ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]''; November 13, 1976]]

In 1976, Ronstadt reached the Top 3 of ''Billboard''{{'}}s Album Chart and won her second career [[Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance]] for her third consecutive platinum<ref name = RIAAsearch /> album ''[[Hasten Down the Wind]]''. The album featured a sexy, revealing cover shot and showcased Ronstadt the singer-songwriter, who composed two of its songs, "Try Me Again" (co-authored with Andrew Gold) and "Lo Siento Mi Vida". It also included an interpretation of Willie Nelson's ballad "[[Crazy (Willie Nelson song)|Crazy]]", which became a Top 10 Country hit for Ronstadt in early 1977.

At the end of 1977, Ronstadt surpassed the success of ''Heart Like a Wheel'' with her album ''[[Simple Dreams]]'', which, after spending nine consecutive weeks at number 2 behind [[Fleetwood Mac]]'s ''[[Rumours (album)|Rumours]]'',<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=December 3, 1977|title=Billboard Dec 3, 1977 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QkUEAAAAMBAJ |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |publisher= |volume=121 |issue=2 |page=65 |access-date=February 14, 2024}}</ref> displaced it, and held the number 1 position for five consecutive weeks on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart.<ref name="Billboardsimpledreams5weeks">{{Cite magazine |date=January 17, 2009 |title=Billboard Jan 17, 2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aKAOa7WLRrYC&q=%22simple+dreams%22+Ronstadt+billboard+five+weeks&pg=PT36 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |publisher= |volume=121 |issue=2 |page=37 |issn=0006-2510 |access-date=December 20, 2015 |archive-date=April 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416073900/https://books.google.com/books?id=aKAOa7WLRrYC&q=%22simple+dreams%22+Ronstadt+billboard+five+weeks&pg=PT36 |url-status=live}}</ref> It sold over 3{{frac|1|2}}&nbsp;million copies in less than a year in the U.S. alone – a record for a female artist. ''Simple Dreams'' spawned a string of hit singles on numerous charts. Among them were the [[RIAA]] platinum-certified single "[[Blue Bayou]]", a country-rock interpretation of a [[Roy Orbison]] song; "[[It's So Easy! (The Crickets song)|It's So Easy]]"{{snds}}previously sung by Buddy Holly{{spaced ndash}}, a cover of The Rolling Stones' "[[Tumbling Dice]]", and "[[Poor Poor Pitiful Me]]", a song written by [[Warren Zevon]], an up-and-coming songwriter of the time. The album garnered several Grammy Award nominations{{snds}}including Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance/Female for "Blue Bayou"{{snds}}and won its art director, [[Kosh (art director)|Kosh]], a Grammy Award for Best Album Cover, the first of three Grammy Awards he would win for designing Ronstadt album covers. In late 1977, Ronstadt became the first female recording artist to have two songs in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten at the same time. "Blue Bayou" was at No. 3 while "It's So Easy" was at No. 5.

''Simple Dreams'' became one of the singer's most successful albums internationally, reaching number 1 on the Australian and Canadian Pop and Country Albums charts.<ref name="international">{{Cite web |title=Ronstadt Facts, Investigative International Sales |url=http://lindaronstadt.de/facts.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101108092354/http://lindaronstadt.de/facts.htm |archive-date=November 8, 2010 |access-date=April 17, 2007 |website=Linda Ronstadt Record Sales Information Page (German Site)}}</ref> ''Simple Dreams'' also made Ronstadt the most successful international female touring artist. The same year, she completed a concert tour around Europe. As [[Country Music (magazine)|''Country Music'']] magazine wrote in October 1978, ''Simple Dreams'' solidified Ronstadt's role as "easily the most successful female rock and roll ''and'' country star at this time."<ref name=ramblers />

Also in 1977, she was asked by the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] to sing the [[U.S. National Anthem]] at game three of the [[World Series]] against the [[New York Yankees]].<ref name="nationalanthem">{{Cite web |title=Linda Ronstadt Singing the National Anthem at Game three of World Series |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DxYYwE_ezE |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722180424/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DxYYwE_ezE |archive-date=July 22, 2013 |access-date=August 11, 2007 |via=YouTube}}</ref>