Maps of Music

Linda Ronstadt (1971)

Where the lyrics of Linda Ronstadt take you, and where it was really made.

The album opens with Jackson Browne's 'Rock Me on the Water', and Ronstadt's version came out a few months before Browne's own.

Key places

Majority of sessions in Sheffield (1971)

Recording site Muscle Shoals Sound Studio — Most of the album's sessions were held at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama, alongside United Western Recorders in Hollywood. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Hollywood sessions (1971)

Recording site The Music Grinder (Hollywood) — Much of the album was recorded at United Western Recorders in Hollywood, California, as part of the main studio sessions. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Where recording began (1971)

Recording site Nashville — Recording started at Quadrafonic Sound Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, before the sessions moved to other studios. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Live tracks at The Troubadour (1971)

Live show Troubadour — Three album tracks were recorded in a live format at The Troubadour in Hollywood, including Rescue Me, I Fall to Pieces and Birds. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Linda Ronstadt: studio album by American singer Linda Ronstadt
• Released January 17, 1972 on Capitol Records
• Third studio album of her solo career, with ten tracks
• Mixed original material from new singer-songwriters with covers of country, folk and R&B songs
• Two singles: 'I Fall to Pieces' (September 1971) and 'Rock Me on the Water' (April 1972)

Background

• Her two earlier solo albums, Hand Sown ... Home Grown (1969) and Silk Purse (1970), were both inspired by country
• This album went further into the genre and added a more country rock sound
• Produced by John Boylan
• Session work from Glenn Frey and Don Henley, who had both joined Ronstadt's band before forming the Eagles

Recording

• Recording began at Quadrafonic Sound Studios in Nashville, Tennessee
• Most sessions were held at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama and United Western Recorders in Hollywood, California
• Three tracks were recorded live at The Troubadour, a Hollywood venue
• Eight tracks were cut in recording studios

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Born July 15, 1946 in Tucson, Arizona; American singer across rock, folk, pop, country, and soul.
• In the mid-1960s joined the folk-rock trio the Stone Poneys as lead singer, releasing three albums in 1967–68.
• Solo debut Hand Sown ... Home Grown (1969), described as the first alternative country record by a female recording artist.
• Became the first female "arena class" rock star; top-grossing concert artist of the decade.
• Voted Top Female Pop Singer of the 1970s; "You're No Good" reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Worked with producer Nelson Riddle on the Great American Songbook trilogy What's New, Lush Life, and For Sentimental Reasons.
• Recorded Canciones de Mi Padre (1987), the best-selling non-English-language album in US music history.
• Retired in 2011 after losing the ability to sing; later diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014; Kennedy Center Honoree in 2019.

Formation

• At age 14 formed a folk trio with her brother Peter and sister Gretchen.
• Moved to Los Angeles in 1964 to form a band with Bobby Kimmel.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine later called Linda Ronstadt 'a pivotal record in her career'
• He cited its compositions from new singer-songwriters along with its folk rock connections
• The album mixed new songwriters' material with country, folk and R&B covers, which critics linked to her shifting style

Reappraisal

• Lack of major success with this album and the preceding ones was one of Ronstadt's reasons for leaving Capitol
• She then signed with Asylum Records and recorded her first album for them
• Her 1974 album Heart Like a Wheel had to be released on Capitol to fulfil her contract
• Ironically, Heart Like a Wheel became her solo commercial breakthrough

Records

• Second solo studio album to reach the US Billboard 200 all-genre chart
• Entered the Billboard 200 in February 1972 and peaked at number 163 in March 1972
• First album to reach Japan's Oricon chart, peaking at number 87
• 'Rock Me on the Water' peaked at number 85 on the Billboard Hot 100, her third charting US single
• Originally issued as vinyl LP, 8-track and cassette

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Ronstadt's version of the opening track appeared a few months before Jackson Browne's own version
• Eight tracks were cut in studios, while 'Rescue Me', 'I Fall to Pieces' and 'Birds' were cut live at The Troubadour
• Session musicians Glenn Frey and Don Henley had both joined Ronstadt's band before forming the Eagles
• The album's two singles were 'I Fall to Pieces', a cover released in September 1971, and 'Rock Me on the Water'
• The album's ten tracks include covers of country standards such as 'Crazy Arms' and Johnny Cash's 'I Still Miss Someone'

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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