Linda Maria Ronstadt is a retired Rock and Roll legend who broke all the barriers on a way as a female Rock artist and established an indelible mark on the stage over the span of her career. She is a retired American singer, actress and musician whose prowess with the guitar and her vocals hailed her as the ‘Queen of Rock’ by the Rolling Stone magazine. This article looks into her background, her career and experiences along the way that led to her immense success.
Linda was born on the fifteenth of July in 1946 in the state of Arizona in a family of four to Ron Gilbert and Mary Ruth. She grew up in a family of mixed descent with linkages to German, Mexican, Dutch and English ancestry. She recalls her family playing lots of music as a child that inevitably shaped some of her own music. READ FULL STORY
She specifically names artists Gilbert and Sullivan, Hank Williams, Maria Callas and the Great American songbook as early and significant influences on her music. Her family was a ranching family and she therefore had a lot of exposure to traditional pop music which she later on sampled.
Linda Ronstadt Career Journey
At the age of fourteen, she teamed up with her siblings Peter and Gretchen and established a performing trio as her earliest step towards a career in music. They performed together for four years before she joined forces with Bobby Kimmel and Kennedy Edwards to form The Stoney Poneys signed under Capitol Records. The team was incredibly successful and inspired leading to the release of three albums in a record period of fifteen months. Not only were they able to do so much work, but also released legendary songs such as ‘Different Drum’ that was ranked among the top twenty in Billboard Hit 100 and Cashbox Magazine.
She ventured into her independent career and released widely acclaimed albums that earned her the tag of a very interpretive singer. The 70s proved to be her best years as an artist as she released several albums – Hand Sown… Home Grown, Silk Purse, Simple Dreams, Heart Like a Wheel and Living in the USA. All albums did extremely well in the media and critics gave positive feedback on the same.
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Her streak did not stop there but released even more albums such as Hummin’ to Myself, Howl like the Wind, Mad Love and What’s New which became multi-platinum certified pieces of art. Her career ending 2011 had a portfolio of twenty-four studio albums and more than 100Million of her records sold.
She has had arguably the most successful career as a Rock and Roll female artist, appearing on Rolling Stone’s cover six times, on the cover of Time and Newsweek. She holds the title of being the highest paid woman in Rock and the first woman in pop to have four consecutive platinum albums. Linda Ronstadt went through immense challenges on tours and in performances as a lady as she had to deal with egotistical men who did not see it fit to play background for a woman.
The competition was stiff although she did not give up and thus eventually paid off handsomely. She holds numerous awards including ten Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, and three American Music Awards. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Hollywood Walk of Fame as a member of Trio – a group comprising herself, Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton.
Linda retired in 2011 after performing her last live show two years prior. She contracted progressive supranuclear pulsy which cut off her ability to sing. She continues to go on speaking tours and has released an autobiography and documentary about her life titled Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir and Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of my Voice respectively.
Linda Ronstadt Personal Life, Husband, Family
The Queen of Rock is a mother of two adopted children, Carlos Ronstadt and Mary Clementine. She has in the last dated Jerry Brown a former California legislator, comedian Jim Carrey and George Lucas a top film director. She is an advocate of national arts and spiritually identifies as an atheist.
Linda Maria Ronstadt Net worth and Assets
Her musical career continues to make her a fortune and she is worth an estimated value of over $80 million accruing from sale of records, merchandise and her concerts.
