LINDA RONSTADT - A LIFE IN MUSIC

To celebrate thirty years as a published author and consultant in the music and entertainment genres I am going to post regular articles over the next twelve months celebrating some of my work. I have been very fortunate and am proud of everything I have achieved. We start with the introduction to my book Linda Ronstadt-A Life In Music which was published back in 2009 (Note: Photos added for this article).

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Often dismissed by rock historians as a product of the antiseptic Californian country-music scene, an artist who relied on watered down covers of classic rock n’ roll and pop standards, this description of Linda Ronstadt couldn’t be further from the truth. Throughout a recording career that has covered over forty years she has recorded in a remarkable variety of styles from pure country to pop, light opera to big band standards and new wave to mariachi, often taking risks beyond the reach of many critically acclaimed artists. It would be hard, if not impossible, to find another vocalist who has had a more diversified career.

Photos: (c) Unknown

In their press release for the 1993 album Winterlight her record company managed to convey exactly what it was that made Linda Ronstadt such a special artist. “Versatile doesn’t begin to describe Linda Ronstadt’s astounding career – a wildly eclectic, devoutly adventurous journey through a myriad of styles and genres. Who else has worked with Philip Glass and Dolly Parton? Aaron Neville and Nelson Riddle? Ronstadt’s unforgettably gorgeous voice, at once technically dazzling and resonating with deep emotion, has woven a magical path from rock to mariachi, from country to opera, gathering critical and commercial success at every stop along the way.” - Elektra Press Release (November 1993)

To understand better Linda Ronstadt’s eclectic choice of material one needs to look back to her birthplace, the culture in which she was raised, her family history and those that surrounded her.

Tucson is dominated by ‘A Mountain’ which lies to the southwest of the city although its proper name is Sentinel Peak. The ‘A’ harks back to the days when students from the University of Arizona whitewashed a giant ‘A’ onto the side of the mountain and it has become an annual tradition for freshmen to repaint it. However, the history of the peak and the city’s name go back much further. When the Spaniards settled in the area in the 1600’s the village at the foot of the mountain was known as ‘Stjukshon,’ which, in Indian language translates to ‘at the foot of the dark mountain.’ It was pronounced ‘Took Son’ by the Spaniards and when the Anglos later dropped the ‘k’ sound it gave the city its current pronunciation of ‘Too-sahn.’

Tucson lies to the north and east of the intersection between Interstate 10 and Interstate 19, the latter leading approximately one hour’s drive down to the Mexican border at Nogales. It is the second largest city in Arizona with a sizeable Hispanic heritage and population. Spanish is a common language and there is a large Mexican influence, especially when it comes to eating with an abundance of Mexican restaurants.

It has a mix of cultures, Indian, Hispanic and Anglo, which all make their own individual mark on the area’s local arts scene. You can hear many styles of music, everything from jazz to hip-hop, salsa, a recent nightclub trend, and the Mexican styled mariachi and accordion-flavoured norteño. Mariachi originated in the central Mexican state of Jalisco in the mid-nineteenth century but only became a cultural icon in the 1930s and 40s. Lovers of this style of music had no need to travel to Mexico to listen to mariachi as some of the best examples could be found in and around the Tucson area. In fact there is an annual International Mariachi Conference that brings together some of the best musicians to the city. In contrast norteño has more of a blue-collar appeal, not quite as stylized with more flexibility in the instrumentation. However, they both have a similar repertoire based around various styles including polkas, cancion, ranchera and corrido. 

Outside of Tucson itself and moving into the vast area that is Arizona you can add the cowboy heritage which was fertile soil for a mix of country, bluegrass and old-time instrumentals. Next to the Native-American music, country and cowboy songs are most strongly associated with the area. The era of the cowboy only lasted from the close of the American Civil War to the end of the nineteenth century but its lifestyle has left its mark on music. Country and western music, as it became known, could be heard on a host of radio stations including XERF broadcasting out of Del Rio, Texas and KNIX and KMLE broadcasting out of Phoenix.

It was into this cultural mix that Linda Marie Ronstadt was born on 15th July, 1946, the third youngest of four children, with a sister, Suzi, and two brothers, Mike and Pete.

The Ronstadt family had made a remarkable contribution to the cultural and commercial history of the south-western area of the United States. Frederico José Maria Ronstadt, known later as simply Fred Ronstadt, was born in 1868 near Cananea, Sonora and spent his childhood in the area before moving to Tucson when he was fourteen. He learned the wagon-making trade but eventually, with the arrival of modern technology, it evolved into a successful hardware store. However, his real love was for all kinds of music. At the turn of the century he formed an orchestral group, Club Filarmónico de Tucson, with some friends and would often write the musical arrangements. Right up to his death he remained enthusiastic about music and continued to play. As Linda often recalled, “My grandfather used to have a band, the kind of band that plays in the middle of a public square.” His talent would be passed down the family and his daughter, using the name Luisa Espinel, would become a leading exponent of Spanish song and dance in the 1930s. Linda remembered her Aunt Luisa as a well-known star in the 20’s and 30’s with a show that she took all over the world. Luisa brought together many of the songs that she had learnt from her father and published them in a volume, published by the University of Arizona in 1946, titled Canciones de mi Padre (Songs of my Father). Fred Ronstadt also had four sons, William, Alfred, Gilbert and Edward who continued the musical tradition and singing became a regular family activity.

Linda’s mother, Ruthmary Copeman, who’s own family had a mixed heritage of German, English and Dutch, was a well-connected society lady from Michigan although, as Linda is quick to point out, she was no snob just dutiful. Linda’s maternal grandfather, Lloyd Copeman was one of the great Amercian inventors. His inventions included the first electric stove, the flexible ice cube tray and many other items. It was while Ruthmary was a member of one of the prestigious sororities at an Arizona College that she first met Gilbert and it was not long after that this handsome dark haired man asked her to marry him. Their original plan was to move to Mexico after the wedding but, with a revolution underway, their plans were thwarted and they settled in Tucson.

Photo: (c) Greenwich Entertainment

Linda’s upbringing was a happy time without major tragedies or catastrophes. The store was a successful business and meant that the family lived a fairly prosperous life and Linda even owned a horse during her childhood years. Her father taught her to ride and shoot. He would often take her brother out hunting and, although only four years old, she would tag along. She wanted her father’s attention and to be part of the gang. Although the .22 calibre gun was almost as big as she was they all used to target practice using rotten eggs. Out of the two sisters Suzi was the better shot and Linda would often tell the story of how her sister shot a pig, making it in a man’s world, something Linda thought was the ultimate you could do.

Although an accomplished businessman her father’s heart, like her grand-father’s, was in his music. He was a singer during the depression in the 1930’s and had played local clubs and functions and could often be heard on local radio. He was a talented singer with a voice that Linda would often describe as “full of honey and thick,” but family pressures put an end to any hopes of a singing career. His parents wanted him to better himself and felt a career in music was not the way to make a living. It remained a hobby and he concentrated on the hardware store. He may not have had a chance to pursue his love of music but this did not stop him from supporting his children. He encouraged them to listen to various styles of music, not necessarily the current popular trend but also people like Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee and Ella Fitzgerald. Linda resented it at the time, preferring the music that most other American teenagers were listening to, The Beach Boys, Sam Cooke, George Jones and especially the music of Elvis Presley, many of whose songs she learnt to sing.

However, that early exposure to different styles would help her in the future and looking back she was grateful that her father taught her to appreciate a wider variety of music. The family would often sit around and sing together as a unit as she would often recall during her many interviews. “My sister and two brothers were musical and we all sang together. I sang all the time when I was growing up. We used to sing with my father, too. He really gave me a keen appreciation for every kind of music.” In those early days she would sing soprano, the high notes. It wasn’t until later that she discovered what she herself called her “chest voice”, the voice that would go on to captivate her audiences worldwide.

Linda grew up listening to Mexican music. Her favourite female singer at that time was Lola Beltran, and she has always credited mariachi music as having a strong influence on her own style of singing. “I grew up in Tucson, and one of the major influences on my life was Mexican music. My father sang it, and sang it great. I grew up listening to mariachi, which I still love, and which believe it or not, had a strong influence on my singing style.” Country music was also a major influence, especially Hank Williams. Linda was six years old when her sister fell in love with his music and as she shared a bedroom it seemed obvious that Suzi’s taste in music would rub off on her. Many a time they would sit and listen to radio XERF and the music of Williams, Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family. The station played a mix of top forty hits and country music throughout the day and in the evening rhythm and blues, known as ‘Race Records’. At the time you couldn’t find anybody playing that type of music in Arizona! On Sundays they would catch the black and white gospel music broadcast over the airwaves.

The hot summer months and blistering temperatures in Arizona would force people indoors and Linda would often lay on the concrete floor to keep cool, pressing her ears to the radio. Apparently she had learnt how to turn the family radio on back when she was just three years old and would often try to imitate the music that she heard coming from the small speaker.

She was also exposed to the music of Gilbert and Sullivan at an early stage. Her sister appeared in a school production of H.M.S. Pinafore and Linda watched the show taking in all the music and learning the lyrics to most of the songs. Her grandfather was another link to Gilbert & Sullivan’s operettas and in 1896 had written an arrangement of Pirates of Penzance.

Her love of music sat side-by-side with her love of the independent life that living on a ranch allowed. However, this early freedom would cause many problems at school, with all the restrictions that were associated with that institution, and she rebelled.

Photo (c) Elektra/Asylum

Linda hated school and would often daydream about being a singer, or being in love. She attended a Catholic school and, it has often been said, she did not get on with the Nuns, believing them to be uptight, though this could have been down to her preoccupation with boys! She was a flirt and a tease in those early college days, a budding lolita who wore lipstick, sexy clothes and painted nails, a born seductress. As she told Time magazine, “They hated the way I talked about boys. I was too giggly and wore too much lipstick and dressed too sexy.” She was also wicked. During her time at the Catholic School she would write the answers to the catechism high up on her legs. There was a young priest who had just been ordained and during the tests she would slide her dress up high to read the answers knowing full well that the young priest could see. Embarrassed, he would turn away. Albeit hard to believe, her ultimate fantasy was to seduce a priest. She would often look back on these times with pride at the effect her flirting had on boys but with a touch of sheepishness at how naughty she was. While other girls she grew up with held dreams of finishing college, marrying and having a family, Linda was adamant that marriage and children were not an option, it was a singing career for her. She once said, “Since I was six years old I have been looking for the perfect boyfriend,” although she also commented that she would never give up singing for any old boyfriend.

With her brother and sister, Mike and Suzi, she started a folk trio making the rounds of the local Tucson clubs, coffee houses and campus music venues. They called themselves The Three Ronstadts, a trio that she would often describe as “The Anita Kerr Singers of Tucson”, and later they changed their name to the New Union Ramblers. They performed a repertoire of folk, country and Mexican music and although they were never going to set the music world alight it was a start. Linda was really nervous about getting up and singing in front of a crowd and their debut appearance must have been a nightmare for her.

Photo: (c) Unknown

Fortunately it didn’t take long before she was addicted to performing and, although later in her career there were still signs of nervousness, she soon learned to cope with stage fright. Playing bass with the trio was an old friend, Bobby Kimmel, who would play a major part in Linda’s early career. He loved Linda’s voice and he encouraged her to become a professional singer. Realising that to make any headway in the business he would have to get out of Tucson, Kimmel headed west to California. This was in 1963, and a year later he invited her to join him and form a band in Los Angeles.

Her brothers and sister would go on to take different career paths. Mike went to work in the hardware store and helped to run it while Pete, who Linda always credited as having the most talent vocally, joined the police force and would end up as Chief of Police in Tucson. Suzi would eventually get married and raise a family.

Meanwhile Linda was studying at Arizona State University at this time but after just one semester she decided she’d had enough. So in 1964, with just $30 in her hand, Linda left behind the clubs of Tucson and headed for Los Angeles, her childhood dreams still very much alive.