Born: July 15, 1946
City and Country of Origin: Tuscon, Arizona
Music Training:
Awards:
Top Recordings: "Different Drum," "You're No Good," "When Will I Be Loved"
Linda Ronstadt Biography: For such a gifted performer and well known celebrity it is amzing how little is actually known about her private life. She was born in Arizona to a ranch and hardware store owner. She is of German, English, Dutch, and Mexican descent. She was born into a musically inclined family with a rich and influential history in the state of Arizona. Her family was so revered in the state that the University of Arizona chronicles the deeds of her ancestors within its facility and on its website. At 18 as a student at Arizona State University where she met guitarist Bob Kimmel the two of them followed their musical urge to Los Angeles where they teamed up with guitarist/songwriter Kenney Edwards to form the Stone Poneys. It was with them that she experienced her first hit records with "Different Drum" and "Long, Long Time." It wasn't until 1968 that she cut her first solo hit "You're No Good." She considered live performances a necessary part of the business, but hated doing them because of stage fright. In the '80s she turned away from her folk/rock music to appear in Broadway adaptations of The Pirates of Penzance and La Bohème. She also did 3 albums of standards with Nelson Riddle and 3 Latin albums which had varying degrees of commercial success, but exposed the world to the depth of her talents as a singer. She also had hits while collaborating with other artists "Somewhere Out There" James Ingram and "I Don't Know Much" with Emmylou Harris and Aaron Neville.

Music by the Decade:

Sounds of the Fifties

Sounds of the Sixties

Sounds of the Seventies

Sounds of the Eighties

Sounds of the Nineties