Linda Ronstadt Songs Collection and Biography

Featured Songs
Official Store

  1. Stoney End - Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Ponies
  2. All That You Dream (feat. Linda Ronstadt) [1999 Remaster]
  3. Anyone Who Had a Heart 2015 Remaster
  4. Willin' (Little Feat Cover)
  5. Blue Bayou (2015 Remaster)
  6. Blue Bayou (Live)
  7. Crazy
  8. Cry 'Til My Tears Run Dry (1999 Remaster)
  9. Damage
  10. Desperado 4k
  11. Different Drum
  12. Dreams of the San Joaquin
  13. Heartbreak Kind
  14. Heat Wave
  15. How Do I Make You (2015 Remaster)
  16. Hoyt Axton, Linda Ronstadt & Brownsville Station sings "Lightning Bar Blues"
  17. Linda Ronstadt & Hoyt Axton - Lion in the Winter
  18. Hurt so Bad
  19. I Can't Let Go (Live at Television Center Studios, Hollywood, CA 4/24/1980)
  20. I Knew You When
  21. It's so Easy
  22. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
  23. Just One Look
  24. Lightning Bar Blues
  25. You're No Good
  26. When Will I Be Loved
  27. Silver Threads & Golden Needles (Live with Eagles)
  28. Long Long Time (Remastered)
  29. Long Long Time (The Johnny Cash Show 720p)
  30. Look Out for My Love
  31. Love Has No Pride
  32. Love Has No Pride (Live)
  33. Poor Poor Pitiful Me
  34. Rock Me on the f
  35. Ruler of My Heart
  36. Someone to Lay Down Beside Me
  37. Tracks of My Tears
  38. When We Ran
  39. Tumblin' Dice
  40. Linda Ronstadt – Live In Hollywood 1980 (Full Concert) [HD]
  41. Linda Ronstadt – Spanish Language Playlist

Linda Ronstadt: A Life of Song, Heartbreak, and Resilience

With a voice hauntingly beautiful, fearless in her exploration of rock, country, and opera, Linda Ronstadt became one of the most gifted and versatile voices in American music, defining the 1970s and beyond. In a career that spanned five decades, she produced a remarkable body of work, including hits in folk, pop, rock, and Latin music. All along the way, heartbreak, loneliness, and devastating health challenges never deterred her, and her resilience—which echoed both in her music and her life—has left an indelible mark on the music world.

A Gifted Singer and a Storyteller

Born on July 15, 1946, in Tucson, Arizona, Linda Ronstadt had the early influence of folk and country traditions in her family. She was an intuitive singer with a voice that could penetrate with clarity and depth into a person's heart. With the Stone Poneys in 1967, her instant hit was Different Drum, in which she possessed a pure, crystalline voice. From there, Ronstadt launched a career that would define generations of music lovers.

Ronstadt's voice was versatile—easily at home in the heartache of Long Long Time or the defiance of You're No Good. Her musical range spanned genres and styles, from the vulnerability of Blue Bayou to the freewheeling joy of Heat Wave. She could make each song seem to evoke a specific emotion, personal pain universal. Desperado, When Will I Be Loved, and Hurt So Bad had a deeply longing attitude, as did much of Ronstadt's life with her struggle over relationships; songs like It's So Easy and Poor Poor Pitiful Me gave off the complete opposite—an attitude of fun and irreverence.

But it wasn't just Ronstadt's vocals that had set her apart, but it was the way she could find the truth in every song she sang and make them all personal, from the breakup ballad of Crazy to the unapologetic defiance of Just One Look. The latter Love Has No Pride, live, was just one of her most gut-wrenching performances, capturing the rawness of emotional vulnerability.

Collaborations and Cross-Generational Influence

This ability to collaborate with musicians across genres added yet another layer of brilliance to her career. Ronstadt's collaborations with other musicians not only amplified her sound but also expanded the horizons of the artists she worked with. One of her key musical relationships was with the Eagles, who played a significant role in her 1970s success. The Eagles were featured on some of her most iconic tracks, and in return, she lent her voice to some of their own classic songs. Their 1973 collaboration on Silver Threads and Golden Needles, performed live with Ronstadt, was an electrifying moment of synergy between two legendary acts, blending her country-folk roots with their rock sensibilities.

She also collaborated with the great songwriter and performer Hoyt Axton. In a rare performance, Axton, Ronstadt, and Brownsville Station came together to sing Lightning Bar Blues, a bluesy, playful track that showcased Ronstadt's ability to adapt to a variety of musical styles. Axton's influence on Ronstadt can be heard in her approach to storytelling—taking folk, country, and blues and turning them into deeply personal anthems.

Another key collaboration was with the famous rock band Little Feat, with whom she worked on the 1974 cover of Willin', a song that captured the best of Americana, with the country and rock influences set in a way that only Ronstadt could. Her voice added a layer of richness to the song, making it uniquely her own and showcasing how well she could take up rock-infused Americana without losing her signature emotional depth.

Heartbreak and Resilience

While her music radiated a sense of emotional frankness, it was equally underscored by profound moments of personal sorrow. Her relationships, the ones highly publicized included, were often painful and tumultuous. Yet, in the face of these challenges, Ronstadt channeled emotional vulnerability into some of her timeless music. For example, Long Long Time is a stark and haunting meditation on loneliness, longing, and heartbreak—a song which remains one of her most beloved and defining tracks.

Ronstadt's emotional landscape wasn't confined to matters of the heart. She experienced loneliness in her career, too, with the public persona often mirroring that sense of isolation that comes hand in glove with fame. Throughout everything, though, her music was the only place of solace, where she connected with the world. Songs like Someone to Lay Down Beside Me and I Knew You When poured yearning into every note for that much-wanted love. But the live performance of I Can't Let Go, from 1980 at Television Center Studios, uncovers the depth of her skills in molding her deeply personal longing into an anthem for any who have been torn apart by love.

But her toughness ran deeper than that. In 2013, Linda Ronstadt was diagnosed with a rare degenerative neurological disorder called progressive supranuclear palsy that stole her ability even to sing. This news was heartbreaking for both Ronstadt and her millions of fans. But Ronstadt, ever resilient, met her diagnosis with grace, even as she struggled with the loss of her voice—the one thing that had defined her entire life. She continued to inspire, using her platform to advocate for better awareness of the condition, while reflecting on her career in her 2013 memoir, Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir.

The Legacy of an Icon

Linda Ronstadt's legacy is one of artistry, vulnerability, and a deep connection to the human experience. But her collaborations with the Eagles, Hoyt Axton, Little Feat, and others were not just showcases of her extraordinary voice; they were moments of musical fusion that defined the landscape of the '70s and '80s. Whether singing the soulful, aching Tracks of My Tears, or the exuberant and carefree Rock Me on the Water, she had a way of making anything to which she lent her voice seem like an essential piece of her soul.

Songs like Crazy, Blue Bayou, and Damage still linger now, and her live vocals serve as touchstones for emotive performance. From I Can't Let Go to Hurt So Bad, Linda Ronstadt's voice became a touchstone for emotional clarity, vulnerability, and authenticity.

But more than the music, Ronstadt's true legacy is one of emotional courage. She used her own heartbreaks and struggles to connect with her audience on a level few artists ever achieve. Her ability to turn pain into art is perhaps best exemplified in her 1970s hits like Heartbreak Kind, Desperado, and When We Ran—songs that served as catharsis not only for Ronstadt but for countless fans who found their own stories in her voice.

Through health battles and personal struggles, Linda Ronstadt has remained a symbol of resilience, strength, and the transcendent power of song. Even as her own voice was silenced by illness, her music, like her spirit, endures—timeless and enduring, always there for those who need to hear her sing, even if only in their hearts.

Linda Ronstadt's Artistry

Linda Ronstadt's artistry has always transcended genres, capturing in each note the essence of emotions, longing, and beauty. Her voice, timeless and evocative, fills each song with a rare kind of soulfulness, whether it's the aching vulnerability in "Long Long Time," the poignant storytelling in "Someone to Lay Down Beside Me," or the defiant energy of "It's So Easy." Every song she sang brought its own atmosphere, from the heart-wrenching melancholy of "Love Has No Pride" to the spirited vitality of "Heat Wave." Ronstadt didn't just sing songs; she put everything into them, creating a lasting connection that resonated deeply with listeners.

Her Musical Legacy

Her unparalleled facility to make music say things lifts even the most mundane of melodies into something monumental. "Rock Me on the Water" and "When We Ran" evoke journeys of one sort or another. "All That You Dream" and "Ruler of My Heart" are woven tapestries of emotion from hope to heartache. In "Dreams of the San Joaquin," Ronstadt paints in sound and word a picture of heartache and beauty in the California landscape, her voice intertwined with longing and nostalgia for places both familiar and far away. It's a song carrying the weight of history, of dreams unfulfilled, yet still hopeful—a perfect reflection of Ronstadt's ability to capture the complexity of human emotion.

Her Timeless Legacy

Ronstadt's legacy is cemented not just in her perfect vocal talent but in the way she can make a listener feel. She gave us more than music—she gave us experiences, memories, and feelings that last long after the songs are over. From her early days with the Stone Ponies to her later work with artists like Little Feat, Linda Ronstadt's body of work is a rich collection of sounds to the heart. Her songs are timeless for their ability to capture the full range of human experience, and her voice remains as powerful and moving as ever. Linda Ronstadt didn't just sing songs, she created a world where love, loss, and longing could be felt in every breath. And by doing so, she gave us a piece of herself that will never fade.