Linda Ronstadt

Linda Ronstadt is a celebrated American singer and actress whose diverse career spans country, rock, pop, and Latin music, establishing her as an influential figure across multiple genres. After gaining recognition as the lead singer of the folk-rock trio the Stone Poneys in the mid-1960s, Linda Ronstadt released their hit single ‘Different Drum’ in 1967. She launched her solo career with her debut album, Hand Sown … Home Grown, in 1969, earning her first Grammy nomination for ‘Long Long Time’ in 1970.

Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten. Her third number 1 album, Living in the USA, followed in 1978, a year she earned three number-one Billboard Awards. In 1978, Ronstadt generated over $12 million, with album sales exceeding 17 million units ($60 million). She embarked on an international tour across Australia and Japan in 1979, releasing Mad Love, her seventh consecutive platinum-selling album, by 1980.

The 1980s marked a period of artistic expansion, beginning with her Broadway debut in The Pirates of Penzance (1980), earning a Tony nomination (1981) and later a Golden Globe nomination for the 1983 film adaptation. She collaborated with conductor Nelson Riddle on a trilogy of traditional pop albums (What’s New, Lush Life, For Sentimental Reasons) from 1983-1986. Ronstadt released Trio with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris in 1987. Her critically acclaimed album Canciones de Mi Padre, released in 1987, became the best-selling non-English-language album in U.S.

In 2019, she received the Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievements, and the Tucson Music Hall was renamed in her honor in 2022.