In December Linda Ronstadt will be a 2019 Kennedy Center honoree along with Sesame Street, Sally Fields and Earth, Wind and Fire. So it is fitting that this documentary by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman shines a light on her remarkable career and her amazing voice. Her various contemporary musician friends offer bits of memories and insight to her success. There is really no one else like her in today's music scene of singer/songwriters. Linda didn't write her own music, but she managed to make other writer's work all her own.
She grew up on a 10 acre ranch in Arizona. Her father wrote musical arrangements so she was exposed to different genres of sound like American standards, Mexican, country, classical and operetta. Her brother sang with a world class children's choir. She would later perform with her brother and sister at little clubs. She moved to Los Angeles when she was 18 going to the clubs that gave a stage to new performers. Herb Cohen who managed Frank Zappa brought her to the studio for 1967’s “Different Drum” with her first band the Stone Poneys. It was a huge hit. Going on a east coast tour, Don Henley and Glen Frey (later of the Eagles) were brought in. She fell in love with J.D. Southern and moved in with him. She turned the Eagles song Desperado's into a major hit. Linda had performed as a backup singer for Neil Young then later was the opening act for his tour in Canada.
Linda was good friends with women artists. She took in Emmy Lou Harris after the death of her partner Gram Parsons. She turns power ballads into hits for writer Karla Bonoff and was like a sister to Bonnie Raitt. Linda was a song stylist. At one time she had number one hits on three charts at one time. On an arena tour with Jackson Browne, they would take turns opening and closing. She was never comfortable on the road. Most of the time she would be the only woman. Other arena band performers jumped around the stage trying to generate energy with the audience. Linda would just stand at the microphone and use her vocals to fill the room. She was mesmerizing and she managed to win a Grammy for best singer beating out Barbra Streisand and Donna Summers.
Tired of doing arena tours which were always sold out, she switches gears and does Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance. Co-star Kevin Kline says he cried when he heard her sing. Her next adventure was to do Nelson Riddle standards. Then she did a trio album with Dolly Parton, and Emmy Lou Harris. She tells her record label that she wants to do an album of Mexican songs for herself. Her father had sung to her in Spanish when she was growing up. Her last big hit with Aaron Neville won 2 Grammy's. Then she began to lose her voice. Her last concert was in 2009.
Like her grandmother, Linda has been diagnosed with Parkinsons. Although her voice has been silenced, except for maybe singing with her family, she has left an amazing catalog of music to enjoy forever. Hopefully this film will bring her music to those under 40 years old to discover. She lived an interesting life and created beautiful music that will never to be silenced.
(Review by reesa)
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