Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir

I have to admit that I came to admire Linda Rondstadt at the very peak of her fame. Sometime in 1990, I bought her Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind, CD and played it to death. I loved the duets with Aaron Neville, and so many of the cuts on this remarkable CD were a testimony of a mature artist who had the ability to pick songs of great appeal and depth. Best of all, I finally came face to face with a popular singer who had it all--range, beauty of timbre, a direct musical style, free of interpretive and vocal tics, which make today's pop singers sound like they are in the edge of a nervous breakdown. I didn't go the her previously recorded collections, mainly because so many of her hits were on jukeboxes all over and I had heard them many times before. I was more than aware of "Blue Bayou", a signature tune, which I loved, especially for the final notes that took her up into her pop soprano. The effect of that final phrase never ceased to capture my attention. As I collector of American popular singing, Linda Rondstadt is up there with the very, very best and ultra-select group of singers that can only be counted on ten fingers.When I saw her in interviews for her memoir, SIMPLE DREAMS, I knew I wanted to read about her. Most memoirs and autobiographies of American celebrities are stuffed with loads of family and professional dysfunction. Linda Rondstadt is not having any of that in her story. A remarkably normal lady, Linda Rondstadt grew up in a stable home, and enjoyed her stardom relatively early, but such was her grounded sense that drugs, alcohol, strings of broken hearts, and angry, bitter children, never make an appearance in her life. For this there is but one simple reason: none of these issues were part of her life. The subtitle, A Musical Memoir, says it all, and I'm afraid those who complain about the lack of juicy gossip are in for a big disappointment here. Now if the reader can accept that, what Ms. Rondstadt has to say is rather refreshing and important.This book is no mere listing of one triumph after the other. With each project, Rondstadt's pitch perfect ear for finding information and background she needs to persevere, is always in evidence. Even when she thinks she has made a professional mistake, she is quick to take responsibility and makes sure it is never repeated. She's thought long and hard about the music she grew up with, as well as the music she sang to her generation. She sees far beyond the notes and the words on the page. She was never an empty-headed rocker with a big vocal talent spraying her audience with notes. Her singing is informed with the history behind it, her own experience, or the collaborators she worked with. Rondstadt has deep respect for the musicians who have played on her records and on tour. She reveres the composers whose songs she took on. She seems to have an unerring ear for creating successful records, but doesn't pander to her audience to remain commercial and viable. As she aged, her musical maturity was honed to a sophisticated shine. The remarkable three recordings of American standards that she recorded with the great Nelson Riddle has cuts that I don't care for--she sometimes misjudges the mood she's creating, but overall, to have recorded them with the degree of naturalness that she brought to this material at the height of her fame, is worthy of great respect. She earned the right to make these records at a time when their success was not pre-ordained. That she did them so well, is a testament to her taste, ambition, and musical curiosity. And she had the courage to admit the first group she recorded (never released) of American standards was not good.She thinks a lot about what is involved in singing, and understands the needs of each genre, from opera and operetta, the Great American Songbook, rock, country, blues, etc., and writes about it with clarity. There is music that is instinctually understood and that comes through in her singing with is simplicity itself. If she's not the most searching of vocal actors, she more than compensates in making sure the intent of the composer is always foremost in her telling.Linda Ronstadt has been successful in a number of musical genres, and her collaboration with other big singers is fun to read about. Clearly she views Emmylou Harris as another sister and the treasurable Trio CDs she made with Emmy Lou and Dolly Parton also speak to her ability to be collaborative in the best sense of the word.She is extremely discreet about her relationship with Jerry Brown, and I can't recall her speaking of any other man she was involved with romantically here. Nor does she write much about her children. Yet I didn't find myself disappointed at her discretion. It only added to my admiration.Several years ago, I invested in Linda Rondstadt's fine four-disc career retrospective, entitled simply as BOX SET. If you want to chart the progression of a great American singer, look no further than this fine group of recordings. From California Country Rock through Gilbert & Sullivan, Philip Glass, traditional Mexican ranchero songs, and all of her biggest hits along with the American standards, show a singer who covered a lot of ground in her long career. Rondstadt covered a lot of other singer's hits, including We Will Rock You, Anyone Who Had a Heart, Just One Look, Blue Bayou, Heat Wave, All I Have to Do is Dream, I Can't Help it (If I'm Still in Love with You), Walk Away Renee, among many others. Nobody covered a song better, reminding of us the original while imbuing it with her own interpretive stamp.At age 67, Ms. Rondstadt's battle with Parkinson's Disease, has denied us her late maturity, and I'm sure there might have been even more astonishing things from the studio from her. But she leaves a career of longevity, success and respect. I deeply enjoyed this book and I hope it sells a gazillion copies.

Ever since the world became acquainted with her as a seemingly non-descript member of the Stone Poneys via the folk-rock classic "Different Drum" in 1967, Linda Ronstadt has been revered by fans and peers alike as a singer who set a gold standard for female voices across the pop music spectrum. In her time, Linda essayed every style that was in her musical DNA: rock; pop; folk; country; blues; jazz; the Great American Songbook; opera; the Mexican mariachi/ranchera style that was an inherent part of her upbringing in Arizona; and so much more, making her arguably the most musically influential female pop singer of the last fifty years. At a time now when the "twerking" of Miley Cyrus on the VMAs and the warbly teen drama of Taylor Swift are considered much more worthy of media attention, it is difficult to imagine a time when actual talent and tenacity were prized above all else.But now Linda herself has gone on to write about that time as she experienced it for herself, and her many associations and encounters in the business, both good and bad, in her book SIMPLE DREAMS: A MUSICAL MEMOIR Titled after her 1977 mega-Platinum album, the book chronicles first what it was like to grow up in the super-hot desert environment near Tucson with music-making as the only form of entertainment, then her arrival in California at the mid-point of the 1960s, as folk-rock was getting under way; and her struggle to be able to record a lot of the country music she heard as a youngster in a rock and roll context. This led not only to her own illustrious career, but also to associations with, among others, Emmylou Harris (her basic musical sister), Dolly Parton, Jackson Browne, Nicolette Larson, J.D. Souther, Neil Young, and, last but not least, the guys who became the Eagles. Along the way, she also recounts some close encounters she had had with Janis Joplin (who she knew only briefly but admired greatly), Jim Morrison (who, inebriated as he often was, tended to rub Linda the wrong way), and Gram Parsons (Linda admired what he was doing in terms of re-integrating country music back with rock, like she was doing, but she wasn't as thrilled with his drug-dominated lifestyle). But she also laments that having to play in big coliseums and arenas night after night for many years diminished her love for rock, and she also felt that her fans were being cheated by the atrocious sound quality of these places as opposed to the clubs and traditional concert venues that she loved the most. In more recent times, as indicated in the book, she has become more philosophical about these things.The book's publication has taken on an added poignancy and gravitas because of the recent revelation Linda made that she had contracted Parkinson's disease, which caused her to lose her singing voice altogether. The disease is not talked about in the book (since it was already in the process of publication at the time she made the announcement). She only talks about her private life in general terms as it relates to her music (there are some references to her politics, but not to what happened to her in Las Vegas in 2004); and she admits to her drug use, but makes it clear that it never became anything close to a full-blown addiction. Indeed, for a superstar, she lived as close to a regular life as was humanly possible. People looking for a bio with hot and trashy tabloid tidbits should look elsewhere.But for those who want an idea of what it was like for Linda to evolve, evoke, and influence in the way she did, this book is essential. Four generations of country and roots-rock women, from Emmy through to Maria McKee, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, up to, more recently, Tift Merritt and Caitlin Rose (to name just a few), have taken inspiration from Linda; and those hot young starlets out there now (Ms. Swift in particular), ought to take a hint and study not only Linda's memoir but her albums as well.As is the case with Elvis, Patsy Cline, and the Beatles, Linda Ronstadt is an artist who cannot be replaced. This memoir is her gift to her peers and her fans, and anyone with a serious love for music should get it.

Un excelente recopilación de memorias y recuerdos de esta gran cantante de ascendencia sonorense, en la cual puedes imaginar todos los pasajes que ahí te cuenta al mismo tiempo que escuchas sus canciones y revives todos los recuerdos!

70年代の西海岸中心とする数多くの有名なミュージシャンたちとの関わり合いが興味深い。ニコレットラーソンとローラースケートで遊んでいて、スケート仲間に紹介されたのが殺人カルト集団マンソンファミリーの一員(保釈中)だという件でブッとんだ。明るくて社交的だが、決して流されない強さ。歌や外見からのイメージとピッタリの文章を書く人だ。文章のスタイルは平易だが、音楽の話となると語彙が広くて厳しかった。日本語訳出して欲しい。

She always was my favourite but I knew so little about how great she was. Her voice will always be my heart's voice, we sing together in my home. Had I known that the tiny girl I saw on a little stage in San Diego in 1974 was such a powerhouse, I would have not believed it. She stood still, seemingly uncomfortable when her voice was quieted, watching her band and smiling that smile. From the days of the Stone Poneys she took my imagination. I am grateful for this book.

What an interesting life. I enjoyed reading about all of Linda's musical influences. Would have preferred form she spoke about her family (children) too, but I guess that's a personal choice.

長い時間楽しみに待っていたのに、開封されてるわシミで汚れまくってるわで散々。でも彼女のファンだから、もう一度だけ販売者を変えて発注してみようと思う。追伸：別の販売者に発注して無事届きました！！