“It wasn’t a good version”: the 1978 song Linda Ronstadt thought she ruined
Every musician has a habit of being a little too critical of their own performances. Even though some people have those perfectionist tendencies more than others, it’s easy for someone to look back at one of their finest performances and see a couple of cracks or things that could have used a bit more polish behind the scenes.
Linda Ronstadt usually didn’t need to worry about such things when she was singing, but she admitted that some vocal passes should have been kept in the vaults throughout her career.
By the time she hit the big time, though, there was no reason to think that she would ever let a poor performance slip by her. She had one of the most powerful voices in the country rock scene, and when singing tracks like ‘Heart Like A Wheel’ and ‘When Will I Be Loved’, she had the perfect balance of power and restraint whenever she used her voice, even when harmonising with pros like the Eagles.
She always knew that there were places to improve, so she knew the next step was working on Broadway. While anyone can try their hand at getting fans to listen to their untrained voice, getting onto that kind of stage was the musical version of the Olympics for many people, but even then, Ronstadt managed to pass with flying colours when working on Pirates of Penzance in her later career.
Despite her work with musical legends, though, her heart was always in rootsy music. She knew that anyone looking at her wanted to hear something closer to Americana, and when working off of Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris on the Trio album, she had the female counterpart to Crosby, Stills, and Nash, with each of their voices blending perfectly together.
“We didn’t sing it in tune.”
Linda Ronstadt
That chemistry wasn’t accidental. All three singers approached harmony as an exercise in listening rather than competing, allowing each voice to occupy its own space while serving the song as a whole. It was this collective instinct that made Trio such a landmark collaboration and elevated even familiar material into something fresh.
It would take a long time for them to reunite, but Ronstadt and Harris would become lifelong friends. Ronstadt always adored Harris’s singing. However, when they were left to their own devices, singing tunes like ‘Mister Sandman’, she was the first to admit that everything completely fell apart.
While the song is far from the greatest piece of music in either singer’s arsenal, Ronstadt wasn’t shy about the fact that she royally screwed up behind the scenes here, saying, “‘Mister Sandman’ was one of the problems. We didn’t sing it in tune. It wasn’t a good version of it. I thought the version she did that was all hers was dramatically, infinitely better.” But that might have more to do with the kind of song that they were covering.
‘Mister Sandman’ is a tune that relies almost exclusively on those extremely close harmony vocals, and even the slightest sound that feels off is going to be noticeable. Then again, if this is what a shaky version of Ronstadt sounds like, it’s hard for anyone to notice for too long before going on to the next tune.
Ronstadt’s frustration also highlights the impossibly high standards she held herself to. While most listeners hear an effortlessly graceful performance, she focused on tiny imperfections that only a trained ear would notice, judging her work against an ideal rather than against what audiences actually experienced.
If anything, the fact that she’s able to admit when things don’t work out is a habit that most singers ought to take note of. It’s never easy to own up to the fact that not every performance is solid from front to back, but if someone is willing to admit their shortcomings, the more respect they will get from both their peers and their fans when it comes time to get behind the microphone again.
That honesty is part of what made Ronstadt such a respected artist throughout her career. She never believed great singing was about perfection alone, but about constantly striving to improve, even after decades at the top of the profession. Ironically, the performances she criticised most harshly are often the ones that listeners continue to treasure, proving that artists and audiences rarely hear music in quite the same way.
