The hit musician who composed Linda Ronstadt’s biggest song in 1974: “We did a few takes”
By 1974, Linda Ronstadt had already achieved what most musicians dream of, becoming a prominent figure in the bustling LA music scene with records that already defined the entire era.
By this point, she’d already given the world a glimpse into her unmatched artistry, with records like Hand Sown… Home Grown and Silk Purse proving not only that she had the talent to go the whole nine yards but that she also dared to do it her own way, even with songs that weren’t originally her own. Then, in 1974, she released Heart Like a Wheel, taking this to the next level and showcasing all the reasons why she was worthy of her ‘Queen of Country Rock’ moniker.
Part of the reason for this immense success was owed to the guidance of one Peter Asher, who Ronstadt later said backed her in ways that made her feel more confident in her own decisions. The title track, for instance, was one she showed to a few people before recording it, but no one really understood it and felt it was either “too corny” or not commercial enough to be worthwhile.
Asher, on the other hand, loved it just as much as Ronstadt did and urged her to go ahead and record it if she felt it was right. Covering a handful of other timeless tracks by legends like Buddy Holly, Hank Williams and James Taylor, Asher and Ronstadt ensured Heart Like a Wheel would be her best yet, enlisting help from a handful of other groundbreaking heroes to bring it all to life.
After all, part of her backing band also included the likes of Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Russ Kunkel and David Lindley, alongside the unmatched talents of Andrew Gold, whose multi-instrumental contributions gave the record its defining sound while sparking a long-term collaboration with Ronstadt that inspired her to greatness and helped to bring out some of her best work, both onstage and off.
By the time Gold met Ronstadt, he’d already had a few accomplishments of his own, working as a songwriter and producer across a whole host of projects that made him one of the most respected musicians in the scene. Across the 1970s, he also scored some of the decade’s biggest hits, including 1977’s ‘Lonely Boy’ and 1978’s ‘Thank You For Being A Friend’, both of which were Top 40 hits in America.
Gold played a range of instruments, including electric piano, electric guitar solo, drums, and percussion, on ‘You’re No Good’, which no doubt shaped it into the record’s biggest track and subsequently the biggest hit of Ronstadt’s career. Funnily enough, the song had already been a staple of Ronstadt’s live sets, first included on a whim while opening for Neil Young.
But when it came to recording it, they couldn’t quite hit a version Ronstadt had been hoping for. The first was set up as an R&B track, but Ronstadt dismissed it for being “the wrong groove”. A few days later, they returned to record it with Ed Black, Kenny Edwards, and Gold, who finally helped to make it exactly as she’d envisioned. Especially Gold, who worked his magic to shape it into the hit it deserved to be.
He also gave her a basic framework to work with that helped things to flow in a way she needed at the time. As Ronstadt later recalled, “Andrew Gold added a sparse drum track, giving me a basic track to sing over. We did a few takes, picked one we liked, and then Andrew, who always played guitars and keyboards, went to work with Peter and began to work up layers of guitar, piano and percussion tracks.”
