The song Linda Ronstadt never wanted to sing again: “This is it”
Linda Ronstadt’s genre-defying career was built on the strength of her interpretations of other artists’ songs. ‘You’re No Good’, ‘Hurt So Bad’, and ‘When Will I Be Loved’ may have started with Betty Everett, Little Anthony, and The Everly Brothers, respectively, but Ronstadt mastered a way of making them sound like they were written with her in mind.
Her versatile voice and genre-blurring style helped define the California rock scene. Few performances captured that better than her 1977 take on ‘Tumbling Dice‘, a swaggering Stones track that Ronstadt reimagined with a bluesy punch and vocal command that became a live show staple. As well as being a fan favourite, it was a showcase of her uncanny ability to outperform just about anyone in rock and roll. This talent cemented her status as a rock icon.
Despite the song’s place in her live shows and its commercial success, Ronstadt eventually swore off it for good. The reason had less to do with the song itself and more to do with a creeping realisation about the culture she was steeped in.
“I realised that LA was a giant Xerox machine which took Xeroxed copies of cultures and broadcasted them to the world, focused through the lens of Los Angeles sensibility, which was very strange,” she said. “Also, I got very bored with the rock and roll world. As soon as I started singing George Gershwin, I thought, ‘this is it, I’m never singing ‘Tumbling Dice’ again’.”
This wasn’t merely a statement about the music industry churning out hits; it was a critique of the entire cultural machinery she found herself a part of. It flattened nuance, borrowed authenticity, and packaged it back to audiences in glossy and pre-approved formats. For Ronstadt, it no longer felt creatively honest.
“Always in a hurry, never stop to worry
Linda Ronstadt – ‘Tumbling Dice’
Can’t see the time passing by
Honey got no money, I’m sixes and sevens and nines”.
Instead, she found her escape by reconnecting with music that demanded technical mastery, detail and emotional depth. She began working with legendary arranger Nelson Riddle on her 1983 album What’s New, where rather than guitars and drums, she was now singing with a 40-piece orchestra. The project was a deliberate pivot from rock and into the world of traditional pop, specifically, the ‘Great American Songbook’. Working with Riddle, who had arranged for Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, pushed her into a new level of musical discipline. She studied phrasing, dynamics, and restraint, and left behind the belting style that had powered her rock hits.
Despite being a bold career shift, What’s New was surprisingly successful. The album went platinum and had strong reviews, ultimately bringing a whole new audience to Ronstadt’s music. She followed it with two more collaborations with Riddle: 1984’s Lush Life and 1986’s For Sentimental Reasons.
Rather than a side project, this was a full musical and professional transformation. She was now performing in concert halls instead of arenas, and her setlists changed accordingly. Ronstadt didn’t return to rock for years, and, even then, it was on her terms.
Letting go of ‘Tumbling Dice’ wasn’t a dramatic exit. It was just one more sharp, instinctive choice in a career built on knowing when to move on.
