The songs Linda Ronstadt wished she had recorded sooner: “I waited until I had enough clout”
Having firmly cemented herself among the most accomplished, endlessly beloved songwriters in American history since her initial emergence back in the 1960s, the talents of Linda Ronstadt seem to know no bounds. Looking back across her illustrious career, then, it is difficult to imagine the songwriter having any regrets.
Looking over Ronstadt’s list of accomplishments over the decades certainly makes for interesting reading. From a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to her countless Grammy Awards and extensive range of hit records, you would be forgiven for assuming that Linda Ronstadt more or less has free rein to do whatever she likes these days, having proved her credentials to the music industry on a multitude of occasions since her first releases back in 1968.
Nevertheless, true artistic freedom is rarely afforded to those under the thumb of the mainstream music industry. Despite her generational talents and clear knack for creating hits, Ronstadt has still spent much of her career – particularly during those early years – being forced to pander to the wants and desires of record company executives. Inevitably, then, there are a few decisions which still pain the songwriter to look back upon.
Asked about the corporate domination of the music industry during a chat with Paul Freeman back in 1996, Ronstadt declared, “It’s never hampered me, particularly.” Yet, even still, there is an essential part of the songwriter’s discography which would have looked very different were it not for the meddling hands of the industry. “I mean, I would have sung Mexican music sooner if I hadn’t had to sort of have their permission, so to speak,” Ronstadt revealed.
In 1987, the singer unveiled Canciones de mi padre, and although it certainly wasn’t her most commercially successful record, it saw Ronstadt pay faithful homage to her Mexican ancestry, passed down to her through her father.
You only need to listen to her performances on that album to realise that it was a clear passion project for the performer, deeply rooted in her family history and cultural identity. It stands among her most emotive works as a result of that family context, and, seemingly, it is an album which she wishes she had taken on far sooner in her career.
As a young up-and-comer, though, Ronstadt was in no doubt that she would never receive a record deal in America by playing Mexican mariachi music, so that core part of her musical identity had to be shelved until much later in her career, much to her lasting regret.
“But, as it was,” she explained. “I waited until I had enough clout… until I could do it without their permission. And they had to take what I gave them… and they were happy to have it.”
It certainly speaks to the enduring quality of Ronstadt’s output that even Canciones de mi padre, an album which she openly admits went against the wishes of the music industry, still went double platinum, in addition to affording the songwriter yet another Grammy Award. As far as regrets go, then, it is fair to say that Linda Ronstadt has ratified hers, and then some.
