The American city that built rock and roll, according to Linda Ronstadt
The great American road trip brings with it a few must-stop cities, with New York and Los Angeles immediately springing to mind as the obvious start and end points, but there’s also the in between.
A more northern route would take you through the historic worlds of Chicago and Detroit, two cities with a rich artistic heritage that rivals the aforementioned big hitters, making them must-visit locations for any music fan worth their salt. However, a southern route also simply cannot be ignored, making the spiritual home of Nashville or the vibrant jazz scene of New Orleans essential to the itinerary, but when it comes to music appreciation, the latter represents a somewhat underrated world.
Its name is rarely uttered with as much global reverence as Nashville’s, but it is undoubtedly a place of deep importance to those who truly understand the workings of music culture, for, in many ways, New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz and a crucial hub for blues, gospel, and rhythm & blues in America, blending together musical sensibilities from Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe to stand as a cultural hotpot.
Linda Ronstadt was acutely aware of this heritage, despite being an icon of the more gritty world of New York, and so used her career to engage with it as a means of artistic growth.
This resulted in her teaming up with New Orleans native Aaron Neville on her 1989 album, Cry Like A Rainstorm Howl Like The Wind, to record tracks that captured the vibrant sound of the city, during the promotion of which, she explained, “I don’t remember when it was, but I have become very interested in New Orleans music. I loved it the first time I ever went there, I was saying it was the world’s fair. I remember doing an interview in the Today Show saying, ‘My god, you know regionalism is alive and well here in New Orleans’”.
For an artist who had created a global legacy at the time, returning to focus on a more regional artistic view was undoubtedly a refreshing creative injection, but what makes New Orleans a particularly unique city is how its arts combine with the food world.
The vibrancy of their cuisine, informed by their diverse community history, can be heard in its most famous music, as well as Ronstadt’s collaboration with Neville, for there’s a colour to their everyday life that mirrors its finest sounds.
She continued to express her love for the city, saying, “They still have music that sounds like New Orleans, they still have food that tastes like New Orleans, the people look like New Orleans people. It’s almost not like an American city because it’s not like any other city in America.”
While Ronstadt’s eulogy of the city was made in 1989, the sentiment remains very much the same for New Orleans, which continues to make it one of the most beloved cultural cities in the country. Between its vibrant French Quarter, Jazz Festival and Mardi Gras, it continues to rubber-stamp its unique and historic sonic identity on an otherwise forward-thinking country.
