The five artists that Linda Ronstadt hates
You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in the music industry who could make a valid complaint about Linda Ronstadt. She’s the sonic sorcerer able to turn her hand to every style out there, and is all the more beloved for it.
But if you were to level this statement to the woman herself, you might find that she’s not so forthcoming. You see, all those things are still true – she is a critically and commercially lauded star who has worn many different hats over the years of her career and somehow managed to make them all work. That’s an unbelievably rare feat for a musician. Yet equally, you then find that other people get jealous, and it’s fair to say that Ronstadt has seen some ugly sides.
This is one thing within the confines of her own individual life and career, but when you’ve had relationships and partnerships as prolific as some of the ones she’s had, it extends far further into that realm, too. For having lived and breathed beside the likes of the Eagles and Frank Zappa at the height of their careers – and made it out the other side without killing them, let alone still calling them friends, she truly deserves every honour going for her.
Yet this still doesn’t stop certain artists from rubbing Ronstadt up the wrong way: after treading the boards of the music business for as long as she has, she simply has no time for people disgracing her name or wasting her time. In that sense, she also has no problem with being vocal of these criticisms where they need to be, and for five fateful musicians who have once got on the wrong side of her, it means they’re now in the firing line.
Five artists Linda Ronstadt hates the most:
Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison is one of those people shrouded in a mystic sonic allure by those in the business and fans alike, which was only further fuelled by the unanswered questions left behind by his death and legacy. Ordinarily, people bow to respect this sense of cryptic magic – but not Ronstadt. She decided to cut through the noise and rumour to tell the people the true facts of what the frontman of The Doors was really like.
Her main issue revolved around Morrison’s problematic relationship with alcohol, which she claimed changed him and “frightened” her whenever she had the chance to tour with them. But clearly Ronstadt felt she couldn’t leave this niggle behind the stage. “The first time I saw them play live was at the Whiskey A Go Go, and they had just recorded ‘Light My Fire’ and it hadn’t become a big hit yet. I was very impressed with the group and said, ‘They’re gonna be a big hit band!’ But to be frank, I thought if they’d gotten a better singer they’d be a much better group!,” she later recalled, leaving no question as far as her real thoughts were concerned.
Elvis Costello
To be fair, Ronstadt’s eventual dislike of Costello was far more rooted in hurt at his comments towards her than anything she might have fired at him. Indeed, she started out as a pretty big fan of his, to the extent that she even covered quite a number of his songs, not least on her 1980 album Mad Love. But it’s fair to say that Costello wasn’t exactly flattered.
Variously calling her cover versions “sheer torture” and “dreadful”, it was extremely harsh criticism on someone who was not only celebrated, but also trying to show their respect. However, Ronstadt played the long game and got her own back. Although Costello eventually relented and apologised, it wasn’t enough to make up for his nastiness. When he came wheedling back in 2004, begging the singer to collaborate with him, the decision was simple. Quite rightly, she declined the offer.
Dolly Parton
This one may seem contradictory on the face of it, given that Ronstadt and Dolly Parton so famously worked together, alongside Emmylou Harris, on their double selection of Trio albums. But even though the records were bona fide successes, the scenes that played out behind closed doors were notoriously less than the glittery facade they painted on in public.
The recording sessions for the first Trio album were completely loaded with tension, when Ronstandt and Harris were seemingly giving their all to the project, while Parton was barely part of the picture. Her flakiness and myriad of other commitments meant that she was hardly present for the album she had signed up to, making the tensions reach boiling point and the long-awaited follow-up taking over a decade to create. It may have narrowly avoided being a full-on lasting feud, but it would have certainly left a sour taste for Ronstadt in her perception of the Parton powerhouse.
Don Henley
Let’s not forget that Ronstadt more or less single-handedly kickstarted the career of the Eagles, and sent them soaring into the stratosphere. But when this meant they began to eclipse her, it was Don Henley who got slightly too big for his boots. With the feeling that the band were leaving her behind and forgetting how much she helped them, the breaking point came in 1975 when Henley sneered that his supposed friend should simply “stick to covers”. Ronstadt had had enough.
Calling him out for the unrecognisable egotistical nightmare he had become, Ronstadt not only put Henley back in his place but also secondly saved him, before he lost himself and drowned in the sea of arrogance. She walked out of the tour he said this on, and largely never looked back. Of course, the pair’s relationship obviously managed to heal over the years afterwards, but it evidently wasn’t without some strong words first.
Paul Simon
Paul Simon essentially made the same fateful error as Costello in his disastrous interaction with Ronstadt, so you can’t help but think it would have been useful if they’d learned from the same book. But no – despite Simon having the chance to collaborate with Ronstadt and create a surefire hit, he threw it all away to the flames for simply being too much of a control freak.
Ronstadt had already signed on the dotted line to record a duet with Simon in 1982, but it ended in horror after the prolific musician decided to designate her as more of a pupil. From criticising mistakes that simply didn’t exist to offering up vocal advice – which is pretty patronising by any standard – Ronstadt said she felt it was “like being scolded by a principle”. But she was not in school anymore, and as such she slammed the door on the song. Needless to say, it never went any further than that.
