The number one hit Linda Ronstadt hated: “It’s a terrible vocal”
Commercial success is like a dangling carrot for musicians. While artistic intent is ultimately what inspires all great musicians, they would undoubtedly be lying if they didn’t say a number-one hit quietly motivated them. Of all the artists in history, it’s safe to say Linda Ronstadt occupied both territories.
She was an artist who drenched her music in sentimentality and authenticity, slowly creating a back catalogue that rarely compromised any of her artistic ideals. But for an artist as intimate as Ronstadt, well, here is when topping the charts becomes a tricky situation.
For the very nature of a song, experiencing widespread success requires the artist to relinquish some control, to accept that the sentiment of any given track is now in the hands of the masses, and thus ready to take on new meaning. But in the studio, there’s no knowing what particular song is destined for that trajectory.
Regardless of what we might think, hit-making isn’t an exact science, and it’s important artists don’t approach the creation of a song with that in mind. Perfection needs to make way for authenticity, while the idea of creating something designed for relatability needs to be parked, and instead, intimacy should be the focus.
Somewhere in that nugget of truthfulness is the essence of a real hit. But it’s a vulnerable place to be and one that undoubtedly brings with it creative niggles in retrospect. In the case of Linda Ronstadt’s seminal hit ‘You’re No Good’, it was certainly the case.
Her spirited vocal takes laid on top a sort of groovy pop arrangement made it a perfect hit for her mid-1970s audience. Flirting with soul sensibilities while exercising the grit of rock and roll, it was somewhat of a pop culture mutt, hitting all the right spiritual notes. Throughout the song, Ronstadt felt as though she was on the edge of breaking out into full emotion, straining at every note to truly emphasise the gravitas of every word.
All of that added to the humanity of the track, something we as fans love, but something the singer herself looks back on with regret. Once the song breached that line where it was no longer hers and now in possession of her audience, Ronstadt couldn’t help but wish her vocals provided something more for the audience.
She said, “It’s a live vocal, and it’s a terrible vocal,” continuing, “I was so tired. It was about getting the phrasing—I just felt like I had rushed the timing, and didn’t just lay back in the groove.”
The arrangement of the track is indeed brilliant and, in any other context, would deserve the space to step into the limelight. But while the artist may not believe it, her vocals are the star player, and the spontaneity with which she rides the rhythm elevates the entire song. In the decades that followed ‘You’re No Good’, pop music desperately tried to move further into a place of perfection. What Ronstadt’s track will always be a reminder of is that blemishes are the key to greatness, for they are the truest representation of the lives that listen to music.
