Linda Ronstadt - Midnight Special 1973

[ripple]

Mental notes from my first viewing:
1. What a fantastic, yet bizarre appearance.

2. First, Jose Felicianos introduction sucks. I bet Linda was hating the fact that she's trying to debut her version of a great soul tune, and he emphasizes the whole country music angle.

3. What a band!!! Richie Heyward on drums? Skunk on Congas???Andrew Gold on the guitar - great tone! Plus, Andrew's rockin- the Tactilneck. Sterling Archer would be so proud.

4. Clydie King cannot keep the funkaliciousness from boiling over in her hips for long. Watch her succumb from the strain of contain and bust one at 1:40. I love this woman - best backing vocalist ever IMO.

5. Linda R was a frickin Goddess at this time. What a world-class voice, with a face to match and few did justice to a pair of bluejeans like her. Damn...

6. I think cocaine may have been at play prior to hitting the stage.


And oh yeah, enough of my rambling - here's the clip:

 

[Steve Hotra]

Oh yeah, LR was amazing to see / hear in the 1970's.
She and some the Eagles opened up for an concert ( can't remember who) at the
old Anaheim Convention Center in Orange Country.
Andrew Gold is way under appreciated as a guitarist / producer.
Some of his guitar arrangements on her records are works of musical art.
Thanks for sharing the clip.

 

[marktweedy]

Great clip, if a little bizarre as you have stated.

I had this poster on my wall in my teens. My oh my.

 

[fjblair]

I had a LR poster too, but it was a different one^^^

I remain a big, big fan of her 70's music.

 

[amstrtatnut]

That was wonderful.

 

[guitarsenal]

In high school one whole wall of me bedroom was covered in Linda Ronstadt magazine covers, articles and record sleeves. Including the Hasten Down the Wind picture above. That performance is amazing. Andrew Gold and Kenny Edwards were the best sideman imaginable. I put Andrew Gold in Mike Campbell territory. Over the years I saw him live with her band playing guitar, bass, keyboards and even drums. He always played the most appropriate and perfectly executed part. Over the years she put together one great touring band after the other but Andrew and Kenny were always the core.

 

[sacakl]

Lol. Jose kind of makes it about him in the intro. No country about that song. Her stuff back in the day was amazing. Thanks for posting.

 

[AC4RD]

Wow ... Midnight Special, In Concert, then later 'Night Flight' ... great stuff on TV in those days. And Austin City Limits, too.

In my day we'd sit around someone's apartment or other getting ... relaxed .. and watching Midnight Special or In Concert. Good times. (Old man nostalgia alert!)

 

[m1911]

Don't laugh at me.....but I LOVED her in this 1980 concert she did.....
The entire thing is heading WAY too 80's, but she looked and sounded AWESOME.
I remember thinking she was the hottest woman on the planet in the 70's and peeked in 1980 as shown here:

 

[frankencat]

Linda was one of my first crushes. Definitely one of the great rock voices of all time.

 

[straycat113]

Those were the days (AC4RD)! This is the first Linda Ronstadt song I wore out when I was 5 lol, it was also written by Mike Nesmith of The Monkeys. I put up both videos as the first is a lip-sync and how I remember the song. The second is live and is worth a listen for Ronstadts great vocals and the cool chord voicings.

 

[Cal Webway]

Thank!

 

[Whiskeyrebel]

I was in what, sixth grade when this song came out. Man does it rock, but the twang is still there in her voice

 

[buddyboy]

Andrew Gold put Linda on the map! His work with her was stellar (as was his singing and guitar playing). A true musical force who was no joke. Check out this beautiful song from the late '70's with a fantastic solo near the end by AG (his Strat sounds sooooo right to me through his MM combo - just ratty enough). BTW - AG is playing Linda's slab board strat in the OP's video link above.




Speaking of Linda, imagine OPENING your shows with this song. An amazing vocal performance walking on cold.

 

[tonyhay]

Ripple, you're starting some great threads mate.

 

[Otto Tune]

I found an old LR song with Fry and Henley as backup musicians.
Made me do some more Ronstadt searching.
Sadly, she was diagnosed with Parkinson's, and it's affected her vocal chords so she can no longer sing.
She's 68.

Thanks for the memories, Linda.

 

[Gas-man]

Man she is just dripping with dewyness in that JRC vid!

Love the combination of the sweet face and the ballsy voice.

Them long legs dint hurt nothin' neither.

 

[AC4RD]

Ripple, you're starting some great threads mate.

Truth times two! I got a BIG grin out of this thread!

 

[shredtrash]

Fantastic! She was the best!

 

[Spoonful]

I think she is possibly the best female vocalist of the last 50 years. What a voice! She sang lots of different types of music too.

Not sure if people remember she sang opera along the way. And my personal favorite was the material she recorded with the Nelson Riddle orchestra.

She collaborated and mentored other female artists along the way.

I was deeply saddened when I read she could no longer sing. What a loss.