web analytics

Pop Rock Nation

Blog

  • Linda Ronstadt’s voice…

    Linda Ronstadt’s voice…

    I will never forget the first time I heard Linda Ronstadt’s voice for the first time…

    I was six years old and my sister, Becky, had just purchased Linda Ronstadt’s Greatest Hits Volume 1 on vinyl. I remember being enchanted as I listened to Linda sing songs like “You’re No Good” and “Heat Wave”. Those two songs were probably my early favorites on that album, which I loved to listen to. When I was finally old enough to buy my own music, I purchased Linda Ronstadt’s Greatest Hits Volume 1 and Volume 2 on two different CDs. I remember wearing those discs out, enthralled by Linda Ronstadt’s powerful yet tremulous soprano. As a singer myself, I would try to emulate her voice, which was majestic to my ears.

    Linda Ronstadt has had quite an amazing career. She got her start in folk, then moved on to country tinged rock. In 1971, she had the guys who would eventually form The Eagles as her backing band. She made memorable music with wild guitar man Waddy Wachtel. And she has never been afraid to experiment.

    I remember in the early 1980s, when Linda went from singing powerful rock and roll anthems to dabbling in big band music. She made three well-received albums with Nelson Riddle and won a whole new legion of fans. Of course, since I was still a kid in the early 80s, I didn’t appreciate Linda’s elegant foray into big band the way I might have if I had been older. In fact, I was kind of disappointed when I heard her start singing standards like “What’s New”. I missed her soul piercing wailing on songs like “Blue Bayou” and “When Will I Be Loved”. “What’s New” sounded like easy listening music to me…


    Linda Ronstadt sings “What’s New”.

    At age 41, I can now appreciate the lush beauty of Ronstadt’s big band hits. In fact, having performed some of these songs myself, I can understand why they appeal to so many. These are songs that will never truly go out of style and Linda’s voice has a sweet girlishness that helps keep them timeless.


    Linda Ronstadt sings “I’ve Got A Crush On You”.

    I have to confess that although Linda Ronstadt’s 1989 album Cry Like A Rainstorm, Howl Like The Wind was a big hit, I was never really a fan of it. My sister, Betsy, gave me a copy of the album when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Armenia teaching English. I listened to the album a lot because I didn’t have that much music available to me, but it was a little too sedate for my tastes. Also, Aaron Neville, sang on it. I know a lot of people love Aaron Neville’s sensitive and nasal falsetto, but I never liked it that much. It’s only since I’ve gotten older that I’ve started to hear the beauty of Aaron Neville’s voice.

    Nevertheless, Linda and Aaron made some magic together and scored big in the adult contemporary genre with “All My Life” and “Don’t Know Much”. I remember making fun of “Don’t Know Much” quite a lot back in the day.

    I was really missing Linda Ronstadt’s huge rock voice, though, and would always go back to her earlier albums to hear that glorious voice belt out powerful, gut wrenching hits like “Hurt So Bad”. It’s hard to match the raw emotion of this cover and her voice takes on an other worldly quality that conjures up the searing pain of a breakup.


    “Hurt So Bad”

    And, of course, she made magic with Roy Orbison’s “Blue Bayou”. I much prefer her version to his.


    Linda Ronstadt in 1983, singing “Blue Bayou”.

    I was very sad the other day, when I read that Linda Ronstadt has Parkinson’s Disease and can no longer sing. The disease has affected the muscles that allow her to make music. Ronstadt, who was diagnosed eight months ago, says that no one with Parkinson’s Disease can sing. Because I am a singer myself, I felt particularly sad for Linda Ronstadt. I know how much joy I get from making music and how much it would devastate me if I couldn’t make music anymore.

    Next month, Ronstadt will release a new book about her life entitled Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir. The book reportedly makes no mention of her Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis or the fact that she can’t sing anymore. I look forward to reading it, though, and hope that writing gives her an outlet for her formidable creative gifts.

  • Beach Boys’ Made in California Drops Tomorrow

    A long overdue boxset hits shelves and digital download spots tomorrow when The Beach Boys’ Made in California drops.

    Beach Boys leader and lost soul Brian Wilson is aboard for the project, which ships 6 CDs in a high school yearbook format. The package has more than 170 tracks, and 60 of them are unheard rarities, outtakes, demos and live cuts.

    Made in California showcases the sweep of Wilson’s powerful and unique composition that led The Beach Boys to become the top-selling American band for albums and singles as well as the only American group to have 36 Billboard Top 40 hits.

    (more…)

  • Thinking of Tom Lehrer…

    I’m thinking of Tom Lehrer today for the strangest of reasons…

    This morning, the plumber came to my new home to fix the sink. For some reason, his visit made me think of the following clip from the PBS classic kids’ show, The Electric Company…

    As a kid, I spent many hours watching The Electric Company. I’ve always been a reader and I love music, so that show was always very appealing to me. It turns out that Tom Lehrer, singer-songwriter, mathematician, pianist, and satirist extraordinaire, composed several songs for the old educational show that taught so many of my generation how to read. But besides teaching kids reading, Lehrer’s songs also taught math. He used music a lot to get his point across. Most of the time, his melodies were original compositions, though he did write a song called “The Elements” which used the melody for the “Major-General’s Song” from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance.


    “The Elements” by Tom Lehrer. I could have used this song when I was studying and barely passing chemistry in the 11th grade.

    Of course, the songs Tom Lehrer wrote that affected me most were songs like “Silent E”…

    and “LY”…

    Even thirty-five years after I first heard these songs, they stick in my mind like highly tenacious earworms. I still enjoy them immensely, too. I’m sitting here smiling as I listen to Tom Lehrer singing so expressively. What a gift he has for teaching. My mind boggles when I think of how many people learned new things because of this man’s genius.

    Why, he even made up a clever song for math students… another subject where I could have used some serious help back in the day…


    I grew up in the era of “New Math”, but I don’t remember learning it. I have that in common with Cliff Huxtable, Bill Cosby’s famous dad character on The Cosby Show.

    And to think I started on this topic because the plumber came by to fix the sink. As it turns out, there was nothing wrong with the sink. I thought we got no hot water down there and so did the plumber, at first. But it turns out it just takes forever for hot water to reach the kitchen.

    Tom Lehrer is also known for black humor and wasn’t averse to tackling controversial subjects like religion.


    Here he is singing his song, “The Vatican Rag”.

    And he has always been a realist, coming up with some very clever lyrics for the aging. I can’t believe I’m now old enough to appreciate this song.


    “When You Are Old And Gray”

    I realize Tom Lehrer is not quite a current pop star, but I am certain that his music has influenced and inspired many current pop stars. Indeed, Randy Newman, “Weird Al” Yankovic, and Dr. Demento have all cited Lehrer as a guy who inspired them in their work. And heaven knows that all three of the aforementioned have done great things for pop music and comedy. Though as a child of the 70s and 80s, I was listening to quite a lot of “Weird Al” Yankovic’s music– how could I miss “Eat it” and “Like A Surgeon”?– as an adult, I have come to really appreciate Randy Newman’s genius. Newman’s music is custom made for commercials, but he also wrote a funny musical version of Faust as well as countless songs for soundtracks. His own songs are often poignant or witty and call on a tremendous gift for twisting words and meanings to say things you’d never expect. It’s pretty cool to think that Randy Newman was as inspired by Tom Lehrer as so many school kids learning how to read were when they watched The Electric Company back in the day.

    Tom Lehrer, so far as I know, is alive and kicking, though he hasn’t performed live in many years and has given up teaching. At age 85, I figure he’s earned a rest… Hope he’s not spending his time “Poisoning Pigeons In the Park”.

    Have a nice weekend everyone.