Re-Heart Like A Wheel

Thanks Bob. There is no greater Linda Ronstadt fan alive than me. One minor footnote is that I first actually learned the song "You're No Good" from the Swinging Blue Jeans version, which was a hit in the UK, and that led me to Betty Everett.

Andrew's contribution to our version was inestimable of course and we had a great team; Kenny Edwards on bass, Shirley Matthews and Clydie King on backgrounds and the masterful Val Garay engineering. A fond memory indeed with many stories to tell. And I have just as many about the production of "Black Rose" and "Mud Slide Slim", two albums of which I am equally proud.

See you soon.

Peter Asher

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Bob,

Thank you on behalf of everyone involved in 'Heart Like A Wheel' and Amen. She should definitely be in the R&R hall of Fame. ….still the most versatile, enchanting, powerful voice I've worked with.

JD Souther

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thanks Bob

it's about time somebody mentioned Linda. she was and is an original in every conceivable way. she has so many firsts to her credit it's hard to know where to start.

above all, she's taught me everything that i can say I know about song and story and authenticity

George Massenburg

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My late husband, Andrew Gold, agreed with you on this. He mentioned this to me many times, with great passion.

This was the beginning of his mark on the music business adding his arrangement skills and multi-instrumental abilities to her success - on "You're No Good" and many of her hits.

My good friend called his guitar solos "guitar orchestras" and I loved that description.

Thank you for this note, Bob.

Leslie Kogan

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Bob:

Thanks for the comments on "You're No Good." Clint Ballard, Jr. was a long time friend and client. Of all of the recordings of the song, Linda Ronstadt's was his favorite, especially because of the arrangement and the incredible production you note. The song had actually been a hit for the Swinging Blue Jeans in the early' 60's in the U.K. I suspect Peter Asher remembered it.

Best,
Casey

F. Casey Del Casino
Del Casino Law


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I was fortunate to be part of Linda's first post-Stone Poneys backup band..At the end of 1968 NGDB had decided to hang it up...After a couple years together we'd reached a creative impasse...So fellow Dirt Bander Chris Darrow and I, along with our pals John London and John Ware, started a group called The Corvettes....Almost immediately Linda offered us a gig as her road band...I learned so much about singing harmony and what NOT to play, in those few months..and her song sense..Just incredible..

When NGDB decided to get back together, the first tune we recorded was "Some Of Shelly's Blues", a great Michael Nesmith song I'd sung with Linda every night on the road.. It was a perfect way to restart the The Dirt Band ... A few years later, she helped put us back on the charts, when she sang on "An American Dream"...

We owe her big- time, as do the dozens of musicians and songwriters she's championed during her career..Not to mention the profound influence she's had on so many female singers..Linda's one of THE great voices in the history of rock and country music, and "Heart Like A Wheel" is her masterpiece..

That collection of songs, along with Peter Asher's production and great playing and singing from Andrew Gold and Kenny Edwards, among others, (NGDB member Jimmie Fadden played harp on the record), perfectly framed Linda's voice..Damn..

Thanks for shining a light on her, Bob..

She deserves it..

Jeff Hanna

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I spent the summer of 1969 in New York City living at the Chelsea Hotel and playing at many east coast venues, as a member of Linda Ronstadt's band. At the end of our stint, Linda asked me if I would be interested in being musical director for her next album. The main aspect of this job was finding material that would be suitable for her to record. We chose to drive up to Woodstock, hang out and see if we could round up some material from the east coast, song-writing contingent. While staying at the Mill Stream Inn, we proceeded to make a list of our favorite old songs and look for new, original ones. One night Maria Muldaur came by to visit and sang us a song that just took our breath away. It was called, Heart Like a Wheel, by Anna McGarrigle of the McGarrigle Sisters. Over the course of our stay I suggested a number songs for Linda that came from my record collection, which included, You're No Good, by Betty Everett, and TheTracks of My Tears, by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, both of which I had performed with my pre-Kaleidoscope band, the Floggs. Also, one of my all-time favorite songs, The Dark End of the Street, became another one I was pushing for. Alas, there was ultimately no interest in the songs we presented to her producer and the album ended up taking a different turn. However, I continued to play with Linda for about three years after that, until I began pursuing my own solo career.

One night while waiting for bandmate, Bernie Leadon, in the foyer of the Chelsea, I met Peter Asher while he was checking in to the hotel. He was on his way to Los Angeles to become head of A and R at MGM Records. Asher had just been let go after working at the Beatles record label, Apple Records. I went up, introduced myself and invited him down to the Bitter End to see us play. He admitted to being a big Ronstadt fan and he showed up that evening for the gig. That night was the beginning of a relationship with Peter for both Linda and myself. I would later play fiddle on the Asher produced, Sweet Baby James, by James Taylor. In addition to working with Ronsatdt, I performed and recorded three albums with former Kingston Trio member and writer of the Monkees Daydream Believer, John Stewart. John asked me to introduce him to Asher, which resulted in Peter producing Stewart's 1970 release, Willard. I played fiddle on the title track.

It wouldn't be until 1974 that Linda would release You're No Good and The Dark End of the Street on her album Heart like a Wheel, named after the title song. This would be the first of many Asher/Ronstadt collaborations and probably the best. It went to number one on the charts and sold over two million copies at the time. The Tracks of My Tears appeared on the next album, Prisoner in Disguise, also produced by Peter Asher. It took almost five years to prove we were right about the material.

Linda Ronstadt has one of the most effortless and alluring voices ever to record in popular American music. It's too bad that she doesn't get more credit for her contribution and development of Country Rock in the late sixties and early seventies in California.

Chris Darrow


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