Post by the Scribe on Apr 11, 2021 9:42:44 GMT
My (the Scribe) personal Linda Ronstadt memory:
Going on 15 years old I first laid eyes on the living breathing Linda Ronstadt on It's Happening (tv show) starring Paul Revere and the Raiders. It was during the autumn of 1968, mid-afternoon on Long Island, tv on and I was napping on this red velour couch in our livingroom that my Grandma gave us earlier that year. I was awakened by the music of Linda and the Stone Poneys singing High Muddy Water.
I quickly sat up and noticed my heart was pounding a mile a minute as I stared at the screen trying to focus my eyes on the girl singer. Still groggy, I said to myself "boy, she looks alright for a girl" and that was the beginning of all this for me. My reaction to her was immediate and I had never had that feeling before so I was very rattled. It was like an "I found her" moment. She reappeared the next year on the same show during the summer as a solo act and sang Break My Mind.
By then the damage was done. There were other shows in between those two and I scoured the tv listings for anything. I already had 2 of her albums by that second show. I had carved her name and mine in a heart on a high school desk (was common then) and my friends were all wondering who my new girlfriend Linda Ronstadt was. A few years after that I had graduated high school and people were no doubt wondering who I was but they all knew Linda by then. Soon after that first tv show I started writing embarrassing fan letters to her, sending her birthday cards and stuff like that all of which I hope she never received lol. That embarrassing stuff stopped when I went to college in '71 and met her behind the scenes during the Spring of '72. (April 27th one half past 9 to be exact)
When Earl Scruggs parted ways with guitarist Lester Flatt in 1969, the virtuoso banjo player opted for a more contemporary bluegrass sound than the traditional-minded Flatt. One of Scruggs's first solo outings, 1972's I SAW THE LIGHT WITH SOME HELP FROM MY FRIENDS, features an impressive cast of guest musicians. Linda Ronstadt and Arlo Guthrie contribute vocals on a handful of tracks each, most notably a fast-paced take on the Johnny Cash classic "Ring of Fire" (Ronstadt) and a sauntering version of "The Banks of the Ohio" (Guthrie). The album also presents singer Tracy Nelson on a number of songs, including her own soulful "Motherless Child Blues," and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on Michael Nesmith's "Some of Shelley's Blues."
Linda and the Earl Scruggs Revue were appearing as the stars of a benefit show for recent flood victims in the area. They both appeared on Earl's newly released album so lucky for me that is what had probably brought them together to do this show at my university. I had to finagle my way backstage (I knew the police on duty that night) to meet her and as she finished her show I strategically positioned myself at the stairway ramp landing to greet her after her last song. Fingers crossed that would be her exit. IT WAS. As she came down the ramp towards me hand in hand by one of her touring crew (or bodyguard) she smiled at me and I said "Linda, you're my FAVORITE singer" to which she replied "well bless your heart." She stopped, we talked some more and she autographed my albums and she let my dorm buddy Roy photograph us together. A couple of months or so later I found a rare interview where she said "some guy recently came up to me after a concert and told me I was his favorite singer and I thought to myself, man does this guy have bad taste." I knew she was talking about me and I was so excited she remembered me that I decided to have bad taste the rest of my life.
By the way, that was the year of my first airplane flight to head home from college. Back then no jets, all props, just silver wings. Memorable year for me. College, Linda Ronstadt and silver wings.
Going on 15 years old I first laid eyes on the living breathing Linda Ronstadt on It's Happening (tv show) starring Paul Revere and the Raiders. It was during the autumn of 1968, mid-afternoon on Long Island, tv on and I was napping on this red velour couch in our livingroom that my Grandma gave us earlier that year. I was awakened by the music of Linda and the Stone Poneys singing High Muddy Water.
I quickly sat up and noticed my heart was pounding a mile a minute as I stared at the screen trying to focus my eyes on the girl singer. Still groggy, I said to myself "boy, she looks alright for a girl" and that was the beginning of all this for me. My reaction to her was immediate and I had never had that feeling before so I was very rattled. It was like an "I found her" moment. She reappeared the next year on the same show during the summer as a solo act and sang Break My Mind.
By then the damage was done. There were other shows in between those two and I scoured the tv listings for anything. I already had 2 of her albums by that second show. I had carved her name and mine in a heart on a high school desk (was common then) and my friends were all wondering who my new girlfriend Linda Ronstadt was. A few years after that I had graduated high school and people were no doubt wondering who I was but they all knew Linda by then. Soon after that first tv show I started writing embarrassing fan letters to her, sending her birthday cards and stuff like that all of which I hope she never received lol. That embarrassing stuff stopped when I went to college in '71 and met her behind the scenes during the Spring of '72. (April 27th one half past 9 to be exact)
When Earl Scruggs parted ways with guitarist Lester Flatt in 1969, the virtuoso banjo player opted for a more contemporary bluegrass sound than the traditional-minded Flatt. One of Scruggs's first solo outings, 1972's I SAW THE LIGHT WITH SOME HELP FROM MY FRIENDS, features an impressive cast of guest musicians. Linda Ronstadt and Arlo Guthrie contribute vocals on a handful of tracks each, most notably a fast-paced take on the Johnny Cash classic "Ring of Fire" (Ronstadt) and a sauntering version of "The Banks of the Ohio" (Guthrie). The album also presents singer Tracy Nelson on a number of songs, including her own soulful "Motherless Child Blues," and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on Michael Nesmith's "Some of Shelley's Blues."
Linda and the Earl Scruggs Revue were appearing as the stars of a benefit show for recent flood victims in the area. They both appeared on Earl's newly released album so lucky for me that is what had probably brought them together to do this show at my university. I had to finagle my way backstage (I knew the police on duty that night) to meet her and as she finished her show I strategically positioned myself at the stairway ramp landing to greet her after her last song. Fingers crossed that would be her exit. IT WAS. As she came down the ramp towards me hand in hand by one of her touring crew (or bodyguard) she smiled at me and I said "Linda, you're my FAVORITE singer" to which she replied "well bless your heart." She stopped, we talked some more and she autographed my albums and she let my dorm buddy Roy photograph us together. A couple of months or so later I found a rare interview where she said "some guy recently came up to me after a concert and told me I was his favorite singer and I thought to myself, man does this guy have bad taste." I knew she was talking about me and I was so excited she remembered me that I decided to have bad taste the rest of my life.
By the way, that was the year of my first airplane flight to head home from college. Back then no jets, all props, just silver wings. Memorable year for me. College, Linda Ronstadt and silver wings.
