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Post by the Scribe on Jun 3, 2021 12:17:51 GMT
BLUE BAYOU & Blew By You
www.countrythangdaily.com/blue-bayou-linda-ronstadt/
Story Behind The Classic Song and How It Landed To Linda Ronstadt Written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson, “Blue Bayou” is a melancholy ballad about yearning for the simpler times.
“I’m going back someday. Come what may to Blue Bayou. Where the folks are fun and the world is mine, on Blue Bayou. Where those fishing boats with their sails afloat. If I could only see that familiar sunrise through sleepy eyes, how happy I’d be,” the song goes.
Orbison and Melson had an inkling of the song during one road trip from Arkansas to Texas.
“Take a song like ‘Blue Bayou’ for instance. That’s simply a song about being on the road. And that is really a happy song. It probably sounds very strange to you for me to say that,” Orbison said. “The fellow’s bound and determined to get back to where you sleep all day and the catfish play and the sailing boats and the girls and all that stuff. It’s a beautiful thought.”
Orbison has written numerous songs about yearning and loneliness, but there was a lot more to them in most cases. “Now granted that it is a sad song, a lonely song, but it’s a loneliness that precedes happiness. And I’m not sitting here trying to tell you that I don’t sing lonely songs or anything like that,” Orbison added.
Orbison originally recorded “Blue Bayou” in 1961 and was released two years later from his album In Dreams. Featuring classic ’60s pop harmony and a quite extraordinary fluidity, it only peaked at No. 29.
“Blue Bayou” has since been recorded by several other artists, and Ronstadt’s version is often known as compellingly hers, later becoming her signature song.
But it was actually Ronstadt’s producer and longtime collaborator J.D. Souther who taught her “Blue Bayou” during one of their brainstorming sessions.
“J.D. and Glenn [Frey, of The Eagles] simultaneously suggested [the song] to me sorta like Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum,” Ronstadt said in the 1977 issue of Circus Magazine. “We sat up all night talking like mice at incredible speeds, playing and singing half the song we knew, all of us singing in different keys. I’ve got a tape of it, and it’s the fastest tape I’ve ever heard. It sounds like R2D2.”
The song’s success garnered Ronstadt quite a distinction that Dickson’s Baseball Dictionary recorded “Linda Ronstadt” as synonymous to a fastball, a pitch which “blew by you.”
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Post by the Scribe on Jun 3, 2021 12:22:42 GMT
Blue Bayouwww.songfacts.com/facts/linda-ronstadt/blue-bayou by Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt Simple Dreams
Couldn't find anything. Album: Simple Dreams (1977) Charted: 35 3
Songfacts®:
"Blue Bayou" was originally recorded by Roy Orbison on his legendary 1963 album In Dreams. While it only scored as high as #29 in the US (despite scoring #1 in Ireland and #10 in Norway), Linda Ronstadt took it to far greater fame as her only gold-selling single and her signature song. Linda Ronstadt has been called "the most successful and certainly the most durable and most gifted woman rock singer of her era" in Andrew Greeley's book God in Popular Culture.
Orbison wrote a lot of songs with themes of loneliness and yearning, but in many cases there was a lot more to them. In an interview with the British paper NME, he said: "Take a song like 'Blue Bayou' for instance, that's simply a song about being on the road. And that is really a happy song. It probably sounds very strange to you for me to say that. The fellow's bound and determined to get back to where you sleep all day and the catfish play and the sailing boats and the girls and all that stuff. It's a beautiful thought. Now granted that it is a sad song, a lonely song, but it's a loneliness that precedes happiness. And I'm not sitting here trying to tell you that I don't sing lonely songs or anything like that."
Roy Orbison wrote this song with Joe Melson. The pair collaborated on many of Orbison's classics, including "Only The Lonely" and "Crying."
Get ready for a Twilight Zone visit! Many people (including some sharp Songfacts fans) have noticed a close similarity between this song and Orbison's "Crying." Compare the point in "Crying" where the lyrics get to "But I saw you last night, you held my hand so tight as you stopped to say hello" with the point in "Blue Bayou" where the lyrics get to "All those fishing boats with their sails afloat if I could only see." Go ahead, play then back to back and judge for yourself.
Speaking of "Crying," it has something else in common with "Blue Bayou." Both songs sound great in Spanish with female vocals; "Blue Bayou" as "Lago Azul" by Bibi Gaytan on her 1994 album Manzana Verde, and "Crying" as "Llorando" by Rebekah del Rio practically stealing the show in her cameo in the David Lynch film Mulholland Drive. David Lynch originally wanted to use "Crying" in his earlier film Blue Velvet but switched to "In Dreams." And note that this single was on Ronstadt's album, titled Simple Dreams. The circles... the circles are converging...
This was in the upper regions of the Hot 100 at the same time as Ronstadt's cover of Buddy Holly's "It's So Easy," which peaked at #5. Ronstadt was the first act since the Beatles to log two Top 5 singles at the same time.
Actress/singer Jamila Velazquez sung a Spanish cover ("Lago Azul") on the October 14, 2015 episode of Empire. She told Billboard magazine: "I had actually never heard of 'Blue Bayou' before this, but my family did. They gave me the background and showed me the singers that sang it before me. I loved it; I thought it was the perfect introduction for my character."
In 2019, Rolling Stone dug up a rare Roy Orbison version of this song that had been lost to the dust of history. It's believed that it was released as a single in Italy. This version is faster and not as melancholy as the standard release. It was somehow overlooked by the Bear Family when they collected their seven-disc boxed set of Orbison's 1955–1965 Monument output.
Simple Dreams was Ronstadt's fourth album with producer Peter Asher, half of the British Invasion duo Peter & Gordon, who had a #1 hit in 1964 with "A World Without Love." Under Asher's guidance, Ronstadt became a bonafide rock star with her breakthrough album, Heart Like A Wheel (1975), and pop-rock makeovers of classic songs like Dee Dee Warwick's "You're No Good," the Everly Brothers' "When Will I Be Loved" and – of course – Orbison's "Blue Bayou."
"I feel really good about 'Blue Bayou' being the single," she told Sounds magazine in 1978. "I used to sing it's so easy to have a hit, all you have to do is recycle it.' Really. And you can quote me on that."
Ronstadt also had the help of JD Souther and Glenn Frey when it came to choosing songs for the album, who simultaneously suggested she record the Orbison tune. "We sat up all night talking like mice at incredible speeds, playing and singing half the songs we knew, all of us singing in different keys. I've got a tape of it and it's the fastest tape I've ever heard. It sounds like the R2D2," she said, referencing the chirpy droid from Star Wars.
Asher didn't think this would be a hit and tried to convince Ronstadt to reconsider. "If we disagree on something, I really re-examine it and if I still think I'm right, I go ahead," she told Playboy in 1980. "I remember 'Blue Bayou' - Peter was afraid it wouldn't be a hit. He said we should shop around for some insurance. I said, 'OK, get the insurance.' But I knew it was a hit and it was the biggest single I've ever had . Sometimes he is real wild about stuff and I say, 'Oh, no. That will never go.'"
In a 2018 Songfacts interview, Asher explained his method of reworking already established songs: "The arrangement is a framework for how the artist does it. So, it's all based on Linda singing the song, so we would always sit with the guitar or piano or something and try out the song. And then I'd start thinking and bounce the ideas off Linda, who has brilliant ideas herself of how to do it."
Ronstadt grew to resent the songs that made her famous, to the point where she can't bear to listen to her Greatest Hits collection. "I hated those records," she confessed to the San Francisco Chronicle in 2006. "I never thought of myself as a rock singer. I was interested in songs like 'Heart Like a Wheel' and I liked the others for about 15 minutes. But it wasn't until I found Nelson Riddle that I had music I could live with." Ronstadt teamed with the legendary arranger in the 1980s to release three successful albums of traditional pop standards, starting with What's New in 1983.
Orbison's version was used on Stranger Things ("The Spy" – 2017), when Nancy and Jonathan have an awkward breakfast at Murray's, and Fringe ("Fracture" – 2009), as well as the movies The Best of Enemies (2019) and The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976).
Ronstadt's rendition was used on the TV show Medium ("Lucky In Love" – 2006), and the movies American Made (2017) and Man on Fire (2004). She also performed the song on The Muppet Show in 1980.
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Post by the Scribe on Jun 3, 2021 12:32:42 GMT
LAGO AZUL - BLUE BAYOU EN ESPANGLISH LINDA RONSTADT
EL EXITO DE LA BELLA LINDA RONSTADT, YA SABEN EN DOS IDIOMAS MEZCLADOS, ESPERO QUE LES GUSTE, ESPERO SUS COMENTARIOS
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Post by the Scribe on Sept 14, 2021 1:33:34 GMT
“Blue Bayou”americansongwriter.com/behind-the-song-linda-ronstadt-blue-bayou/ Written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson
Linda Ronstadt is a once in a lifetime kind of lyrical interpreter. Her catalog is rich with covers of popular, or in other instances, quite obscure, songs from legends, outliers and contemporaries alike. Her rich soprano frequently unearthed fresh meanings that many others could not. Her signature hit song remains “Blue Bayou,” a somber ballad yearning after simpler times, which she recorded for her 1977 studio album, Simple Dreams.
The song, however, originates from the minds of American treasures Roy Orbison and Joe Melson, who first had an inkling of the song on a road trip from Arkansas to Texas. Orbison would then flesh out the song, and he initially recorded the boastfully aching song in 1961. It was released two years later for his In Dreams album on Monument Records. Orbison’s original is decorated with classic ‘60s pop harmony, a quite unusual fluidity and harmonica.
“Blue Bayou” was released as the b-side to stateside single “Mean Woman Blues” and became an international hit for Oribson, peaking at No. 3 on the U.K. charts. With no official U.S. radio push, the song finished at only No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100.
As with many of her own reworkings of popular hit songs, Ronstadt’s 1977 version is often known as irrefutably hers. Longtime collaborator and producer J.D. Souther reportedly taught Ronstadt the song during one of their late-night brainstorming sessions. “J.D. and Glenn [Frey, of The Eagles] simultaneously suggested [the song] to me sorta like Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum,” Ronstadt told Circus Magazine [issue dated October 27, 1977]. “We sat up all night talking like mice at incredible speeds, playing and singing half the song we knew, all of us singing in different keys. I’ve got a tape of it and it’s the fastest tape I’ve ever heard. It sounds like R2D2.”
Ronstadt’s “Blue Bayou” was released in August 1977 and climbed to the No. 3 and No. 2 on the pop and country charts, respectively. Its success garnered the singer quite a distinction: she became the first female artist to ever have two singles in the Top 5 in the same week (“It’s So Easy” was hanging in at No. 5 on the pop charts) and the second act overall, only behind The Beatles. The song also earned Ronstadt nominations for Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance – Female at the 1978 Grammy Awards.
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Post by the Scribe on Dec 17, 2022 7:47:31 GMT
Baseball News, Analysis, History, Schedule, Rumors
Ben’s Baseball Alphabet: Linda Ronstadt lastwordonsports.com/baseball/2022/12/15/baseball-alphabet-linda-ronstadt/ By: Benjamin Sabin | December 15, 2022
What in the world does Linda Ronstadt have to do with a fastball?
Nothing, you say?
Wrong you are (thank you, Yoda).
Hang on tight, we’re going to start with the Caruso of Rock, Roy Orbison.
Blue Bayou
In 1961 Joe Melson and the significantly more well-known Roy Orbison wrote and recorded a song called ‘Blue Bayou’. In the U.S. the song was released in 1963 as the B-side to the single ‘Mean Woman Blues’. ‘Blue Bayou’ was then re-released on Orbison’s album In Dreams later that year. ‘Blue Bayou’ was one of a string of Top-40 hits for Orbison in the early 60s and would later be covered by, you guessed it, Linda Ronstadt in 1977.
Linda Ronstadt
1977 was the year that Ronstadt started her journey to baseball alphabet stardom. She had been singing and performing professionally since 1960 at 14. But her career really took off in the 1970s. By the end of the 70s, she was considered one of the decade’s most successful female singers. And 1977 was the watershed year for not only her music career but also her baseball alphabet career. It was this year that she released her album Simple Dreams.
Simple Dreams was jam-packed with hits such as “Poor Poor Pitiful Me”, “Tumbling Dice”, and the aforementioned “Blue Bayou”. The album held the number 1 position on the Billboard 200 chart for five consecutive weeks and would go on to sell over 3 million albums in 1977 alone. And not only was her album tearing up the charts, but she also sang the National Anthem at game three of the 1977 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees. Her National Anthem performance at game three is still considered to be one of the best of all time.
Blew by You
While singing a great rendition of the National Anthem at a World Series game is nothing to sneeze at, it is not the reason that Linda Ronstadt is synonymous with a fastball. We have Tim McCarver to thank for that.
Tim McCarver
If you aren’t already familiar with Tim McCarver, here’s some background. McCarver was a major league catcher for twenty-one years. He is most well-known for his time with the St. Louis Cardinals where he had two All-Star appearances and was a two-time World Series winner. Following his time with the Cardinals, he went on to play for the Philadelphia Phillies, the Montreal Expos, and the Boston Red Sox. Following his playing career, McCarver went on to become a baseball commentator.
It was during McCarver’s time as a commentator that Ronstadt took her place as a synonym for a fastball. In the early 80s, he worked as the color commentator for the New York Mets. During one of his broadcasts, he said that a fastball was a “Linda Ronstadt” because it was a pitch that “blew by you”. And that is why L is for Linda Ronstadt.
Players Mentioned:
Tim McCarver www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mccarti01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral
Posted in Featured, MLB, St. Louis CardinalsTagged 2022 MLB Offseason, Ben's Baseball Alphabet, Blew By You, Blue Bayou, Cardinals Featured, In Dreams, NL Central, Roy Orbison, Tim McCarver
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Post by the Scribe on Jan 22, 2023 8:37:11 GMT
From page 172 in John Kruth’s new Roy Orbison biography: Rhapsody in Black. The Life and Music of Roy Orbison:
Beginning in 1974, Linda Ronstadt had taken the charts by storm with a series of vintage American rock’n’roll covers, from Betty Everett’s “You’re No Good” (her first Number One) to the Everly Brothers’ “When Will I Be Loved” (Number Two) and Buddy Holly’s “That’ll Be the Day” (Number Eleven). Besides respectable renditions of Patsy Cline and Hank Williams songs, the doe-eyed Latina also belted out Motown hits by Martha and the Vandellas and Smokey Robinson. With her 1977 release Simple Dreams. Linda mined Buddy Holly’s songbook for another smash with an edgy cover of “It’s So Easy”, which shot to Number Five. But it was her passionate delivery of Roy’s “Blue Bayou” that inspired a Rolling Stone reviewer to liken her to jazz singer Billie Holiday in his glowing review. Ronstadt wasn’t merely posing, trying on Orbison’s shade of lonesome like a new dress or eyeliner; she connected with the song on a deep level, evoking the pain and isolation that Roy experienced in his youth when he yearned to escape from the Wink wastelands. Linda sang “Blue Bayou” like she meant it, and the song soared to Number Three, selling nearly ten million copies. Ronstadt finally met the man at a party thrown by Emmylou Harris, celebrating the stellar success of “Blue Bayou”. Mesmerized by Roy, she tried to catch a glimpse of the enigmatic eyes behind his famous ray-bans but wasn’t as persuasive as Marianne Faithfull had been years before, when she unmasked the mystery man for a photo shoot. “It was like looking at Darth Vader,” Ronstadt said, “except Roy was so nice.”
Comment: a pity Kruth doesn't mention that Roy was very impressed with Linda's version of "Blue Bayou". I know he was.
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Post by the Scribe on Jan 7, 2024 7:48:39 GMT
'Blue Bayou': Linda Ronstadt's Hit Was Written and First Recorded by Roy Orbison www.wideopencountry.com/blue-bayou-linda-rondstadt/ By Grace Lenehan Vaughn | July 4, 2021
Throughout the course of her career, Linda Ronstadt released many hits, won countless awards, and left her mark on the landscape of American music. Her greatest hits include her solo songs such as "You're No Good" and "When Will I Be Loved," as well as her collaborations with fellow Trio group members Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris. But one of the biggest songs of Ronstadt's career came in the form of 1977's "Blue Bayou." Linda Ronstadt took the swinging tune to the top of charts all over the world, and it's now considered her signature song, but she wasn't the first artist to record the track. www.wideopencountry.com/linda-ronstadt-songs/ www.wideopencountry.com/carly-pearce-grand-ole-opry/ www.wideopencountry.com/emmylou-harris-songs-the-10-best-ranked/
"Blue Bayou" was originally written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson and released by Orbison in 1961. The tune was released as a single record alongside "Mean Woman Blues" and later appeared on Orbison's 1963 album, In Dreams. According to American Songwriter, the song was inspired after a road trip from Arkansas to Texas. The song became an international hit for Orbison, landing at No. 1 in Australia and Ireland, No. 3 in the UK, and No. 29 on the US Billboard Hot 100. americansongwriter.com/behind-the-song-linda-ronstadt-blue-bayou/
"Blue Bayou" had a good run Roy Orbison, but the song's life was far from over. In 1977, "Blue Bayou" by Linda Ronstadt appeared on her eighth studio album, Simple Dreams, released on Asylum records. Ronstadt once told Circus Magazine that producer J.D. Souther and Glenn Frey of the Eagles were the ones who brought the song to her attention. rare.us/entertainment-and-culture/best-eagles-songs/?_ga=2.16379766.1585575317.1704613099-1895224144.1701670823
"J.D. and Glenn simultaneously suggested [the song] to me sorta like Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum," Ronstadt told the publication (quote via American Songwriter). "We sat up all night talking like mice at incredible speeds, playing and singing half the song we knew, all of us singing in different keys. I've got a tape of it and it's the fastest tape I've ever heard. It sounds like R2D2." americansongwriter.com/behind-the-song-linda-ronstadt-blue-bayou/
Read More: Love The Eagles? You Can Thank Linda Ronstadt www.wideopencountry.com/jd-souther-linda-ronstadt/
Ronstadt's version was produced by Peter Asher and background vocals were provided by the Eagles' Don Henley. The rendition went on to eclipse Orbison's success with the song, spending four weeks at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also landed at No. 2 on the country music chart, No. 3 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and charted all over the world. Her version was nominated for the Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and has since been certified Platinum. In addition to Ronstadt's original version, she released a Spanish version of the song called "Lago Azul (Blue Bayou)" in 1978.
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