The Simple Dreams of Linda Ronstadt

Many people believe that the rock stars of the late 60s and early 70s, fueled by a diet of drugs, alcohol and adoration, engaged in a decade-long series of wild, sex-filled parties after their sold-out concerts. Linda Ronstadt, one of the most popular singers of that period, admits that while the times could be wild, they were not the same for everyone. "Did I try things? You bet I did," Ronstadt says. "But my addiction is to reading. I was the girl back in the hotel room reading and knitting".

Actually reading is much more of the pastime with rockers than you might imagine, Ronstadt explained. "A musician was the one who turned me on to Anna Karenina," she said speaking recently at the National Book Festival in Washington, DC. "The piano players always read; the drummers not so much. The piano player was the guy who had to calm things down. The lead guitar player was like the high-strung pitcher and the piano player was the catcher".

Linda Ronstadt Then: On stage in the 70s

She compared the life of a touring musician to that outlined in seafaring books like those ofHeart of Darkness author Joseph Conrad. "Those books capture how provincial a sailor's life is. The harbors are the same all over the world. You hang with the same scabby old guys. You don't go beyond the harbor. Being on tour is very much like that. There's the bus, and the hotel, and the sound check, and the show, and the dinner, and then the after-dinner playing. And then you do the same thing the next day".

Ronstadt, now 67 and battling the crippling effects of Parkinson's disease that has dictated she will never sing in public again, was appearing at the festival to talk about her new memoir Simple Dreams, which focuses on her upbringing in a musical family in Tucson and the evolution of her career.

"My Dad sang these Mexican standards and folk songs," she told the crowd of fans that packed the huge tent on the National Mall. "I just wanted to be a singer. I didn't want to be a star".

Ronstadt first came to national attention with the band the Stone Ponies and their 1967 hit "Different Drum". She settled in the southern California area and began putting together a new band. She was able to recruit Don Henley on drums, Glen Frey and Bernie Leadon on guitar and Randy Meisner on bass. If those names sound familiar, it might be because those 4 went on to form The Eagles, one of the biggest selling bands of all-time. "They started playing (opening) shows together and regularly blowing me off the stage, but I didn't care. It was great music and I was loving it," Ronstadt said.

She says she is still amazed about those days in Los Angeles. When she was 18, she met a singer/songwriter who was one year younger. His name was Jackson Browne. "I was astonished that someone that young could write songs that well. And the 1st guitar player I met was Ry Cooder. He was up on stage playing his ass off like a demon".

In the 70s, Ronstadt released a series of hits that showcased her versatility such as "Heat Wave","Blue Bayou," "Tumbling Dice" and "You're No Good".

She also had a series of boyfriends, including current Oakland Mayor and former California Governor Jerry Brown. But despite the fact that she raised 2 adopted children, she never married. "I didn't get married. It wasn't important to me. I was a serial monogamist," she said with a laugh. Although Ronstadt enjoyed her time in the rock limelight, she actually pulled herself out of the business to devote time to raising her 2 children, who are now 19 and 22.

Ronstadt said she was inspired to write her memoir after reading other such volumes like the one penned by fellow singer Roseanne Cash. "I thought I would like to write a thank you note," she said. "I wasn't the most talented singer, but I was one of the most diverse singers. I wanted to write about why these musical choices weren't arbitrary. And they certainly weren't career moves".

She did a series of standards arranged by the late, great Nelson Riddle in the 1980s, predating such singers as Rod Stewart and his American songbook. She followed that with a return to her Mexican roots. "That was music I was passionate about. I had to sing it or I felt I would die," she said.

There is a belief that all music stars with hit records make millions of dollars. "That just isn't true," Ronstadt said. She cited an article on her current book tour that portrayed her as squandering a fortune. "The writer wondered why I couldn't afford a $20 million house. Oh gee (hitting herself in the head for emphasis), I must have snorted it".

Ronstadt says the recording industry of her days is a thing of the past. "The record business I knew is completely gone. Now we don't have any gatekeepers. They knew what a good record was". Ronstadt says that while she is not against change, "the price we pay may be much too dear for what we lose".

And while she describes herself as not particularly political, she does have strong feelings about the immigration debate. She contends that like much of America, the golden era of 20th Century music was nurtured by great American immigrant songwriters like George Gershwin. “It was completely created by the fact that we were a nation that was welcoming to immigrants,” Ronstadt said. "We allowed them to come in and find their place. We allowed them to prosper, which is what people from Mexico and Guatemala and El Salvador and Liberia and Libya and all these people would be doing now if we let them. We need to help them find their place. “I don’t know why this country doesn't learn.”

Linda Ronstadt Now: Discussing her new memoir

Of course, she is asked how she feels about the Parkinson's that has robbed her of her singing voice and forces her to steady herself with the aid of 2 walking sticks. Her succinct answer - no regrets. "I had a great career. I had an unusually long run at the trough," she says.