 |
||
 |
||
 |
|
|
 |
Often dismissed by rock historians as a product of the antiseptic Californian country-music scene, an artist who relied on watered-down covers of classic rock n’ roll and pop standards, this description of Linda Ronstadt couldn’t be further from the truth. Throughout a recording career that has covered more than forty years she has recorded in a remarkable variety of styles from pure country to pop, light opera to big band standards and new wave to mariachi, often taking risks beyond the reach of many critically acclaimed artists. It would be hard, if not impossible, to find another vocalist who has had a more diversified career. In their press release for the album Winterlight her record company managed to convey exactly what it was that made Linda Ronstadt such a special artist. — “Versatile doesn’t begin to describe Linda Ronstadt’s astounding career – a wildly eclectic, devoutly adventurous journey through a myriad of styles and genres. Who else has worked with Philip Glass and Dolly Parton? Aaron Neville and Nelson Riddle? Ronstadt’s unforgettably gorgeous voice, at once technically dazzling and resonating with deep emotion, has woven a magical path from rock to mariachi, from country to opera, gathering critical and commercial success at every stop along the way.” |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
Linda Ronstadt A Life In Music …is an unauthorised biography that traces Linda Ronstadt's career from her days as a member of The Stone Poneys, her early solo albums, the critically acclaimed albums from the seventies, her work with Nelson Riddle , the foreign language recordings and her collaborations with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris. The book gives an in-depth analysis of every studio album and is supported by a background to her life and the influences, musical and social, that shaped her career. Appendices in the book include a comprehensive discography, chart statistics, details of Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) and British Phonographic Industry (BPI) awards along with a list of Grammy Award nominations and wins. During the research and writing of the book the author was fortunate to interview many of those who worked with her including Kenny Edwards, Mike Botts, Andrew Gold and Earl Poole Ball. The book includes a foreword written by Andrew Gold. "…it’s usually best to stick to the facts of someone’s music career, unless you really know the truth about the personal details, and Linda’s music is covered quite succinctly and accurately here." — (Quote from Andrew Gold's foreword) |
||
|
|
|
Book Format & Ordering Linda Ronstadt A Life In Music is available as an e-book (PDF file) and can be ordered from this website. To read the book you will need Adobe Digital Editions or Adobe Reader. The e-book will be sent to your email address within twenty-four hours of receiving payment. Size: 153mm x 230mm Pages: 281 Word Count: 75,842 No Illustrations File Size: 2mb
Cost £9.99 (UK Sterling) |
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright This is not a free e-book! Purchase of this e-book entitles the buyer to keep one copy on his/her computer Printing out more than one copy or distributing it electronically is strictly prohibited. Text © Peter Lewry (2009) |
||
|
|
|
About the Author Peter Lewry is a British-born author with several books to his credit, including the prize-nominated Johnny Cash Chronicle-I’ve Been Everywhere. His passion for music spreads far wider than just Johnny Cash and he has written many articles including in-depth studies on Linda Ronstadt, Gram Parsons and French singer/actress Vanessa Paradis for the UK music magazine Record Collector. He is also a regular contributor to the Essential Elvis magazine and recent articles have included a study of Elvis' 1969 Memphis Recordings. Linda Ronstadt A Life In Music is his first biography. You can email Peter at peter.lewry@ntlworld.com |
||
|
|
|
Reviews The long awaited first biography of American interpretive singer Linda Ronstadt by a British author is now available in down load form as an e book. Peter Lewry covers Linda’s entire career from her folk days with The Stone Poneys in the sixties through to the present day, spanning over forty years. The book is extremely well researched and Peter covers all of the twenty four solo albums in significant detail as well as her three albums with The Stone Poneys, her successful collaborations with Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton and several of the many compilations released over the years. Despite phenomenal success in the States with a string of platinum albums, top ten hits and Grammy awards, Linda was largely ignored by the British record buying public; her highest UK album chart position being number fifteen with SIMPLE DREAMS, one of several albums that reached number one in the States. Even a hugely popular British tour in 1976 failed to stimulate the record sales she undoubtedly deserved until a surprise leap into the top ten in 1986 with the single Somewhere Out There, on which she duetted with James Ingram. Even more of a surprise was that the song came from the soundtrack of the animated film AN AMERICAN TAIL. Further chart success followed three years later with Don’t Know Much, taken from the stunning album CRY LIKE A RAINSTORM, HOWL LIKE THE WIND, which entered the British top ten singles pop chart and featured New Orleans superstar Aaron Neville. As Peter points out, no other singer has had such a diverse career. After her amazing success in the 70s, she was prepared to tackle almost anything. Folk, country, rock, rock ‘n roll, standards, mariachi and light opera have all been covered by Linda and although her US chart success has tailed off, record sales still surprise her record company. In 2006 she branched even further afield with the album ADIEU FALSE HEART, a collaboration with Cajun singer Ann Savoy. Also covered in the book are many of Linda’s appearances on other artist’s albums which incredibly number over one hundred. It is gratifying to read a biography that concentrates almost entirely on the music and the few references to Linda’s personal life have all been authenticated. Peter was lucky enough to be able to interview many of the artists who had worked with Linda throughout her career. Both Kenny Edwards, one of the original Stone Poneys and a musical associate for over twenty years and Mike Botts, her drummer for the 1976 tour make significant contributions. In his foreward, Andrew Gold who also played in Linda’s band for some twenty years, sums up the book perfectly. ‘The music is the central player, not the crazy personal details which, in most cases are incomplete, too complete or just wild conjecture on the part of the journalist’. For Linda fans, Peter Lewry’s book will almost certainly enhance their knowledge of the artist. Those not too familiar with her music will be introduced to a seriously underrated singer who, on this side of the Atlantic at least, has not received the acknowledgement she deserves. – John Roffey (Published in Maverick)
If there is anyone in the music world that has long deserved a serious analysis of their work it is Linda Ronstadt. With a career that spans over four decades and numerous styles, all of which she performed well, it is a shame that there aren't dozens of such books. Until Peter Lewry took on this great task books on Ronstadt were few and generally terrible. Some of this can be blamed on the fact that Linda herself is yet to authorize any books with the exception of Linda Ronstadt by Melissa Amdur which was aimed at school children and is out of print. Her feelings as expressed to me, which were panned out in the other books and many articles published thus far, were that authors and readers were more interested in gossip about her than in the music she produced. So the tomes which appear with her name are either quick fan books or ones trying to appear more like a serious book but are nothing other than her quotes strung together with commentary. Like she actually handles her work, she believes that her music speaks for her and nothing more needs to be said. Lewry overcomes all of these objections and obstacles with this fine book. In spite of the fact that Linda herself had no input into it, this is a book that I firmly believe she would be happy with along with all of her true fans. Lewry did a great job of interviewing many of the key players (musical and otherwise) in her career who all had rather thoughtful and insightful input throughout. He also has a keen eye and ability for detail. Many of the accounts actually include recording studio logs, listings of unreleased songs, concert and tv venues, as well as extensive musician details. He also adds a lot of background on the songs themselves and other historical information that gives more richness to Linda's music and adds layers that many fans would not think were there. It is chock-filled with information woven very well into a great narrative. Being a voracious reader of books about artists I love I judge them on the "Yeah Yeah" factor. This is where I hope to not have to skip dozens of pages saying "Yeah Yeah" having seeing the same old stuff again and again. Being an avid and long long time fan of Linda's (pun intended) I was hoping for and got a great read on my favorite singer and not once did I say "Yeah Yeah". — Rich Bailey
I've just finished reading your book and I enjoyed it very much. It was a fascinating insight into how Linda's albums came about and how they were recorded. I found myself nodding in agreement with you about the unfair criticism that Linda has had to endure for most of her career, mainly it seems to me for having the courage to be different. Also, I'd like to thank you for keeping her private life out of this book. Personally speaking, I am a fan of Linda's for her music, which your book deals with admirably, and her private life, as far as I am concerned, should stay private. Once again thanks for an interesting and informative read. — Chris Stokes
I think Peter does an admirable job on this. It is by far the most comprehensive tome I have seen on Linda. She is sadly uncovered in the literary world, so I for one am very happy with this book. It is a legitimate attempt at capturing her entire life and history in music. Yes, it could have been more but it is excellent no matter what. I am so glad it kept the unknown tabloid stuff out without real sources to qualify them. Peter is a terrific writer and does a great job (his Johnny Cash books are fantastic!). I know there are areas that sound like they are just lifted from interviews with a twist but he did not have access to Linda or her closest people. I'd like to see someone else write an unauthorized biograghy on Linda that was so comprehensive, doubt they could do it. I would recommend it to any music fan, highly recommend it to someone who likes Linda and enthusiastically recommend to a die hard fan. Thank you Peter. — Kevin Green |
||
|
|
|
|
|
|