Studio albums 28 Music videos 10 B-sides 6 | Compilation albums 12 Singles 63 No. 1 Singles (USA) 5 | |
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The discography of Linda Ronstadt, an American rock, pop and country artist, consists of 28 studio albums, numerous compilation albums, and 63 singles. After recording three albums with her folk rock band, The Stone Poneys, Ronstadt debuted on Capitol Records as a solo artist with 1969's Hand Sown ... Home Grown.
Between 1970 and 1973, Ronstadt released three studio albums: two on the Capitol label, Silk Purse (1970) and Linda Ronstadt (1971); and one on the Asylum label, Don't Cry Now (1973). Developing a Country Rock sound similar to that of Eagles, Ronstadt recorded 1974's Grammy-winning Heart Like a Wheel, which sold over two million U. S. copies and spawned the #1 hits "When Will I Be Loved" and "You're No Good". Her next album was 1975's Prisoner in Disguise, which followed a similar musical format and contained a Top Five cover of "Heat Wave". Hasten Down The Wind in 1976 featured two Ronstadt-composed originals and established Linda as the first ever female recording artist to score three million-selling albums. Its biggest hits were a remake of Buddy Holly's "That'll Be The Day" and a reworking of Patsy Cline's "Crazy". The album won Linda her second Grammy Award.
Her 1977 release, Simple Dreams, followed a more Rock-oriented format. It went Triple platinum in America alone and produced two simultaneous Top Five hits: the Platinum-certified "Blue Bayou" and "It's So Easy". Additional hits from the album included "Poor Poor Pitiful Me", "Tumbling Dice", and the Top 10 Country hit "I Never Will Marry".
The following year, Living in the USA included a cover of Chuck Berry's "Back in the U.S.A.". It also contained a soulful Top 10 remake of the Motown classic "Ooh Baby Baby" which crossed over to R&B radio. In addition to the conventional Asylum release that is listed below, special limited-edition releases were also made of this album in red vinyl and picture disc. "Just One Look" was the album's third hit single.
Ronstadt's first disc of the 1980s was the New Wave-styled Mad Love. It debuted at #5 on the Billboard album chart and quickly became her seventh million-selling album in a row. It produced Top 10 singles with "How Do I Make You" and the scorching "Hurt So Bad".
In 1983, Ronstadt changed musical directions towards big band jazz and traditional pop music, recording What's New, which was certified Triple Platinum in the United States. It was succeeded by 1984's Lush Life and 1986's For Sentimental Reasons (both Platinum-certified).
To celebrate her Mexican American heritage, Ronstadt recorded the Spanish-language album Canciones de Mi Padre in 1987, selling more than two million copies in the U. S. and winning Ronstadt another Grammy Award. It stands as the biggest-selling non-English language record in history. The same year, she also teamed with Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton for the collaboration album Trio, which spawned four Top 10 Country music hits, including the #1 single, "To Know Him Is To Love Him". Her 1989 release, titled Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind, was Ronstadt's first pop music album in seven years. It produced two Grammy Award-winning duets with Aaron Neville on the Billboard Hot 100: the Gold-certified number 2 hit "Don't Know Much" and the number 11 hit "All My Life". Both song were long-running #1 Adult Contemporary hits.
After releasing two less successful Spanish albums in the early 1990s, Ronstadt returned to something more contemporary with 1993's New Age-styled Winter Light. It was followed by Linda's 1995 return to Country Rock: Feels Like Home. Linda's Grammy-winning album of children's lullabies was issued in 1996 and had strong sales. Her 1998 release, We Ran, featured more Rock-oriented album material. In 1999, Ronstadt reunited with Harris and Parton for Trio 2, which won Ronstadt her eleventh competitive Grammy Award and nineteenth Gold album. That year she also recorded a Southwestern-inspired release with Harris, Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions.
Her 2004 release, Hummin' to Myself, was Ronstadt's fourth album of traditional jazz standards . In 2006, she made what turned out to be her final studio album – Adieu False Heart – mixing Cajun music with rock in a collaboration with Ann Savoy. Ronstadt has sold over 30 million records in the United States according to the Recording Industry Association of America.