Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Simple Dreams

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Released
  
September, 1977

Label
  
Release date
  
September 1977

Length
  
31:49

Artist
  
Producer
  
Simple Dreams wwwwaddywachtelinfocomimagesgraphicssdinnerno

Recorded
  
May 23–July 22, 1977,The Sound Factory, Los Angeles, California

Simple Dreams(1977)
  
Genres
  
Rock music, Country music, Pop music, Country rock, Classic rock

Awards
  
Grammy Award for Best Recording Package

Similar
  
Linda Ronstadt albums, Country music albums

Linda ronstadt simple dreams full album


Simple Dreams is the eighth studio album by the American rock singer-songwriter Linda Ronstadt, released by Asylum Records. One of the most successful albums of Ronstadt's career, Simple Dreams spent five successive weeks at number 1 on the Billboard album chart in late 1977, displacing Fleetwood Mac's Rumours after it had held that position for a record-breaking 29 weeks. It also knocked Elvis Presley out of the number 1 position on the Billboard Country Albums chart after "The King" had held it for fifteen consecutive weeks following his death in August. It won the Grammy Award for Best Recording Package and was nominated for several other Grammy awards.

Contents

Simple Dreams was Ronstadt's fifth consecutive million-selling platinum album and sold over 3½ million copies in less than a year in the United States alone—a record for a female artist. Among female recording artists at that time, only Carole King, with her album Tapestry, had sold more copies of an album.

Originally, the cover photograph was to show Ronstadt dressed in a mini-slip and seated in front of multiple mirrors. Uncomfortable with the physical exposure, she changed into a robe, and the picture was made artificially grainy. A retouched photo from the original photo sessions was included on the inner sleeve of her platinum-plus album Greatest Hits, Volume 2, released in 1980. At the 20th Grammy Awards, John Kosh won the Grammy Award for Best Recording Package for Simple Dreams.

This album has never been out of print.

Release data

The album was originally released by Asylum in the LP format in September, 1977 (catalogue number 104 or 6E-104). Later, in 1986, Asylum released the album in the Cassette format (TCS-104) and in the CD format (2-104).

Single releases

The album was such a success that Ronstadt became the first female artist—and the first act overall since The Beatles—to have two singles in the top five at the same time: the Platinum-certified "Blue Bayou" (#2 Pop, #3 Adult Contemporary, and #2 Country) and "It's So Easy" (#5 Pop).

"Blue Bayou" was nominated for the Record of the Year Grammy award in early 1978. It also earned Ronstadt a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Performance Female, alongside Barbra Streisand, Dolly Parton, Carly Simon and Debby Boone.

"It's So Easy" was originally recorded by Buddy Holly and The Crickets in 1958 but had failed to chart in its original version. It was Ronstadt's second cover of a Holly song to become a hit in as many years; she had taken a rousing cover of "That'll Be the Day" to #11 Pop in 1976, using a similar arrangement.

The album includes songs by Warren Zevon, Eric Kaz and J.D. Souther, as well as The Rolling Stones' "Tumbling Dice". Ronstadt was joined by Parton on the traditional ballad "I Never Will Marry", which became a Top 10 Country hit during the summer of 1978. (Ronstadt, Parton and Emmylou Harris were also working on an ill-fated collaborative project around this same time, but nine years would pass before the release of their first Trio album.)

Personnel

  • Linda Ronstadt - acoustic guitar, lead vocals and arrangements
  • Waddy Wachtel - guitar, background vocals
  • Ed Black - guitar, steel guitar
  • David Campbell - string arrangements
  • Kenny Edwards - guitar, bass
  • Rick Marotta, Micky McGee, Dennis St. John, David Kemper - drums
  • Danny Kortchmar, Richard Bowden, Pete Wade, Al Viola - guitar
  • David Lindley - fiddle
  • Jim Fadden - harmonica
  • Jim Gordon, Nino Tempo - saxophone
  • Mac Johnson, Darrel Leonard - trumpet
  • Spooner Oldham - piano
  • John Boylen - electric piano
  • Kenny Anderson, Mike Bowden - bass
  • Andrew Gold - drums, background vocals
  • John David Souther, Chris Ethridge, Bernie Leadon, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Russ Kunkel, Clydie King, Herb Pedersen - background vocals
  • Dolly Parton - harmony vocals on "I Never Will Marry"
  • Don Henley - co-lead and background vocals on "Blue Bayou"
  • Don Grolnick - piano, organ, clavinet
  • Mike Auldridge - dobro on "I Never Will Marry"
  • Songs

    1It’s So Easy2:28
    2Carmelita3:08
    3Simple Man - Simple Dream3:14

    References

    Simple Dreams Wikipedia


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