Credit: Far Out / Linda Ronstadt
With each new record, Linda Ronstadt never lost her skill at writing great songs.
She was not blessed with the skill that other classical artists had when singing their songs. And many of the best moments of her career were when she turned other people’s songs into something special, every time she made her own records. But while every songwriter has moments when they can’t go wrong, Ronstadt felt that the best at the field are those who continue to create classic song after classic song until the end of time.
But that doesn’t mean Ronstadt wasn’t well-educated in how to make great songs while growing up in Los Angeles. She was surrounded by some great songwriters that everyone knew, and even if they weren’t necessarily big names, being able to interact with everyone from Randy Newman to Don Henley to J.D. Souther behind the scenes at least gave her an idea of who she could be if she had some of their songs.
However, finding songs that suited her voice was much more difficult. Most people tend to think that it’s just a matter of finding the right song that fits someone’s range, but that wasn’t the case with Ronstadt. She wanted to create music that reflected her vocal personality, but if a song doesn’t sell in the right way no matter when she sings it, perhaps she should have shelved it or suggested someone else sing it.
Not all songwriters were able to understand the type of music she wanted to make, but Jackson Browne was one of the few she understood almost immediately. He was just out of his teens when he composed some of his best songs. Late for the Sky It wasn’t one of the biggest records in the world at the time, but anyone who grew up in Los Angeles studied those kinds of records to understand how to write songs.
And even though it had been years since he first heard Browne’s song, Ronstadt felt that no one else could have achieved the same kind of accomplishments he had, saying, “We didn’t think, ‘Oh, there’s Jackson Browne, he’s a star.'” I thought he wrote really good songs. Better than anyone I’ve ever seen write in California. ”
“‘These Days’ is a beautiful song. It’s beautiful. [and] Well made. [He’s a] He’s a really great songwriter and he’s still writing songs at the peak of his talent. he didn’t have anything like that [duds]. He just kept going. ”
Linda Ronstadt
Not everything Brown was doing was that complex, but all of his songs were usually about understanding the pertinent details of every song. A songwriter’s role is usually to write in the same way a painter paints, but by leaving out only the pertinent details from the pictures, it sounded as if Brown was singing through speakers as he talked about various romantic stories.
Ronstadt wasn’t the only one who thought so. Even when Bruce Springsteen was coming out and trying to make the best songs he could, you could tell when Brown was performing he was trying to do whatever he could to level up his game. Although he was in a small club at the time, he was still able to drive the audience crazy when he started singing songs like “These Days.”
Because as much as Ronstadt has been able to put his own spin on classic songs, Brown is one of the few artists who doesn’t really need such adjustments. All of his songs are pretty much perfect from front to back, and it’s up to everyone else to decide if they want to try and create their own versions of the songs he’s already crafted.
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