Linda Ronstadt

Linda Ronstadt (born 1946) is one of the most versatile vocalists in American music history, selling over 100 million records across country, rock, pop, folk, opera, and Mexican ranchera music. Heart Like a Wheel (1974) established her as the biggest female rock star in America. Her run of 1970s albums — Prisoner in Disguise, Hasten Down the Wind, Simple Dreams, Living in the USA — produced hit after hit: You're No Good, Blue Bayou, When Will I Be Loved, It's So Easy. Her band included future Eagles members Glenn Frey and Don Henley. She pivoted to Nelson Riddle-arranged standards albums in the 1980s, then to Mexican folk music (Canciones de Mi Padre became the best-selling non-English-language album in US history), then to Trio recordings with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris. Parkinson's disease ended her singing career in 2011.