Mexico ranchera 1970s ▶ 2 subscribers

Linda Ronstadt

Linda Ronstadt is a Mexican-American singer from Tucson, Arizona, and one of the most successful female singers of the 1970s. She moved freely between rock, country, pop, standards and Mexican ranchera music.

Origins

Born in 1946, she grew up in a family of Mexican descent where Mexican songs were a staple at home. She moved to Los Angeles in 1964 and sang with the folk-rock trio the Stone Poneys, who had a hit with "Different Drum" before she went solo.

The sound

Her rock and pop records are built on a powerful, clear voice and country-rock arrangements. On her Spanish-language albums she sang traditional rancheras and huapangos with full mariachi backing.

Legacy

Canciones de Mi Padre (1987) won the Grammy for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album and is the best-selling non-English-language album in US history. She has won 11 Grammys, the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2011), and entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.