An iconic singer/songwriter is being honored by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, this summer with a tribute concert starring country singer Trisha Yearwood.
Linda Ronstadt, 78, the Grammy-winning singer who once held the honor of being “the highest-paid woman in rock,” is being honored with the concert “Trisha Yearwood and Friends Celebrate Linda Ronstadt and Los Angeles Country-Rock.”
Los Angeles country-rock scene was a specific brand of rock-country hybrid in the 1960s and 1970s that included The Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Michael Nesmith of The Monkees, The Eagles, Los Lobos, Emmylou Harris, Dwight Yoakam and Linda Ronstadt, among others. There is a whole exhibit dedicated to it in the Country Music Hall of Fame and
The concert celebrating Ronstadt is scheduled for July 22 and will feature performances by Yearwood, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris, Patti Scialfa and James Taylor.
“Linda Ronstadt is a big reason I wanted to be a singer,” said Yearwood in a statement. “I’m honored to be a part of celebrating Linda and this incredible era of music that is such an important part of the history of country music.”
Ronstadt is best known for such hits as “Long, Long Time,” “You’re No Good,” “When Will I Be Loved,” “Blue Bayou,” “Ooh Baby Baby” and “Somewhere Out There.” But almost 15 years ago, Ronstadt began experiencing symptoms of progressive supranuclear palsy, a degenerative condition similar to Parkinson’s. It has made singing impossible for the once-great singer, but she told Parade in a 2022 interview that she can “still sing in [her] mind.”
The concert is being put on in support of the country-rock exhibit called “Western Edge: The Roots and Reverberations of Los Angeles Country-Rock.” The website describes the exhibit as celebrating “surveys the rise of the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco, Eagles, Emmylou Harris, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Linda Ronstadt and many others who, in the 1960s and ’70s, found commercial success with new sounds that merged rock & roll rhythms and attitude with country and bluegrass instrumentation and harmonies. As they flourished, so did the Los Angeles-based recording industry.”
Tickets for “Trisha Yearwood and Friends Celebrate Linda Ronstadt and Los Angeles Country-Rock” go on sale Friday, May 16.