Linda Ronstadt and the 80,000,000-stream song she “never liked”
Linda Ronstadt said she never liked her vocal performance on “Long Long Time”, despite the song’s enduring popularity. Her criticism reflects her preference for the freedom of live performance and her later discomfort with some early studio recordings.
She recalled that the track was recorded at 10 in the morning and used a live vocal, adding that she learned to sing it better later. The article argues that the less polished, tired quality of the recording contributes to its character, even though Ronstadt felt it was made at the wrong time.
- Ronstadt disliked her vocal on “Long Long Time”.
- The song was recorded at 10 in the morning.
- Its roughness may be part of its appeal.
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Linda Ronstadt is an American singer whose career took off in the late 1960s and 1970s. “Long Long Time”, written by Gary White, appeared on her 1970 album Silk Purse and became one of her best-known early recordings.
Studio recordings capture a particular performance, while live singers can adjust how they deliver a song from night to night. Ronstadt has said she came to prefer that freedom and later felt uneasy about some of her early recorded vocals. The song’s continued popularity shows how a recording can find an audience even when the singer is unhappy with the performance.