The “afterthought” of a song that pushed Linda Ronstadt to the brink of quitting in 1974

Linda Ronstadt’s recording of ‘You’re No Good’ became one of her best-known hits, although she regarded the song as an afterthought and was unhappy with her vocal performance. Its success highlighted a tension between the music that made her famous and the styles she felt most at home singing.

Ronstadt added the song to her live set to bring more pace to performances dominated by ballads, then reworked its arrangement with producer Peter Asher and her musicians for the 1974 album *Heart Like a Wheel*. She later said her voice was worn out and her phrasing felt wrong. Released as a single late that year, it reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 in February 1975, her only solo US chart-topper; she later found greater artistic satisfaction in Broadway, traditional pop and Mexican music.