Considered the First Lady of Rock, Linda Ronstadt has enjoyed an amazing four-decade long career that includes hit records in multiple genres and languages, as well as a stage and screen career and a stint in the media spotlight as the girlfriend of the Governor of California. For all of her impressive credentials, however, she is perhaps most fondly remembered in pop culture for an amazing album in the 70s that featured her on the cover in a blue satin jacket, knee pads and a pair of roller skates, and looking far more sexy than that description might suggest.

Ronstadt first gained recognition in the mid-60s as lead singer for a popular, local LA folk-rock group called The Stone Poneys, which led to the release of her first solo album, Hand Sown…Home Grown in 1969. Some consider it the first alternative country recording by a female artist. Soon she was on tour with such artists as Jackson Browne, The Doors and Neil Young and making a name for herself. Her touring band would include musicians Glen Frey Don Henley and Randy Meisner, who would later go on to find their own 70s country-rock success as The Eagles.

During the early part of the decade, Ronstadt’s first solo releases were largely unmemorable. All that changed in 1974 with the release of Heart Like a Wheel. Featuring such hits as “You’re No Good,” “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” and a rocking remake of the Buddy Holly hit, “When Will I Be Loved,” the album proceeded to make her a bonafide star. She released Simple Dreams in 1977, which spent five weeks in the #1 position and contained the memorable hits “Blue Bayou,” “It’s So Easy (To Fall In Love) and “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” written by Warren Zevon.

Her next offering, 1978’s Living in the U.S.A, featured the roller-skate-clad Ronstadt on the cover. If this photo didn’t seem to connote a country/folk image, it was probably because the album tracks didn’t either. With covers of tunes by Chuck Berry and both Elvis’s (Costello and Presley) the heavily synth-laden tracks were certainly a departure for Ronstadt. It didn’t slow sales any; the album was the first in history to ship double-platinum. Its sales exceeded 4 million copies and helped to make Ronstadt the highest paid woman in rock at the time. And in the midst of all this success, Linda was sharing her private time with her new boyfriend, California Governor Jerry Brown.

And then the 80s rolled around and Ronstadt wasn’t content solely with her pop star persona. She left the concert stage for the Broadway stage, landing a starring role in the production of Pirates of Penzance (which earned her a Tony nomination) and then playing the character in the film adaptation. Next, she gave opera a try, performing in La Boheme in 1984. Then it was back to Broadway for a stage adaptation of her 1988 album of Mexican folk songs titled Canciones de Mi Padre (My Father’s Songs.)  

Meanwhile, through the 80s, Ronstadt continued to release albums. Get Closer was released in 1982, and the title track became another in a long list of hits. Between 1983 and 1986, she would collaborate with conductor Nelson Riddle for three albums of pop standards: What’s New in 1983, Lush Life in 1985 and For Sentimental Reasons in 1986. And in 1987, she scored another hit with the single “Somewhere Out There,” a duet with James Ingram for the film An American Tail that won a Grammy for Song of the Year. 1989 brought another massively successful album for the singer, Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind. The album made the Billboard Top-10 and sold over 3 million copies.

The 90s and beyond brought more albums and more acclaim for branching out into different styles, all while firmly cemented her rightful place in music history as the Queen of Rock. As of 2007, she could boast three #1 albums, 10 Top-10 albums, and 27 Top-100 albums, 19 of which went gold, 14 that went platinum, and eight that went multi-platinum. All in all, she has sold over 30 million records. Even more impressive, from 1970-2000, she had a single or album on the charts for every single year. She has won 10 Grammy awards and been nominated 17 times.

Quite honestly, there is simply no other female rock performer that comes close to achieving the success of Linda Ronstadt and there likely never will be. From humble beginnings, she proceeded to skate her way up the charts to achieve legendary status. And, with her reputation as one of the hardest working women in the business, she still shows no signs of putting on the brakes anytime soon.