Still Dreaming My Own Simple Dream

Last month I took a trip of a lifetime, driving across the country from my home in Pennsylvania, all the way to California. This was something I had never done before in my life, but I had a number of very good reasons to do it. For one, I was visiting relatives in Fairfield, which is halfway between Sacramento and San Francisco. I was also checking out job opportunities in the area. Of course I wanted to see many of the sights that the Bay area has to offer, but unfortunately I didn't have a lot of time.

However, the highlight of this trip was no doubt having the opportunity to meet someone whom I've been wanting to meet more than anyone in this world. Someone who has touched my life in ways I could have never imagined. Someone I have tremendous respect and admiration for. Someone who has been an inspiration to me, and who I think will inspire a great number of people with her strength of spirit and determination. The one and only Linda Ronstadt.

I was hoping to interview Linda for a story that I wrote for the Centre Daily Times, but with the national media getting word of her diagnosis of Parkinson's disease in August, my chances of getting to interview one of the greatest female artists of all time were slim to none. Her new book, "Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir," had already put Linda back in the national spotlight for the first time in years. So her recent revelation of Parkinson's literally put the media into a frenzy, with Linda doing interviews with magazines, newspapers, radio and television left and right.

Naturally with a new book she wrote all by herself, Linda embarked on a national tour to promote it, speaking for audiences along the East and West Coasts and signing her memoir. Of course I could have easily traveled to New York or Washington D.C. to see the legendary singer, but I had already purchased a ticket to see her out on the West Coast, a place that I could only ever dream of going to one day. I could only hope that I would safely make it out to California and make my dream to meet Linda become reality.

Fortunately my trip went very well, and I had a wonderful time visiting with family. Plus the trip itself was quite an experience, one that I may never make again, and certainly one that I will never forget. Unfortunately, I was not able to meet Linda in San Francisco, due to the fact that she had signed a certain number of books prior to the event. The books were on sale in the lobby before and after the interview. This was undoubtedly due to her Parkinson's, which otherwise would have made for an exhausting evening for her, having to sign books for the hundreds of people who were in attendance at the theater.

Understandably so, I was extremely disappointed I didn't have a chance to meet Linda. But I understand what Linda is going through and I have compassion and understanding for her situation. I really wish I would have been able to interview her over the phone for my story, but I also have to be understanding of that as well. I wrote the piece on Linda anyway, taking excerpts from her book and quoting her brilliantly written words. Of course the piece had to be edited, so the published article is not the entire story. Here is the link to the story published online if you wish to read it.

Honest to goodness: Linda Ronstadt maintains integrity in her art

But if you want to read the entire story unedited, here it is. I think it's well worth reading, because it truly captures the feelings that I'm trying to instill into the reader. I want them to know just how much Linda means to me and I hope that Linda will be able to read this as well. I sent an email to Linda's assistant, Janet Stark, and I included the link to the article online. I also have an extra copy of the commentary in print, so I'm hoping I will be able to send that to Linda too.

I guess all that's left for me to say is that I sincerely hope that I will still be able to meet Linda in the future. I strongly believe that with all of my heart. I would just love to spend an entire day with her. She is the most wonderful person I have ever known of in the entertainment business. She's sweet, honest, sincere, genuine, down-to-earth, compassionate, intelligent, and very classy. There will never be another one like her. She is definitely one of a kind.

Hope you enjoy the story!


Ronstadt’s “Simple Dreams”: Art, Honesty, Integrity and Inspiration

 

As we go through life we often find someone or something that inspires us to do great things. Some may have to explore out into the world to find that one special person or event that touches their lives, while others may find their inspiration within their own families. Perhaps one such artist personifies this more than any other; one that grew up in a musical family and had one simple goal in mind: to become a singer. She is living proof that “when you wish upon a star,” “somewhere out there,” dreams really do come true.

Linda Ronstadt, one of the greatest musical interpreters of her generation, wished upon her star and turned her dream to become a singer into reality, becoming the top-selling female artist of the 1970s, earning 11 Grammy Awards, and selling over 100 million albums worldwide over a four decade career. Ronstadt continued her early country-rock success into the coming decades and changed musical direction, branching out into various genres of music, including American standards, operetta, Mexican, jazz, Cajun, and children’s music. Now for the first time in her own words, Ronstadt tells the story of her life and career, from growing up in a Mexican-American family in Tucson, Arizona to becoming one of the most popular singers in the world. The legendary songstress tells her story in a new book she wrote herself, titled “Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir,” now available online and in bookstores.

 

Ronstadt during the Stone Poneys era in the late 1960s.

But in addition to the release of her memoir, Ronstadt, 67, has recently made news for another reason. In an interview with AARP.org posted online August 23, Ronstadt revealed she had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and could no longer sing. The iconic singer had actually been diagnosed eight months earlier but did not include this revelation in her memoir because it had not yet been confirmed. Ronstadt had been experiencing symptoms for as long as eight years but attributed them to a tick bite and shoulder surgery, which she believed caused the trembling in her hands. She said she now uses poles to walk on uneven ground, and a wheelchair when traveling.

When I first heard the news about Linda’s diagnosis, my heart sank and left me in complete shock. Being a fan and admirer of hers, it understandably broke my heart. But it also hit very close to home with me as well, because I also have a neurodegenerative disease in my own family. I have seen two generations of my family succumb to Huntington’s disease, a disorder for which I am also at risk for contracting. So I have compassion and understanding for the emotions that Linda must be going through. But from everything I’ve learned about Linda from numerous articles and interviews and from reading her memoir, she is definitely a fighter and has never backed away from a challenge. She will surely fight this illness with the courage and determination that brought her extraordinary success. I think Linda will prove to be very inspirational to anyone who is battling an illness, and just to anyone faced with the most difficult obstacles in life. As Linda stated in her book and in her interview with AARP, “You always learn more from failure than success. I really believe that,” she said. “I think adversity is a great teacher.”

One of the many reasons I have come to respect and admire Linda greatly, aside from her voice and talent, is her intelligence and knowledge of music as an art form. “I feel sorry for a culture that depends too much on delegating its musical expression to professionals,” she said. “It is fine to have heroes, but we should do our own singing first, even if it is never heard beyond the shower curtain.” In my mind, one quote from Linda truly sums up what is wrong in our society today when it comes to an appreciation for the arts: “A horse race is for competition,” she said. “Art is not.” Never before have I heard so much said in so few words.  

Ronstadt poses in New York in September, promoting her book "Simple Dreams"

It only seems fitting that an artist such as Ronstadt, who has taken herself and us on a musical journey throughout her fabulous career, would sort of take me on a personal journey of my own. I can remember first hearing Linda’s sweet voice coming over the airwaves as a small child, not knowing her name or even what she looked like. Somehow over time I drifted away from her, only very recently rediscovering the magic of her voice and songs.

I believe this journey has now come around full circle with Linda’s memoir and the sad news of her illness. I will be meeting her for the first time on September 26 in San Francisco, where Ronstadt makes her home, and just one of her stops on a national tour in promotion of her book. She has been an inspiration to me in so many ways that I can’t describe, helping me to realize and pursue my goals and my dreams. “You never stand in the way of people’s dreams,” Ronstadt said in recent interview. “You get in the energy with their dreams. You let them blow and you can be a sail, and the energy of their dreams will blow you along.”

I’ve come to respect and admire Linda not just as an artist, but also as a person. To me, she has always been the perfect example of class, honesty and integrity; values that are extremely rare in the entertainment world today. I must say I have thoroughly enjoyed Linda’s memoir, and I’m finding it to be very heartfelt, intelligently, graciously and thoughtfully written. She has put together an incredible collection of music, people, places and events, and crafted them into a book that is as rich as any poet or songwriter can craft into their art.

Once asked why people sing, Ronstadt replied, “They sing so the subsequent generations won’t forget what the current generation endured, or dreamed, or delighted in.” Ronstadt continues, describing singing as true art. “The essential elements of singing are voice, musicianship, and story,” she said. “It is the rare artist who has all three in abundance.” I believe this truly exemplifies what this woman is all about. Linda may have lost her magnificent singing voice, but as a writer, her words come out in print just as beautifully as they did in song. I think Linda is a gifted storyteller and will hopefully find a second career, as she now faces a new challenge in the next chapter of her extraordinary life.