Karla Bonoff is best known for the songs she wrote for others including Tucson's own Linda Ronstadt. She will likely perform several of them Friday, Feb. 14, at the Berger Center for the Performing Arts.

For some people, the name Karla Bonoff was a little known footnote in the career of Tucson's own Linda Ronstadt.

But after the release of the Ronstadt documentary "The Sound of My Voice" last fall, Bonoff's import to Ronstadt's career became a bit clearer.

And when she takes the Berger Center for the Performing Arts stage on Friday, Feb. 14, she'll likely bring it into even finer focus.

"I always mention Linda in my show and explain some of the ways in which she recorded my songs," Bonoff said in an email interview. "She was very important (in) getting my career going at the beginning."

Bonoff, who is no stranger to Tucson audiences, will likely include a handful of songs she wrote that Ronstadt recorded including “Someone to Lay Down Beside Me,” “Lose Again” and “All My Life.”

"We love coming" to Tucson, she said. "I bring Nina Gerber, who is a fabulous guitar player, with me, we play songs from all of my albums and a few new things as well. I play piano and guitar and she plays electric guitar… It’s basically an unplugged kind of evening."

In recent shows, Bonoff also has performed a soul-stirring cover of Jackson Browne's "Something Fine."


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Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com or 573-4642. On Twitter @Starburch