Memories of Linda Ronstadt

Linda Ronstadt won’t be attending tonight’s induction ceremonies at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — she has cited health issues related to Parkinson’s disease that will keep her home in San Francisco.

Fellow Arizonan Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac fame will salute her at the event, along with Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, Sheryl Crow and Carrie Underwood.

We’ve gathered our own group to fête the native Tucsonan — people she touched while growing up here or after she made it big and acted unlike one would expect a big rock star to act.

Ronstadt declined an interview request for this story.

Nancy Allen Wolter

Wolter, who raises funds for the Mesa Arts Center, attended Saints Peter and Paul Elementary School with Ronstadt. She recalled one day when she and another friend went over to Ronstadt’s home, a sprawling adobe off East Prince Road and North Tucson Boulevard.

“That kitchen! I remember red tiled floor, the ceramic counters, a thick mahogany door. I hid behind it when Linda asked me if I knew the facts of life. I had to collect my thoughts. Obviously, she and (the other friend) knew something I didn’t, because they were smiling mysteriously. ‘Yes,’ I said, ‘of course I do.’ ‘What?’ asked Linda. This was tough, and maybe my information needed updating. I remembered conversations I had with my mother about some of this.

"I said, ‘The facts of life are either truth and beauty or, and there is some controversy about this, truth and science.’ That brought great gales of snickering laughter ... Then Linda’s big handsome brother, Pete, walked in, and Linda shared my insights. He laughed, too.

“I heard a rumor that Linda had passed around my dismal lack of knowledge among the eighth graders, but who knows. I do know that I was able to dine out on this story for years and years."

Another memory of Wolter's from years later .......

“...I used to go to the Stone Poneys concerts at a little night club on Fourth Avenue; it was the best music in the world. Sometimes there would be only a handful of us in the club, but Linda’s voice was always such a joy to listen to. … I have always wanted to tell her how much I have admired her, not just for her amazing singing, not just for her risk-taking and fearlessness, but because to me she is truth and beauty, and those are the only facts of life that matter. She's lived her life with such truth, and her beauty is indelible.”

Dale Fuller

A New York-based actor and journalist, Fuller is a 1962 Catalina High School graduate. His senior year, he was on a trip with the school’s ski club when he broke his ankle.

“That night I stayed at the center of the lodge around the fire and played guitar and sang with my foot propped up. As soon as I started, a cute dark-haired girl came over and asked if she could sing along. Of course I was delighted. She knew every song I could remember, and asked for others that I didn't know. She had a dynamite voice, and she was very sweet. I had a great time that night, and judging by her enthusiasm, I think Linda did, too. ... At one point she asked me if I knew her brother, Pete Ronstadt. ‘He has his own band,’ she told me proudly.

“I got a lot of sympathy as I hobbled around the halls of Catalina on crutches for weeks after that. The ski mishap was the big story. It would have meant nothing to people at that time that I had sung for hours with Linda Ronstadt.”

Richard Saltus

The senior science writer and an editor at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Saltus graduated from Catalina in 1963.

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“It’s been said that sibling singers have a natural vocal blend. That was definitely true of Linda, Pete and Suzy Ronstadt, who grew up singing together and briefly had a folk group, the New Union Ramblers, in 1963-64. I can recall no sweeter sound than their harmonies on folk songs, ballads and bluegrass tunes, and I was insanely lucky to have accompanied them on banjo and guitar during some of this time. Bobby Kimmel joined on bass when we played a regular gig at My Brother’s Place, a local pizza restaurant. Before that, the Ramblers had debuted at an early bird sale at Cele Peterson’s store, trying to be heard above the din of ladies fighting over the marked-down frocks. Our pay — free breakfast at the Pioneer Hotel.

“Playing with the Ronstadts was enormous fun for me. Practices were full of jokes and punctuated by the occasional sibling squabble, but the musical standards were high. I briefly enjoyed some mornings hanging out in Linda’s bedroom — she was ever the late riser! — listening to Ian and Sylvia records and other folksters from whom to cop potential Ramblers songs. Though entirely chaste, these bedroom visits were soon cut short by her stern father."

“Always ready to laugh, and often in the thrall of some new enthusiasm, Linda was a joy to hang out with at her favorite haunts like Austin’s on Broadway for ice cream. In the fall of 1963, Pete, Suzy and Linda saw me off on the train as I headed to Minnesota for my freshman year in college. Linda and I wrote occasional long letters. In one, she told me she was planning to drop out of the UA and pursue music professionally in California. ‘Oh, no!’ I wrote back earnestly. ‘You really need a college education – stay in school!’

“Thankfully, and inevitably, she ignored my advice. She has always done it her way.”

Christine Wald-Hopkins

An instructor in the University of Arizona’s writing program, Wald-Hopkins and Ronstadt were friends at Catalina and both graduated in 1964.

“In the late ‘80s, when Linda brought out ‘Canciones de mi Padre,’ I was teaching a senior English class at Tucson High that included some Mexican-American students. That a famous singer had put out an album of their grandparents’ music awoke a sense of personal and cultural pride in these kids, and they began talking about asking her to be their graduation speaker. It was pre-Internet, they didn’t have contact information, Linda was living in California, and they didn’t know how to reach her, so I offered to deliver a note to her family’s home, hoping they’d forward it. To my surprise, when I knocked on their door, Linda opened it (in curlers, no less; now that was a flash back to high school!). She was gracious about my kids' request, but declined the graduation speech — not her performance m.o., she said. She offered, however, to come to Tucson High and meet with them in class.

“That day proved memorable. Although the adult staff members were in a frenzy for a sighting (some pressing their noses to the classroom window), the kids were fine, and Linda was very warm. Rather than taking the teacher's front-of-the-room spot, she sat down with them in a student desk. Personable and casual, she asked students about their interests and plans and answered their questions. She made them feel so comfortable, in fact, that at one point they had to be reminded that she wasn't just a nice lady come to talk about her Tucson roots, but a bona fide rock star. When one child asked if she was nervous performing with Aaron Neville she responded, ‘You might ask him if he was nervous performing with Linda Ronstadt.’”

Donna Kreutz

Kreutz plays viola with the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra, owns Donna Kreutz Public Relations, and is married to Star writer Doug Kreutz. She was a student at the University of Arizona when a friend asked her to sub for her as a waitress at the Minus One coffeehouse.

“It happened to be the night that Linda and the Stone Poneys played there, right after coming back from recording their first album in Los Angeles. I think it was just the original threesome — Ken, Bob and Linda.

“The Minus One was a long, narrow, dark and smoky place. I was a classical music dork and totally out of my element in this hippie environment.

“I'm pretty sure Linda was wearing that crocheted lace minidress that she wore for the album photo shoot. She just filled the place with her incredible voice. Their sets were great. I became a Ronstadt fan. And I do still have the album. In the credits, it lists Bob Kimmell, acoustic guitar; Ken Edwards, acoustic guitar and ‘Linda Marie Ronstadt — finger cymbals, pain and suffering.’"

Robert Martin

Martin was a flight attendant when Ronstadt boarded a plane headed to Los Angeles from St. Louis, Mo., and sat in first class.

“She was very relaxed, and just the nicest celeb we ever had. She is quiet by nature, and she was busy working on some things, and had her manager and a bodyguard traveling with her. Before we landed, Linda asked me if I loved music and I said ‘Yes I do, and I love your music.' Her manager popped out four backstage passes/tickets for her concert in LA. ... Linda said, ‘I usually don't do this but you and your crew took great care of us, and gave me space to think while writing. I wanted to do this for you.’ ... When we landed at LAX, Linda said ‘See you at the concert’ and handed me a napkin that said ‘To Robert: The nicest flight attendant ever! Thanks for taking care of us! Love, LR.’ … Linda may never remember who I was but she sure touched my life. ...As I drive my 1965 Corvair convertible now, I play Linda's greatest hits and love it. Thank you for the music, Linda. Vaya condios mi amiga.”