One of the Most Powerful Voices of the ‘70s, the Trailblazing ‘First Lady of Rock', Turns 80
Linda Ronstadt is celebrating her 80thbirthday.
The future music queen, who would go on to change the musical landscape of the 1970s, was born in Tucson, Arizona, on July 15, 1946, per her official Facebook page.
On her milestone day, Ronstadt is still remembered as one of the most powerful and diverse voices in music history-and it's no wonder. She was a trailblazer in music genre crossover in the 1970s and ‘80s.
Ronstadt started her music career in the 1960s as the lead singer of the folk-rock trio the Stone Poneys, but she became a household name in the 1970s as a solo artist. Known for her diverse blend of rock, soul and country genres, she first had a No. 1 album with 1974's Heart Like a Wheel, which featured the chart-topping single "You're Bo Good."
She recorded consecutive platinum albums in the 1970s, according to Ronstadt's official website, and her defining songs also included "Blue Bayou," "When Will I Be Loved," "It's So Easy" and "Heatwave." The legendary singer won 11 Grammy Awards beginning in 1975.
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A rock queen
Ronstadt had multiple nicknames during her career. Playboy magazine once described her as "The First Lady of Rock," while Us magazine called her "The Rock Queen" in 1978. She's also been called "The Queen of Country Rock."
The singer told Rolling Stone in 1978 that she didn't think of herself as a "star." "I didn't set out to become a star, I set out to become a singer," Ronstadt explained. "I would have sung no matter what. The star part is just something that they made up in Hollywood in 1930."
In an interview with Rock Cellar magazine, Ronstadt admitted she was critical of her work and felt "uneasy" being called the "Queen of Rock" in the ‘70s. "It was just one of the things I did – but it wasn't what I did mainly," she explained of her multi-genre career.
A trailblazer in the 1970s
In 1976, Ronstadt spoke about being a trailblazing female in a field dominated by men.
"When I first started doing this, there weren't really any other [rock /pop] women singers, except for Maria Muldaur and Grace Slick," she told Rolling Stone in 1976. "Nobody had gone ahead of us and broken any of the ground on the kind of emotional problems that you experience being a woman in this particular place."
With 28 albums recorded, Ronstadt was forced to unexpectedly retire from music in the early 2000s after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, which robbed her of her singing voice.
In a 2017 interview with The Guardian, Ronstadt admitted that while she never liked listening to her music, there were "moments on some records" that she liked. One of them was after her Parkinson's diagnosis.
"The one with Nelson Riddle," she said of her American Songbook work with the legendary composer. "The Trio records I did with Dolly Partonand Emmylou Harris. I made a record with Ann Savoy, the Cajun singer, after I got Parkinson's disease, and I could barely sing. I had to whisper everything, but that was a really successful record for us – artistically successful."
Speaking with Rock Cellar, Ronstadt looked back on her career and shared that she was surprised by how it all turned out.
"I never thought I'd have such a great life," she said. "It never occurred to me. ... I loved to sing, and I tried to play music that reflected and told my story and made me feel passionate. That was my main ambition. And I was lucky that I had hits, which was surprising to me."
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This story was originally published July 15, 2026 at 4:02 AM.