My family was vacationing in Tahoe in '86 and we went to see her at one of the casinos. At that point we weren't sure if we'd get the pop-rock thing or the mariachi thing or the Nelson Riddle old-timey standards thing. We got that last one. So, whatever, but what I'll always remember is how she had to read one or two songs off a lyric sheet because she hadn't learned all the words yet. Yay professionalism!

Dug her 70's stuff, though, I was a teen in SoCal so it went down smooth enough. The studio version of this song is a very well-made record, and an improvement over a decent Betty Everett original.

Thanks to her also for some very sexy album covers. My grandpa loved her (mostly because of Blue Bayou) and had the Simple Dreams album on 8-track, I remember him playing it in the car and being amused that his uptight Percy-Faith-likin' self was listening to her cover Tumbling Dice and Poor Poor Pitiful Me.

And for those who didn't know that was her jack-of-all-instruments Andrew Gold on guitar, he was a lonely boy who once thanked us for being a friend (both poppy YouTubes).

Oh, and happy birthday and stuff.

/not submitter

Saw her once in Austin, maybe in 1990. She played outside at the old Riverfest in Austin. Her set was right before the Neville Brothers. Their road manager was a friend from New Orleans and got us in a little before the gates actually opened, so we scammed seats right in front (he also worked with the Meters and gave me a most awesome tee shirt: "The Meters Will Funk You To Death"). The main thing I remember was her complaining about the mosquitoes. She sounded great, of course, but in her prime she was gorgeous too.

Andrew Gold was playing with her when I saw her too, Peaceboy.

Saw her once in... no wait... that might have been on TV... never mind

Goddamnit why can't we get stuff like this today?

I mean, seriously.

Peaceboy: what I'll always remember is how she had to read one or two songs off a lyric sheet because she hadn't learned all the words yet. Yay professionalism!

I've seen artists do that with their own songs. And who knows how many mature artists use a teleprompter.

aiee! earworm! dang i still love the 70's-80's linda. cute as hell and a great voice.
saw her years ago at a bar in tucson that had of all things pot plants polyurathaned into the bar top.
her set was dynamite, and her hometown crowd just adored her.
one thing that surprised me, for a smallish girl she really had a loud set of pipes on her. she was *loud* even without amplification.
oh yah...did i mention she was cute as hell?

Damn, look at those legs and that miniskirt in that video. She was SMOKIN HOT back then. Here's another pic of her from that era.....very nice:





Then, in the 80's, she discovered chocolate and ice cream.





:(

1980, Market Square Arena. I guess it was pretty good. IIRC, Nils Lofgren played with her.

She's got a gorgeous set of pipes, no doubt, and she was a true hottie back in the day. From the time she was aping Patsy Cline on "Different Drum" with the Stone Poneys to her stint as a latter-day Rosemary Clooney with Nelson Riddle, I've always enjoyed her albums and the direction she's taken.

But, honestly, I've long thought that the lights were on but there was nobody home. You can tell when a singer is inattentive and even under the direction of the legendary Riddle, she wanders at times. The box set of those sessions, Round Midnight, has more than one tune where she's obviously off the mark.

Peaceboy: The studio version of this song is a very well-made record, and an improvement over a decent Betty Everett original.

Oh, hells yeah. That's one of the best-produced singles from the 70s. Peter Asher, right? His pristine sound was a big influence on Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. And she did have a fine crop of studio musicians to choose from. That whole California Sound era of the bands behind Jackson Browne, Ronstadt, JD Souther, Andrew Gold, etc., produced a number of fine artists, including Warren Zevon.

It's the rage to knock on the California Sound era nowadays and it did devolve into the "smooth FM" sound that most people associate it with. But from about '72 to '74, there were a number of albums that knocked my socks off including the early Steely Dan albums on ABC.

Here's my fave photo:



Now tell me that's not someone you'd like to party with . . .

DoctorCal: 1980, Market Square Arena. I guess it was pretty good. IIRC, Nils Lofgren played with her.

Did any kittens die?

Farkomatic: Did any kittens die?

Eh, maybe. I'm sure I didn't kill any because of her at that point, but I might have because of my date, a cute redhead a year ahead of me in HS.

My Favorite LR song is Different Drum a la Stone Poneys.

I think she might've won a Grammy a few years back.

not ugly.

I was in my bunk in "74" listening to her on my 8-track player.

Good times.

DoctorCal: DoctorCal: 1980, Market Square Arena. I guess it was pretty good. IIRC, Nils Lofgren played with her.

Farkomatic: Did any kittens die?

Eh, maybe. I'm sure I didn't kill any because of her at that point, but I might have because of my date, a cute redhead a year ahead of me in HS.

I think you missed it.

Did "You're No Good" make the worst lyrics thread recently?

Barnacles!: Then, in the 80's, she discovered chocolate and ice cream.

She's been diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis -- a genetic disorder that causes weight gain, among other symptoms.
Too bad -- she was indeed "smokin' hot" back in the day, though at 62 that would probably be past tense in any event.
Still has some great pipes, though.

Barnacles!: Then, in the 80's, she discovered chocolate and ice cream.

What a fat tub of shiat (according to Dolly Parton).

Farkomatic: I think you missed it

I did.

God, she was hot. And a great singer, too. How about those Stone Poneys!?