Linda Ronstadt documentary on CNN

It’s a very good doc. They talk to many of the people she worked with in the 60s until now. She doesn’t appear on camera much I guess due to her illness. I would think CNN will show it again this week. It premiered on New Years Day.

Yeah, it was pretty good. I didn’t know about her illness. What a shame.

I saw a preview of her interview with Anderson Cooper. She seems like a genuinely decent person. Humble and self deprecating. Her overall demeanor struck me as a little odd. She seemed kind of detached and expressionless, like she had too much botox or was on the autism spectrum. Come to learn later that she is suffering from progressive supra-nuclear palsy.

she had to stop singing in 2011 due to her illness

If this isn’t Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voicebeing broadcast after its run in theaters, then I’m going to keep an eye out for it (I don’t generally track what is being shown on the 24 hour news channels, so I definitely would have missed this without your post) Thanks!

yes that is the documentary. Did not know it was in theaters but CNN is one of the producers.

Very nicely produced.

It will air again on Saturday 1/4 at 9 PM Eastern and midnight Eastern

I’ll always remember her in the Mr Plow episode.

I’m glad I finally got a chance to watch it. Learned a lot of stuff about her. I do wish they, or at least Emmylou and Dolly weren’t talking about her like she had just died.
I understand that she didn’t want to be on camera, but between the lack of any real footage of her taken while they made it, it did tend to feel more like a tribute than a documentary.

From her standpoint, a big part of her has died. I think everyone associated with her knows this and that is what each participant brings to their approach to the narrative. And if you pay close attention to the last scene in the documentary, it is obvious she is still working on coping with this “death” of her gift.

It ran in theaters a few months ago before being broadcast on the CNN channel. My wife and I saw it in the theaters. She and I are big Ronstadt fans. She is very talented and had an extremely successful career. She was the Taylor Swift of the 1970’s and 80’s.

I just watched Linda’s documentary and I am filled with this overwhelming realization about life being so unfair. A few days ago, I watched another wonderful documentary on Patrick Swayze and his wife Lisa.

These two people are (and were) supremely talented. This world will have a very hard time trying to find anyone who will be as talented as them.

Linda’s talent goes far beyond talent. When I watched this film, my overwhelming thought was that I kind of understood why much earlier societies believed in Gods & Godesses. Both Linda & Patrick were talented beyond most any kind of human understanding. But it went way beyond talent. They were both determined and driven to be one of the very best in their field and they both succeeded. I don’t understand why the entire world does not come to a halt and celebrate one day every year in recognition of their supreme devotion to their art and the way in which their entire lives were devoted to surpassing pain and giving of themselves - not only for peoples’ enjoyment of the arts - but for their own sense of satisfaction and accomplishments.

Seems to me that during every generation, there are a handful of special people who would be considered gods and godesses in an earlier civilization. Bot Patrick and Linda’s lives were wonders to behold. Truly amazing people. Never fully appreciated during their lives for the amazing talent and work ethics they displayed.

It is to weep.

Why do I say that life is unfair? Well … I think most everyone here knows what I mean by that. But to spell it out would sully their reputations and so I just want to zip it about that.

To gain an even fuller appreciation of Linda’s life, I would recommend an excellent documentary about The Eagles - History of the Eagles (TV Mini Series 2013) - IMDb.

Glen Fry and Don Henley (of The Eagles) tell much about Linda and her early history in L.A. They offer the viewers a wonderful perspective (although not at all very dainty) of Linda’s life in her early 20s. It may not be very dainty but it sure does offer a great insight into who Linda is and why she is such a great talent and why she is so loved and appreciated.

Sad that Linda cannot sing now but she had a long career with many hits. She is enjoying a good retirement now even though she would prefer to keep singing. She did sing a bit during the show if you did not see it.

It’s on Amazon to rent or buy