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In 1970, Linda Ronstadt marked her breakthrough as a solo artist with the heartfelt ballad “Long Long Time.” More than half a century later, the song remains a cherished favorite among fans, though Ronstadt herself has expressed reservations about her performance on the track.
The song, written by Gary White and featured on Ronstadt’s album Silk Purse, blends folk rock acoustic guitar with poignant lyrics about unrequited love and moving forward. It became Ronstadt’s first solo hit, reaching number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1970 and earning her first Grammy nomination. Despite this success, Ronstadt was candid in her 2013 memoir Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir about not being fully satisfied with her vocal delivery, noting that her style hadn’t yet fully matured at the time.
“I never liked my performance on the record,” she admitted. “It was recorded at 10 in the morning, somewhat early for a singer, and we used the live vocal. I learned to sing it better later.”
Still, “Long Long Time” held a special place in Ronstadt’s heart. She recalled to The Los Angeles Times how she instantly connected with the song after hearing White play it following a Paul Siebel show in Greenwich Village.
That same night, she also discovered Siebel’s “Louise,” another song she would go on to record. Both tracks were produced by Elliot Mazer in Nashville, featuring musicians from the Area Code 615 band.
Ronstadt’s critical view of her vocals extended beyond this track. She also expressed disappointment with her rendition of her 1975 No. 1 hit “You’re No Good.” In an interview with Rock Cellar magazine, she shared, “I didn’t care for the way I sang ‘You’re No Good,’ I didn’t think the vocal was any good… its success was a false success for me.”
She explained that fatigue played a role: “We’d been working on ‘You’re No Good’ for a long time. I was a little tired of the song because we’d been performing it on stage, and my voice was worn out.
My rhythm was a little off. I just didn’t like it and didn’t like my phrasing.”
Throughout her storied career, Ronstadt pushed musical boundaries, seamlessly moving from folk and rock to country, Latin classics, standards, and even opera. Yet she has consistently been her own harshest critic.
In a 2015 interview with Delaware Online, she reflected, “I don’t like to listen to my own recordings… If I stumble onto one and have to hear it, it’s usually not as good, and I remember it as not being good enough.
It’s just hard to judge your own work.”
Despite her self-criticism, Linda Ronstadt remains one of the most iconic voices in music history-a trailblazer who helped pave the way for generations of female rock stars. Her legacy continues to resonate with listeners around the world, decades after her breakthrough with “Long Long Time.”