This Massive Linda Ronstadt Hit From 1977 Was First Recorded by Roy Orbison Over a Decade Prior

Think of a Linda Ronstadt song, and most people likely think of “Blue Bayou“. One of her biggest hits, Ronstadt released her signature song in 1977. But before Ronstadt released “Blue Bayou”, Roy Orbison had a moderate hit with the song in 1963, landing in the Top 30.

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Orbison wrote “Blue Bayou” with Joe Melton. The song says, “I’m going back someday / Come what may / To Blue Bayou / Where the folks are fine / And the world is mine / On Blue Bayou / Where those fishing boats / With their sails afloat / If I could only see / That familiar sunrise / Through sleepy eyes / How happy I’d be.”

In spite of how some might interpret the lyrics in “Blue Bayou”, Orbison insists it was meant to be a light-hearted tune.

“That’s simply a song about being on the road,” he maintains. “And that is really a happy song. It probably sounds very strange to you for me to say that. The fellow’s bound and determined to get back to where you sleep all day, and the catfish play, and the sailing boats and the girls and all that stuff. It’s a beautiful thought. Now granted that it is a sad song, a lonely song, but it’s a loneliness that precedes happiness.”

What Linda Ronstadt Says About “Blue Bayou”

“Blue Bayou” appears on Ronstadt’s Simple Dreams record. It was singer-songwriter JD Souther who suggested the song to Ronstadt.

“He said, ‘I think this would be a good song for you to sing,’” Ronstadt recalls to Pop Matters. “And he played it for me. He started to sing it, and I started singing harmony. I said, ‘I’m going to learn that.’ That was a profitable night!”

Ronstadt loved “Blue Bayou”, but not everyone thought it was the right song for her. Her producer, Peter Asher, vocally opposed her putting her own spin on the Orbison tune.

“If we disagree on something, I really re-examine it,” Ronstadt concedes. “And if I still think I’m right, I go ahead. I remember ‘Blue Bayou’… Peter was afraid it wouldn’t be a hit. He said we should shop around for some insurance. I said, ‘OK, get the insurance.’ But I knew it was a hit, and it was the biggest single I’ve ever had. Sometimes he is real wild about stuff, and I say, ‘Oh, no. That will never go.’”

“Blue Bayou” became one of Ronstadt’s biggest crossover hits of her career. She also had two Grammy nominations for the song.

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