“He’s Just Brilliant”: The Musician Linda Ronstadt Considers One of the Best in Rock ‘n’ Roll History

Linda Ronstadt knows rock, and she’s worked with some legendary musicians as well as had a stunning career of her own for decades. She started out with The Stone Poneys before becoming the Queen of Rock, touring with the Doors, Jackson Browne, and others in her early career. She released what is arguably the first alternative country album by a female artist, Hand Sown … Home Grown from 1969, and has gone on to win numerous awards, sell more than 100 million records, and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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However, there’s one person who Ronstadt believes is the ultimate rock musician. She has toured and collaborated with him, so she has firsthand knowledge of his artistry. The best rock musician of all time, according to Linda Ronstadt, is none other than Neil Young.

Young and Ronstadt worked together in the late 1970s and into the 80s. Their collaboration started in 1972 when Ronstadt joined James Taylor to sing backup on Young’s hit “Heart of Gold.” From there, she opened for him on tour in 1973.

Ronstadt contributed backup vocals on many of Neil Young’s tracks. From the 1977 album American Stars n’ Bars, she sang on  “Old Country Waltz,” “Saddle Up the Palomino,” “Bite the Bullet,” “Hold Back the Tears,” and “Hey Babe,” according to a report by the Neil Young fan archive Thrasher’s Wheat. She also sang on Freedom in 1989 and Silver & Gold in 2000.

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Linda Ronstadt Names Neil Young as One of the “Best Guys Who Ever Came Out of Rock ‘n’ Roll”

Speaking with Uncut in 2017, she named some of the greatest acts in rock and roll, starting with the Eagles. She then went on to mention Neil Young.

“Neil Young is another one,” she said, after speaking of Glenn Frey and Don Henley. “I still think he’s one of the best guys that ever came out of rock’n’roll, he’s just brilliant.” She then went on to explain one of their earliest collaborations, “Heart of Gold.” This was 1972, before Ronstadt’s third album was released, and she was on The Johnny Cash Show with Young.

“After we finished, Neil Young said he was gonna go do some recording and asked if I’d come and sing a harmony. James Taylor was on that same show, so he came along to play. He wound up playing
a six-string banjo. We recorded ‘Heart Of Gold’ and ‘Old Man,’” she said, adding, “It took us all night – it was dawn and snowing when we came out.”

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