The year 1974 was a good one for solo female artists. Beyond Dolly Parton releasing Jolene in February, we had Joni Mitchell‘s sixth album, Grace Slick’s debut solo offering, major hits from Carly Simon’s fourth album, and a compilation from Linda Ronstadt, all released in January.
Additionally, Barbra Streisand released The Way We Were, her 15th album, and Donna Summer had her Netherlands-only debut that February. Anne Murray released Love Song, and in March Buffy Sainte-Marie dropped her tenth album Buffy.
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All this in the first three months, and that’s just the ladies. 1974 was clearly an amazing year for music in general, but the women were definitely reigning supreme. Joni Mitchell, Dolly Parton, Carly Simon, and Linda Ronstadt, in particular, put out top-notch work during this time.
‘Court And Spark’ โ Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell’s 1974 album Court And Spark took her folk-rock singer-songwriter sound and infused it with jazz. This led to one of her most commercially successful albums. It reached no. 2 and no. 1 in the U.S. and Canada, respectively, and remains beloved by fans and Mitchell’s contemporaries alike. Specifically, in a Q Magazine interview, Stevie Nicks once recalled taking LSD and listening to Court And Spark. She called the experience “dynamic.”
‘Jolene’ โ Dolly Parton
One of Dolly Parton’s most beloved albums, Jolene, was released in February 1974. It is her 13th studio album, but one of her earlier solo offerings, as she had spent the last seven years in a partnership with Porter Wagoner. The album gave birth to two of Parton’s biggest hits, including “I Will Always Love You” and “Jolene”, which were allegedly written on the same day.
‘Hotcakes’ โ Carly Simon
Hotcakes was and remains one of Carly Simon’s most commercially successful albums. It is an autobiographical concept album that includes a duet with her then-husband James Taylor. The album depicted a happily married woman starting a family. Simon was actually pregnant with her and Taylor’s first child, Sally, during the recording of Hotcakes, and gave birth four days before the January 11, 1974 release date.
‘Different Drum’ โ Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt released her first compilation album in 1974, titled Different Drum, which combined her 1960s work with The Stone Poneys and songs from her first three albums. For those looking to get into Ronstadt for the first time, Different Drum is a great sampler of her talent. This album was released as the precursor to Heart Like A Wheel, which dropped in November 1974. That album turned out to be Ronstadt’s breakthrough. But Different Drum remains a great look into her early work.
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