“I’m going back someday,
Linda Ronstadt on CBS Sunday Morning
Come what may,
To Blue Bayou.
Where the folks are fun,
And the world is mine,
On Blue Bayou…”
“Blue Bayou” is just one of the many songs that propelled Mexican-American singer Linda Ronstadt to super stardom.
In 2014, she was recognized with the National Medal of Arts by then president Barack Obama for her many accomplishments including four consecutive platinum albums, and Grammys in different music styles, like country, Latin and Pop.
Ronstadt retired in 2009, after having issues with her voice beginning in 2000. She was later diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2013.
She grew up in Tucson, Arizona where being raised in a bilingual, bicultural household sparked her interest for the music style of that region. In an interview for Latina Style Magazine, the daughter of a Mexican national recalled life in a border community, “We went to Mexico all the time.” She continued, “We’d go across the border just for lunch or to shop. My father had a lot a lot of friends in Mexico, and we’d attend events like the Blanco y Negro ball, which was like a debutant’s party. My sister and I would both dance. We’d go to picnics and baptisms and weddings. The border was completely permeable then. You’d just stop and show an ID. That was it.”
This month, Ronstadt came out with a new, first ever live album from tapes of a made-for-TV concert in 1980. Live In Hollywood, includes 12 of her favorite performances including “Blue Bayou”. In a revealing interview on CBS Sunday Morning, Ronstadt shared details about her music, life today, the extent that her health has deteriorated, and not fearing death.
Here’s the interview with CBS correspondent Tracy Smith: Linda Ronstadt: A voice from the past
