Simple Dreams

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Simple Dreams
Studio album by Linda Ronstadt
Released September, 1977
Recorded The Sound Factory, Los Angeles, California from July - September 1977
Genre Rock, country rock
Length 31:49
Label Asylum
Producer Peter Asher
Linda Ronstadt chronology

Greatest Hits
(1976)		 Simple Dreams
(1977)		 Living in the USA
(1978)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Robert Christgau B+[2]
Rolling Stone (average) [3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide [4]

Simple Dreams is the eighth studio album by the American rock artist Linda Ronstadt, released in September 1977 through Asylum Records. One of the most successful albums of Ronstadt's career, Simple Dreams spent five consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart in late 1977, surpassing Fleetwood Mac's Rumours out of #1 after 29 record-breaking weeks in the pole position. It also surpassed Elvis Presley on Billboard's Country Albums chart. It won the Grammy Award for Best Album Package (in addition to several other Grammy nominations).

Simple Dreams was Ronstadt's fifth consecutive million-selling Platinum album and sold over 3½ million copies in less than a year in the United States alone – a record for a female artist.

Originally, the cover photograph had Ronstadt dressed in a mini-slip seated in front of multiple mirrors. Uncomfortable with the physical exposure, Linda changed into a robe, and the picture was made artificially grainy. A re-touched outtake photo from the original photo sessions was later included on the inner sleeve for her Platinum-plus Greatest Hits, Volume 2 album in 1980. At the 20th Grammy Awards, John Kosh won the Grammy Award for Best Recording Package for Simple Dreams.

This album has never been out of print.

Release data

The album was originally released by Asylum in the LP format in September, 1977 (catalogue number 104 or 6E-104). Later, in 1986, Asylum released the album in the Cassette format (TCS-104) and in the CD format (2-104).

Single releases

The album was such a success that Ronstadt became the first female artist – and the first act overall since The Beatles – to have two singles in the Top Five at the same time: the Platinum-certified "Blue Bayou" (#3 Pop, #3 Adult Contemporary, and #2 Country) and "It's So Easy" (peaked at #5 Pop).

"Blue Bayou" was nominated for the Record Of The Year Grammy award in early 1978. It also earned Ronstadt a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Performance Female, alongside Barbra Streisand, Dolly Parton, Carly Simon and Debby Boone.

The album includes songs by Warren Zevon, Eric Kaz and J.D. Souther, as well as The Rolling Stones' "Tumbling Dice". Ronstadt was joined by Parton on the traditional ballad "I Never Will Marry", which became a Top 10 Country Single during the summer of 1978. (Ronstadt, Parton and Emmylou Harris were also working on an ill-fated collaborative project around this same time, but ten years would pass before the release of the first of two Trio albums from their efforts).

Track listing

Side 1

  1. "It's So Easy" (Buddy Holly, Norman Petty) - 2:27
  2. "Carmelita" (Warren Zevon) - 3:07
  3. "Simple Man, Simple Dream" (J.D. Souther) - 3:12
  4. "Sorrow Lives Here" (Eric Kaz) - 2:57
  5. "I Never Will Marry" (Traditional) - 3:12

Side 2

  1. "Blue Bayou" (Roy Orbison, Joe Melson) - 3:57
  2. "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" (Warren Zevon) - 3:42
  3. "Maybe I'm Right" (Waddy Wachtel) - 3:05
  4. "Tumbling Dice" (Keith Richards, Mick Jagger) - 3:05
  5. "Old Paint" (Traditional) - 3:05

Chart performance

Chart (1977) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200 1
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums 1
Australian Kent Music Report 1
Canadian RPM Top Albums 1

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Simple Dreams at AllMusic
  2. ↑ Christgau, Robert (October 31, 1977). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice (New York). Retrieved April 29, 2013. 
  3. ↑ Rolling Stone review
  4. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 701. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. 
Preceded by
Barry Manilow Live by Barry Manilow		 Billboard 200 number-one album
December 3, 1977 - January 6, 1978 		Succeeded by
Saturday Night Fever (soundtrack)
by Various artists
Preceded by
Elvis in Concert by Elvis Presley		 Top Country Albums number-one album
December 17, 1977 		Succeeded by
Here You Come Again by Dolly Parton
Preceded by
Foot Loose & Fancy Free by Rod Stewart		 Australian Kent Music Report number-one album
February 13 - March 19, 1978 		Succeeded by
Saturday Night Fever (soundtrack)
by Various artists
Linda Ronstadt
Stone Poneys albums
Studio albums
Collaborations
Compilations
Related topics
Book:Linda Ronstadt
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.