Simple Dreams
| Simple Dreams | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Linda Ronstadt | ||||
| Released | September, 1977 | |||
| Recorded |
May 23-July 22, 1977, The Sound Factory (Los Angeles, California) | |||
| Genre | Rock, classic rock, country rock | |||
| Length | 31:49 | |||
| Label | Asylum | |||
| Producer | Peter Asher | |||
| Linda Ronstadt chronology | ||||
| ||||
| 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 via Asylum Records. One of the most successful albums of Linda's career, Simple Dreams spent five consecutive weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart in late 1977, displacing Fleetwood Mac's Rumours out of #1 after 29 record-breaking weeks in the pole position. It also knocked Elvis Presley out of #1 on Billboard's Country Albums chart after 'The King' held the gridlock for four months following his death in August. It won the Grammy Award for Best Recording Package (in addition to several other high profile 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" (#2 Pop, #3 Adult Contemporary, and #2 Country) and "It's So Easy" (#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 charted in the top-ten on the U.S. country singles chart 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
- "It's So Easy" (Buddy Holly, Norman Petty) – 2:27
- "Carmelita" (Warren Zevon) – 3:07
- "Simple Man, Simple Dream" (J.D. Souther) – 3:12
- "Sorrow Lives Here" (Eric Kaz) – 2:57
- "I Never Will Marry" (Traditional) – 3:12
Side 2
- "Blue Bayou" (Roy Orbison, Joe Melson) – 3:57
- "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" (Warren Zevon) – 3:42
- "Maybe I'm Right" (Waddy Wachtel) – 3:05
- "Tumbling Dice" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) – 3:05
- "Old Paint" (Traditional) – 3:05
Charts
Peak positions
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[19] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[20] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000^ |
|
^shipments figures based on certification alone | ||
Personnel
- Linda Ronstadt - acoustic guitar, lead vocals and arrangements
- Waddy Wachtel - guitar
- Ed Black - guitar, steel guitar
- David Campbell - string arrangements
- Kenny Edwards - guitar, bass
- Rick Marotta - drums
- Danny Kortchmar, Richard Bowden, Pete Wade, Al Viola - guitar
- David Lindley - fiddle
- Jim Fadden - harmonica
- Jim Gordon, Nino Tempo - saxophone
- Mac Johnson, Darrel Leonard - trumpet
- Spooner Oldham - piano
- John Boylen - electric piano
- Kenny Anderson, Mike Bowden - bass
- Micky McGee, Dennis St. John, Andrew Gold, David Kemper - drums
- Andrew Gold, John David Souther, Chris Ethridge, Waddy Wachtel, Bernie Leadon, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Russ Kunkel, Clydie King, Herb Pedersen - background vocals
- Dolly Parton - harmony vocals on "I Never Will Marry"
- Don Henley - co-lead and background vocals on "Blue Bayou"
- Don Grolnick - piano
- Mike Auldridge - dobro on "I Never Will Marry"
References
- ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Simple Dreams at AllMusic
- ↑ Christgau, Robert (October 31, 1977). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice (New York). Retrieved April 29, 2013.
- ↑ Rolling Stone review
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ↑ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 28, No. 11" (PHP). RPM. 1977-12-10. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
- ↑ "dutchcharts.nl Linda Ronstadt – Simple Dreams" (ASP). Hung Medien. MegaCharts. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
- ↑ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2012-04-04.Note: user must select 'Linda RONSTADT' from drop-down
- ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
- ↑ "charts.org.nz Linda Ronstadt – Simple Dreams" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
- ↑ "swedishcharts.com Linda Ronstadt – Simple Dreams" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved 2012-04-04.
- ↑ "Linda Ronstadt : Artist: Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Allmusic:Simple Dreams : Charts & Awards: Billboard Albums". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
- ↑ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1977". RPM. 1977-12-31. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
- ↑ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1978". RPM. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
- ↑ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1978" (ASP) (in Dutch). Retrieved 2014-05-01.
- ↑ "Les Albums (CD) de 1978 par InfoDisc" (PHP) (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
- ↑ "Top Pop Albums of 1978". billboard.biz. Archived from the original on 2012-12-31. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
- ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Linda Ronstadt – Simple Dreams". Music Canada. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
- ↑ "American album certifications – Linda Ronstadt – Simple Dreams". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2012-04-04. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
| 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 Rumours by Fleetwood Mac |
Canadian RPM 100 number-one album December 10, 1977 – December 24, 1977 |
Succeeded by You Light Up My Life by Debby Boone |
| Preceded by Elvis in Concert by Elvis Presley |
U.S. Billboard Country 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 |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
