Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

Fear and negativity are contagious, but so is courage!

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

They spent the last eight months firing professionals and replacing them with ideologues.

Consistently wrong since 2002

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

The press swings at every pitch, we don’t have to.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

I would gladly pay you tuesday for a hamburger today.

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it is a trap.

Be a wild strawberry.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Those who are easily outraged are easily manipulated.

The world has changed, and neither one recognizes it.

You are here: Home / Music / Tumbling Dice

Tumbling Dice

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Sad news (via commentor Amir Khalid):

Singer Linda Ronstadt says she has Parkinson’s disease and can no longer sing.

The 67-year-old musician made the disclosure in an AARP Magazine interview posted online Friday.

Ronstadt, an 11-time Grammy winner, said that she was diagnosed with the neurological ailment about eight months ago and “can’t sing a note.”

“No one can sing with Parkinson’s disease,” Ronstadt said. “No matter how hard you try.”

Ronstadt said that she uses poles to help walk and uses a wheelchair when traveling.

She said in the interview that she noticed symptoms eight years ago, but assumed they were related to a tick disease….

Reader Interactions

67Comments

  7. 7.

    kindness

    Sad news. Should have also noted she sang back up on Neil Young’s Harvest & Harvest Moon discs.

  8. 8.

    NotMax

    Have previously mentioned what an unmitigated ass she was the one time I had to shepherd her through an appearance.

    That doesn’t mean I don’t wish her well today.

  9. 9.

    Scamp Dog

    Ouch. My Dad had Parkinson’s, which lead to balance and weakness issues. Two years ago he fell, breaking his jaw in five places. He died after two and a half weeks in the ICU, most of it on a ventilator. Parkinson’s is bad news.

  13. 13.

    Mnemosyne

    @Yatsuno:

    It could go either way, but that trailer makes it look pretty funny. He’s always been best at the self-deprecating type of comedy, and you kind of have to deal with his Parkinson’s up-front, so that’s probably the best way to handle it. I like that it’s not all sweetness and light and Heroic Moments.

    ETA: And if I say it’s already obvious that they’re not going to have the “Girls” problem with the portrayal of New York City, does everyone know what I mean?

  15. 15.

    srv

    I was watching this Justin Timberlake awards orgy (hotel cable) where he does a very impressive performance and then all the fat Nsync guys join him for a song.

    Pretty much wondering where the damn meteor is and then realize he’s really only 30 or so, so trying to figure out how he was a teen star at what, 8?

    Linda’s had a good run for all those stars who probably did eleventy-billion drugs back in the day. Cruise and Vinny Barbarino are just fucking vampires or get a transplant from some asian kid every year.

  16. 16.

    Honus

    It’s a shame about Linda. Glen Campbell’s situation is also a terrible thing. The little-known fact is the guy was truly one of the great guitarists of our generation.

  17. 17.

    divF

    Heartbreaking. An operatic voice, broad and exquisite taste in music, and a pioneer woman rock-and-roller.

    Jerry Brown had the good fortune to date her when he was governor of CA the first time around.

    Excuse me, I’m going to go listen to “Carmelita” and ‘Blue Bayou”, along with the songs AL posted.

  20. 20.

    Mnemosyne

    @Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):

    “Seinfeld”s NYC wasn’t terribly white — don’t you remember Jackie Chiles, or the Soup Nazi, or the Indian (I think) taxi driver who Jerry accidentally got deported?

    “Girls” inherited the NYC of “Friends,” where just about every person you see on the screen, including extras walking down the street, is white.

  22. 22.

    Amir Khalid

    I have the Trio albums she did with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris. Sublime stuff. Alas, they only did two of them. Her ‘Round Midnight albums with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra were pretty much my introduction to the Great American Songbook.

  23. 23.

    PurpleGirl

    For me the NYC problem, besides everyone being white, is that people who are in lower paying jobs have these great apartments. While not luxury buildings, they still have large rooms and pretty decent decor. Nobody lives in one room on Avenue C with two windows to a space between buildings (i.e, very little light).

    On topic: It’s a shame; 67 is still young. I really loved her early work.

  24. 24.

    piratedan

    her stuff in the 70’s was awesome and she’s unofficially Tucson’s favorite daughter as her family has deep roots here. At least we got to listen to her sing and have an entire catalog of wonderful music to know her by.

  26. 26.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @Mnemosyne:

    Yeah, I remember (and it was Babu, the Pakistani restauranteur who, before he was deported, took Jerry’s advice to change his menu from typical American diner fare to a traditional Pakistani menu- and it didn’t work out well). But if you watch the earlier seasons, it’s very white, and they got called on it. Hell, they were still being criticized near the end of the run (admittedly, not the most scathing of critiques- the author liked the show overall).

    And, yes, Friends was worse.

  27. 27.

    Amir Khalid

    In that Trio clip, Emmylou and Dolly mention how she likes to sing backing vocals. She’s one of three women backing up Zevon on Excitable Boy.

  28. 28.

    Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    My mom liked Ronstadt in the ’70s, and in the early ’90s I discovered her album of torch standards recorded with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. Can’t believe that was 20 years ago.

  29. 29.

    Ash Can

    Damned shame. Ageing in general is not kind to vocal cords, but this is just unfair. She still has a great deal to contribute, though — she’s a giant in the music industry.

  32. 32.

    Alison

    Super sad :( I mean, an illness like this is always sad, but it feels especially cruel when someone is afflicted with something that prevents them from doing what they love the most.

  33. 33.

    spudgun

    This is so sad. I was a huge fan of hers in the 70s.

    And I kinda know how she feels, as a vocalist who also lost the ability to sing because of a physical condition (injury, not disease, in my case). I vaguely remember some famous opera singer saying in an interview a long time ago that singers die twice – the usual way, obviously, but first when they lose their voices to old age. To lose your voice to age is totally expected and you can prepare yourself for it, but to have your abilities cut short because of ridiculously random, unexpected reasons like Parkinson’s? It’s too much to bear sometimes.

    My heart goes out to her.

  34. 34.

    Mnemosyne

    @Alison:

    That’s why I found Roger Ebert’s battle with cancer to be sad, but not tragic — he was at least able to continue watching movies and writing about them, which was what he loved most, and he was able to have some very productive years even after he could no longer speak.

    For a singer to not be able to sing anymore … ugh.

  35. 35.

    Alison

    @Mnemosyne: Yeah, definitely. And I’d imagine being able to do the work one loves can really help a person cope and learn to live with a disease or new disability.

  36. 36.

    Ron Beasley

    I was rather shocked by the picture of her in the linked article – not the beautiful singer I fell in love with 40+ years ago. But then I remembered she was my age and went and looked in the mirror…………
    Seriously – this is really sad. If it had be diagnosed eight years ago they might have been able to slow it’s progression and given her a few more years. I have known a couple of people with parkinsons and it’s not a pretty way to spend your last few years.

  37. 37.

    Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason

    @Scamp Dog: My dad had Parkinson’s also. He lived about 15 years with it from diagnosis until the end. I felt like instead of losing him all at once at the end, we lost him bit by bit over the years as the disease limited him more and more.

  38. 38.

    Comrade Mary

    OK, the Michael J. Fox show trailer looks decent, had some good jokes, and wasn’t mawkish at all — yay! Plus Betsy Brandt (Marie from Breaking Bad) AND “Float On” by Modest Mouse as the closing anti-inspirational music? I like.

  39. 39.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    So I was watching “Up with Steve Kornacki”, and as part of a long segment about the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, people such as Ana Marie Cox (WTF?) regaled the audience with what they assumed MLK would have said about the current situation in the USA. There was also some bozo from The Nation (white, natch) whose primary contribution was to squawk that King “was a SOCIALIST!!!!!! AWESOME!”

    ETA: Bob Herbert (Demos) and Jamelle Bouie were also on the panel, but got a much smaller part of the air time.

  40. 40.

    Linkmeister

    Ronstadt’s had a thyroid condition for some time, which is what caused the weight gain. This news is horrible for those of us who’ve been fans forever (I have 22 of her albums, including all three of the Nelson Riddle ones as well as her 1970s charted ones). If you heard the last album with Ann Savoy you’d know she could still sing, and I’ve been wondering why nothing new had been recorded. Now I know.

  41. 41.

    ruemara

    @Mnemosyne: As a NYer, I’d like to point out that there are no black people there. Which means I, the fam, and about a good 70% of the people in town are fake. I do a lot of running around to look like all those black persons.

    @The prophet Nostradumbass: See above comment. Black people are obviously rarer than a pole dancing unicorn on rollerskates.

    On topic, this saddens me. I think it must be hard to have a disease, but even harder if it steals your voice. That’s the awful part to me.

  46. 46.

    Mardam

    Damn you, Anne. Long, long time is my favorite…and most unfavorite Ronstadt song, for reasons I wish I could forget. All I need is to hear that angelic voice start the first verse and I’m a mess. And Linda, Dolly and Emmy Lou were f#$%ing MAGIC.

    On a related note…this is very sad, of course. But it’s also a life lesson. Use your youth…it disappears. And all that’s left is tears.

  49. 49.

    lojasmo

    That sucks. My running partner was dianosed at 32 years of age. Luckily, he’s a union thug, and will be able to retire at age 46. Hopefully, he’ll be able to enjoy the latter part of life a little.

  50. 50.

    J R in WV

    I have always thought that the Trio albums were the best vocal albums ever made. We often listen to one of them in the late evening to go to sleep by. Dolly Parton has the best pure high soprano voice in the world, and with the three of them working hard together, taking turns with the lead, they’re just wonderful!

    Getting old sukx!

  51. 51.

    moderateindy

    An immense talent. Her voice was so pure it was scary. Although I find it interesting that in her enormous catalog she only has 2 or 3 partial writing credits. I wonder if she wrote stuff, and didn’t consider it worthy of recording, or if she simply had no interest in writing original music.
    I do find it ironic that nobody casts aspersions on her bona fides as a rock icon, and yet The Monkees which were pretty close to contemporaries, were vilified as fakes because they didn’t play their instruments on their records (most stuff back then was done by studio musicians like the great Glenn Campbell that was mentioned earlier), and didn’t write their own music. The irony coming from the fact that one of Ronstadt’s hits, “Different Drum”, was written by “The Monkees” Mike Nesmith.
    Still, I can’t think of anyone else that is as good at taking someone else’s work and making it their own. Maybe Norah Jones comes close.

  52. 52.

    The Moar You Know

    An immense talent. Her voice was so pure it was scary. Although I find it interesting that in her enormous catalog she only has 2 or 3 partial writing credits. I wonder if she wrote stuff, and didn’t consider it worthy of recording, or if she simply had no interest in writing original music.

    Most singers with no instrumental background don’t write. And some with some serious instrumental background don’t write either – Clapton hasn’t written anything since the early 70s, and precious little before then, by way of example. Just does other people’s songs.

    Writing a good song is a hell of a lot harder than playing one.

  54. 54.

    Seanly

    My mom was a huge fan of hers in the mid/late 70’s. To this day, I still have a penchant for female vocals. “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me” FTW.

  55. 55.

    Amir Khalid

    @Anton Sirius:
    Zooey Deschanel might have the looks to play Linda Ronstadt, but what singer could hope to match the power and soul in Linda’s sound?

    @moderateindy:
    The Monkees were originally cast to play a band on TV, of course, not to be a real one. And thereby hangs a fascinating tale. But as Wikipedia notes, the “real” musicians of the day recognised their genuine ability and treated them with respect. And not a few respectable critics consider them Rock and Roll Hall of Fame material.

  57. 57.

    zmulls

    Extremely sad. I loved the “Trio” albums as well. The one time I got to see SNL live (saw the dress rehearsal taping) she was the musical guest.

    Michael J. Fox is still able to be funny (his guest shot on CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM was priceless); but singing requires control. It must be devastating to lose the thing that has defined you for so long.

  58. 58.

    oldster

    She also had the good taste to cover hits by some of the greatest male vocalists of all time:

    Smokey Robinson
    Roy Orbison
    Little Anthony

    To be honest, I prefer each of the originals to her cover. But I never would have heard of Little Anthony if I hadn’t heard LR singing “Hurts So Bad.”

    She was great. And as someone whose own voice is falling apart day by day, I feel for her pllight.

  59. 59.

    oldster

    And if you haven’t seen Little Anthony do it, you should watch:

    youtube.com/watch?v=Bnjuj7ipxac

    1964, the Ed Sullivan Show, and an incredibly emo performance–he’s blinking back the tears, because it hurts so bad.

    Fascinating to see the history–the beautifully conked hair, the Sinatra-like mannerisms. What it took to bring black people into white living rooms, 49 years ago.

    But history aside, it’s just a classic performance of over-the-top heart-ache and pain.

  60. 60.

    Original Lee

    @Comrade Mary: Can’t watch it at work, but if it was the one playing on the Hulu website last week, I just love the kid swinging on the refrigerator door in the background. I think the show has a lot of promise when they include details like that in the trailer.

  61. 61.

    Anna in PDX

    So sad. I was very fond of her and grew up hearing my dad’s albums. I loved her on Graceland as well, and of course I love both the Trio albums, they are so very beautiful.

  65. 65.

    Bruce

    My mother died of complications from PD. State of the art treatment today is “deep brain stimulation.” My mother died before this treatment was approved.

  67. 67.

    Caravelle

    That’s sad news.

    Having read Musicophilia and Awakenings I was initially surprised when she said she couldn’t sing anymore, given music seems to ameliorate the symptoms of Parkinson’s. On reflection it makes perfect sense that you couldn’t sing in the same way anymore, and not on the professional level Linda Ronstadt is used to. And symptoms of Parkinsons vary and I guess hers particularly harm her singing ability…

    Still, I hope that like RSA’s friend she manages to find a way to keep enjoying her art.

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