Los Lobos to Be Subject of Feature-Length Documentary Film

Posted on April 19, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

The origin story of Los Lobos is getting the Hollywood treatment…

The Mexican-American four-time Grammy-winning rock band, which has helped bring Chicano music to the masses over the last 50 years, will be the subject of the feature-length documentary with the working title Los Lobos Native Sons, currently in production and slated for a 2025 release.

The film features testimonials from George Lopez, Linda Ronstadt, Tom Waits, Dolores Huerta, Bonnie Raitt, Flaco Jimenez and Cheech Marin, among others.

Formed more than 50 years ago in East Los Angeles, the group is unique and versatile, able to play roots rock, Musica Mexicana, soul, folk and a galaxy of other styles.

The film is co-directed by veteran filmmaker, producer and editor Doug Blush and photographer/filmmaker Piero F. Giunti, and produced by Robert Corsini and Flavio Morales.

Blush says, “Los Lobos, as much as any modern band, has expanded and re-defined what’s possible in American music, and in their phenomenal half-century and counting, they’ve created a global fan base that proves that the wolf is very, very alive.”

The group was founded by David Hidalgo (vocals, guitar), Louie Pérez (drums, vocals, guitar), Cesar Rosas (vocals, guitar) and Conrad Lozano (bass, vocals, guitarrón). They played revved-up versions of Mexican folk music in restaurants and at parties.

The band evolved in the 1980s as it tapped into LA’s burgeoning punk and college rock scenes, sharing bills with the Circle Jerks, Public Image Ltd., and the Blasters, whose saxophonist, Steve Berlin, would eventually leave that group to join Los Lobos in 1984.

A major turning point came in 1987 with the release of the Ritchie Valens biopic La Bamba. The quintet’s cover of Valens’ signature song topped the charts in the U.S. and the U.K. Rather than capitalize on that massive commercial success, Los Lobos instead chose to record “La Pistola y El Corazón,” a tribute to Tejano and Mariachi music that won the 1989 Grammy for Best Mexican-American Performance. The group has moved from strength to strength in the years since, receiving everything from a Hispanic Heritage Award to transforming their song “Kiko” into a surreal skit about Elmo on Sesame Street.

Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca” Among Recordings Being Preserved as Part of Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Ricky Martin’s breakthrough single will be livin’ for eternity…

The 50-year-old Puerto Rican superstar’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca” will be preserved as part of the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.

Martin’s hit single, released in 1999 as part of the former Menudo singer’s English-language debut album, is part of the 2022 list of additions to the registry.

“Livin’ La Vida Loca” reached No. 1 in more than 20 countries, and it’s considered one of Martin’s biggest hits and best-selling singles of all time.

In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, becoming Martin’s first number one single on the chart. Additionally, it broke several records on Billboard charts.

At the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, it won a total of five awards and was nominated for several other categories, including Video of the Year, making Martin the first Latin artist in history to receive a nomination in this category.

Linda Ronstadt’s Spanish-language album Canciones de Mi Padre is also being preserved.

Released in 1987, it was the 75-year-old half-Mexican American Grammy-winning singer’s first album of Mexican traditional mariachi music. The canciones were a big part of Ronstadt’s family tradition and musical roots.

At 2.5 million copies sold in the US, the album stands as one of the biggest selling non-English language albums in American record history. It has been RIAA certified double-platinum (for over 2 million US copies sold) and also won Ronstadt the Grammy for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album.

The Buena Vista Social Club’s self-titled album has also been earmarked for preservation.

The ensemble of Cuban musicians, established in 1996, recorded the album in March 1996 and released it in September 1997. It quickly became an international success, which prompted the ensemble to perform with a full line-up in Amsterdam and New York in 1998. German director Wim Wenders captured the performance on film for a documentary—also called Buena Vista Social Club—that included interviews with the musicians conducted in Havana. Wenders’ film was released in June 1999 to critical acclaim, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary feature and winning numerous accolades including Best Documentary at the European Film Awards.

The Library of Congress said its National Recording Preservation Plan provides a blueprint to implement a comprehensive national sound recording preservation program. The National Recording Preservation Board and members of the public have nominated recordings to the National Recording Registry every year since 2002. The depth and breadth of nominations received highlights the richness of the nations” audio legacy and underscores the importance of assuring the long-term preservation of that legacy for future generations.

Here’s the list of 2022 additions to the National Recordings Registry, in chronological order:

“Harlem Strut”, James P. Johnson (1921)
Franklin D. Roosevelt: Complete Presidential Speeches (1933-45)
“Walking the Floor Over You”, Ernest Tubb (1941, single)
“On a Note of Triumph” (May 8, 1945)
“Jesus Gave Me Water”, The Soul Stirrers (1950, single)
“Ellington at Newport”, Duke Ellington (1956, album)
“We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite”, Max Roach (1960, album)
“The Christmas Song”, Nat King Cole (1961, single)
“Tonight’s the Night”, The Shirelles (1961, album)
“Moon River”, Andy Williams (1962, single)
“In C”, Terry Riley (1968, album)
“It’s a Small World”, The Disneyland Boys Choir (1964, single)
“Reach Out, I’ll Be There”, The Four Tops (1966, single)
Hank Aaron’s 715th Career Home Run (April 8, 1974)
“Bohemian Rhapsody”, Queen (1975, single)
“Don’t Stop Believin’”, Journey (1981, single)
“Canciones de Mi Padre”, Linda Ronstadt (1987, album)
“Nick of Time”, Bonnie Raitt (1989, album)
“The Low End Theory”, A Tribe Called Quest (1991, album)
“Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)”, Wu-Tang Clan (1993, album)
“Buena Vista Social Club” (1997, album)
“Livin’ La Vida Loca”, Ricky Martin (1999, single)
“Songs in A Minor”, Alicia Keys (2001, album)
WNYC broadcasts for the day of 9/11 (Sept. 11, 2001)
“WTF with Marc Maron” (Guest: Robin Williams, 2010)

Tucson Music Hall to Be Renamed in Honor of Linda Ronstadt

Posted on March 20, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Linda Ronstadt is receiving a special hometown honor…

The Tucson Music Hall will be renamed in honor of the 75-year-old half-Mexican American retired singer, a southern Arizona native who went on to become a Grammy-winning superstar, as announced by Mayor Regina Romero.

One of the top performers of the 1970s and a popular singer well into the 21st century, Ronstadt collected nearly a dozen Grammys in several categories, including country, pop, Latin and children’s music.

She stopped singing in 2009 when Parkinson’s disease robbed her of her singing voice.

“Linda Ronstadt is a beloved daughter of Tucson. It is time to honor her legacy and her ability to tell the story of our culture through music,” Romero said in a statement.

Ronstadt arrived on the music scene in 1967 as the lead singer of the Stone Poneys, a country-folk trio that featured two of her friends from the University of Arizona in Tucson. She later found success as a solo artist in eclectic genres ranging from rock to Mexican ranchera.

She was influenced by the Mexican music she grew up listening to as a child in Tucson.

“To me, nothing is more satisfying than going home to Tucson and singing with my dad,” Ronstadt once told The Los Angeles Times.

The venue will be formally renamed on May 7 during the International Mariachi Conference Espectacular Concert. Romero’s office said Ronstadt is scheduled to be in Tucson to unveil new signage bearing her name.

“I am fortunate to be a member of a large musical family that has been associated with the City of Tucson since the 1800s,” Ronstadt said in a statement released by the city. “My entire career was informed and nurtured by the music we made as I was growing up here.”

Flaco Jiménez’s “Partners” Album Among This Year’s National Recording Registry Selections

Posted on March 24, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Flaco Jiménez is being added to the registry…

One of the 82-year-old Mexican American singer, songwriter and accordionist’s most popular albums Partners, released by Warner Bros. Records in 1992, is one of this year’s National Recording Registry selections.

Jiménez, a Tejano music legend, appears on the new list of classic recordings joining the registry that Janet Jackson‘s 1989 album Rhythm Nation 1814, Kool & the Gang‘s buoyant single “Celebration“; Nas‘ game-changing debut album Illmatic and timeless children’s titles Free To Be… You And Me and “The Rainbow Connection.”

“Partners” by Jiménez, a champion of traditional conjunto music and Tex-Mex culture who is also known for innovation and collaboration with a variety of artists. This bilingual album features collaborations with Linda Ronstadt, Ry Cooder, Emmylou Harris and Los Lobos, among others.

The addition of 25 recordings this year brings to 575 the total number of titles in the registry, which selects recordings worthy of preservation based on their cultural, historical and/or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.

Nearly 900 titles were submitted for recognition this year.

“The National Recording Registry will preserve our history through these vibrant recordings of music and voices that have reflected our humanity and shaped our culture from the past 143 years,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in a statement.

Here’s the complete list, in chronological order:
1. Edison’s “St. Louis tinfoil” recording (1878)
2. “Nikolina” — Hjalmar Peterson (1917 single)
3. “Smyrneikos Balos” — Marika Papagika (1928) (single)
4. “When the Saints Go Marching In” — Louis Armstrong & his Orchestra (1938) (single)
5. Christmas Eve Broadcast – Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill (December 24, 1941)
6. “The Guiding Light” — November 22, 1945
7. Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues — Odetta (1957) (album)
8. “Lord, Keep Me Day by Day” — Albertina Walker and the Caravans (1959) (single)
9. Roger Maris hits his 61st homerun (October 1, 1961)
10. Aida — Leontyne Price, et.al. (1962) (album)
11. “Once a Day” — Connie Smith (1964) (single)
12. Born Under a Bad Sign — Albert King (1967) (album)
13. Free to Be…You & Me — Marlo Thomas and Friends (1972) (album)
14. The Harder They Come — Jimmy Cliff (1972) (album)
15. “Lady Marmalade” — LaBelle (1974) (single)
16. Late for the Sky — Jackson Browne (1974) (album)
17. Bright Size Life — Pat Metheny (1976) (album)
18. “The Rainbow Connection” — Kermit the Frog (1979) (single)
19. “Celebration” — Kool & the Gang (1980) (single)
20. Richard Strauss: Four Last Songs — Jessye Norman (1983) (album)
21. Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 — Janet Jackson (1989) (album)
22. Partners — Flaco Jiménez (1992) (album)
23. “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”/”What A Wonderful World” — Israel
Kamakawiwo’ole (1993) (single)
24. Illmatic — Nas (1994) (album)
25. “This American Life: The Giant Pool of Money” (May 9, 2008)

Linda Ronstadt Sells Recorded Music Assets to Iconic Artists Group

Posted on March 24, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Linda Ronstadt is selling her music…

The 74-year-old half-Mexican American Grammy-winning singer has sold her recorded music assets to Iconic Artists Group for an undisclosed amount.

The deal is for the masters Ronstadt owns and the royalties from the ones she does not. It’s not clear which masters from the five decades long career Ronstadt may own.

Publishing rights are, however, not included in the deal; the overwhelming majority of Ronstadt’s hits, like the Eagles’ “Desperado,” and The Everly Brothers’ “When Will I Be Loved,” are covers.

Although Ronstadt’s name and likeness are not included in the deal, the company, which is owned by Irving Azoff, may use them to promote the catalog.

“I’m very pleased about this partnership,” said Ronstadt. “It’s extremely gratifying to be in the company of Irving Azoff, his team, and his family of great artists, many of whom have been my friends and colleagues for years. It feels like home.”

Azoff commented on the sale by crediting Ronstadt for helping him create his career, and stated that without “Linda Ronstadt and John Boylan, there would have never been an Eagles.”

“The countless tours together with the Eagles and Linda and their collaborations are the backbone of the history of Southern California music,” Azoff continued. “For Linda and John to entrust us with the honor of furthering her work is one of the most satisfying moments of my career. Linda’s talent is unparalleled, but her courage and commitment to make important music of many genres is her legacy. We will preserve that legacy for her at all costs. Thank you, Linda and John. We won’t let you down.”

Ronstadt had her first hit in 1967 as the lead singer of the Stone Poneys, debuted a Spanish language album (before it was popular) in the 80s, and officially retired from singing in 2011. Just a month ago (February), she won her 11th Grammy Award for Best Music Film for her documentary Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice.

Bad Bunny Wins First Career Grammy for His Acclaimed Album “YHLQMDLG”

Posted on March 15, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a major first for Bad Bunny…

The 27-year-old Puerto Rican reggaeton and Latin trap singer/songwriter has won his first Grammy.

Bad Bunny, a five-time nominee since 2019, won the Best Latin Pop or Urban Album gramophone for his history-making album YHLQMDLG during the 63rd annual Grammy Awards.

But Bad Bunny isn’t the only first-time Grammy winner…

Kali Uchis picked up the Grammy for Best Dance Recording for the 26-year-old Colombian-American singer/songwriter’s collaborative single with Kaytranada, “10%.”

Fito Paez is also a first time winner…

The 58-year-old Argentine rock and roll pianist, lyricist, singer-songwriter and film director, a multiple Latin Grammy winner, took home Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album for La Conquista Del Espacio, beating out Bajofondo’s Aura and Lido Pimienta’s Miss Colombia .

Colombia’s most emblematic and symbolic salsa band Group Niche couldn’t miss out on the first-Grammy-win fun…

The group, which has been making music for decades, took home its first Grammy, winning in the best tropical album category for 40, an album that pays homage both to its anniversary and to its late founder, Jairo Varela, who died in 2012.

In the highly contested best regional Mexican music album category, the winner was Natalia Lafourcade for Un canto por México, Vol. 1, an homage to Mexican traditional sounds. Lafourcade had previously won a Grammy in the best Latin rock, urban or alternative category for Hasta la raíz in 2016.

There’s no question Arturo O’Farrill is a Grammy darling…

The 60-year-old Mexican jazz musician picked up his career fifth Grammy for Four Questions, his album with his The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra.

Giancarlo Guerrero is celebrating another big win…

The 52-year-old Costa Rican, Nicaraguan-born music director of the Nashville Symphony and his musicians took home the award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for Rouse: Symphony No. 5. It’s the sixth Grammy of his career.

Gustavo Dudamel has his second Grammy…

The 40-year-old Venezuelan conductor, who’d previously won a gramophone in 2012, won in the Best Orchestral Performance category for Ives: Complete Symphonies.

Make that 11 wins for Linda Ronstadt.

The 74-year-old retired half-Mexican American singer picked up the 11th Grammy of her career for Best Music Film for her acclaimed documentary The Sound of My Voice.

Here’s the list of all the winners:

Record of the Year: Billie Eilish, “Everything I Wanted”
Album of the Year: Taylor Swift, Folklore
Best R&B Performance: Beyoncé, “Black Parade”
Best Pop Vocal Album: Dua Lipa, Future Nostalgia
Best Rap Song: Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé, “Savage”
Song of the Year: H.E.R., “I Can’t Breathe”
Best Latin Pop or Urban Album: Bad Bunny, YHLQMDLG
Best Melodic Rap Performance: Anderson .Paak, “Lockdown”
Best Pop Solo Performance: Harry Styles, “Watermelon Sugar”
Best Country Album: Miranda Lambert, Wildcard
Best New Artist: Megan Thee Stallion
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical: Andrew Watt
Best Country Song: The Highwomen, “Crowded Table”
Best Country Duo/Group Performance: Dan + Shay & Justin Bieber, “10,000 Hours”
Best Country Solo Performance: Vince Gill, When My Amy Prays
Best Rock Album: The Strokes, The New Abnormal
Best Rock Song: Brittany Howard, “Stay High”
Best Metal Performance: Body Count, “Bum-Rush”
Best Rock Performance: Fiona Apple, “Shameika”
Best Rap Album: Nas, King’s Disease
Best Rap Performance: Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé, “Savage”
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: James Taylor, American Standard
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande, “Rain on Me”
Best R&B Album: John Legend, Bigger Love
Best Progressive R&B Album: Thundercat, It Is What It Is
Best R&B Song: Robert Glasper featuring H.E.R. & Meshell Ndegeocello, “Better Than I Imagined”
Best Traditional R&B Performance: Ledisi, “Anything for You”
Best Latin Jazz Album: Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Four Questions
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album: Maria Schneider Orchestra, Data Lords
Best Jazz Instrumental Album: Chick Corea, Christian McBride and Brian Blade, Trilogy 2
Best Jazz Vocal Album: Kurt Elling Featuring Danilo Pérez, Secrets Are the Best Stories
Best improvised Jazz Solo: Chick Corea’s “All Blues”
Best Alternative Music Album: Fiona Apple, Fetch the Bolt Cutters
Best Musical Theatre Album: Original Broadway Cast, Jagged Little Pill
Best Comedy Album Winner: Tiffany Haddish, Black Mitzvah
Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books and Storytelling: Rachel Maddow, Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, And The Richest, Most Destructive Industry On Earth
Best Children’s Music Album: Joanie Leeds, All the Ladies
Best Global Music Album: Burna Boy, Twice as Tall
Best Reggae Album: Toots and the Maytals, Got to Be Tough
Best Regional Roots Music Album: New Orleans Nightcrawlers, Atmosphere
Best Folk Album: Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, All the Good Times
Best Contemporary Blues Album: Fantastic Negrito, Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?
Best Traditional Blues Album: Bobby Rush, Rawer Than Raw
Best Bluegrass Album: Billy Strings, Home
Best Americana Album: Sarah Jarosz, World on the Ground
Best American Roots Song: John Prine, “I Remember Everything”
Best American Roots Performance: John Prine, I Remember Everything
Best Song Written for Visual Media: Billie Eilish, “No Time to Die” (From No Time to Die)
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media: Hildur Guðnadóttir, Joker
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media: Various Artists, Jojo Rabbit
Best Contemporary Classical Composition: Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony, Rouse: Symphony No. 5
Best Classical Compendium: Michael Tilson Thomas, Thomas, M.T.: From The Diary Of Anne Frank & Meditations On Rilke
Best Classical Solo Vocal Album: Sarah Brailey & Dashon Burton, Smyth: The Prison
Best Classical Instrumental Solo: Richard O’Neill, Theofanidis: Concerto For Viola And Chamber Orchestra
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance: Pacifica Quartet, Contemporary Voices
Best Choral Performance: JoAnn Falletta, James K. Bass & Adam Luebke, Danielpour: The Passion Of Yeshua
Best Opera Recording: David Robertson, Eric Owens & Angel Blue, Gershwin: Porgy And Bess
Best Orchestral Performance: Gustavo Dudamel, Ives: Complete Symphonies
Best Tropical Latin Album: Grupo Niche, 40
Best Regional Mexican Album (Including Tejano): Natalia Lafourcade, Un Canto Por México, Vol. 1
Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album: Fito Paez, La Conquista Del Espacio
Producer of the Year, Classical: David Frost
Best Engineered Album, Classical: Riccardo Muti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13, ‘Babi Yar’
Best Remixed Recording: SAINt JHN, “Roses” (Imanbek Remix)
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical: Beck, Hyperspace
Best Historical Album: Mister Rogers, It’s Such A Good Feeling: The Best Of Mister Rogers
Best Album Notes: The Replacements, Dead Man’s Pop
Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package: Wilco, Ode to Joy
Best Recording Package: Vols. 11 & 12 Desert Sessions
Best Roots Gospel Album: Fisk Jubilee Singers, Celebrating Fisk! (The 150th Anniversary)
Best Gospel Album: PJ Morton, Gospel According To PJ
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album: Kanye West, Jesus Is King
Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song: Zach Williams & Dolly Parton, “There Was Jesus”
Best Gospel Performance/Song: Jonathan McReynolds & Mali Music, “Movin’ On”
Best New Age Album: Jim “Kimo” West, More Guitar Stories
Best Music Video: Beyoncé with Blue Ivy, and WizKiD, “Brown Skin Girl”
Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals: Jacob Collier with Rapsody, “He Won’t Hold You”
Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella: John Beasley, “Donna Lee”
Best Instrumental Composition: Maria Schneider, Sputnik
Best Contemporary Instrumental Album: Snarky Puppy, Live at the Royal Albert Hall
Best Dance/Electronic Album: Kaytranada, Bubba
Best Dance Recording: Kaytranada, “10%” featuring Kali Uchis

Recording Academy Adds Two Linda Ronstadt Albums to Grammy Hall of Fame, Including “Canciones de Mi Padre”

Posted on December 23, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Linda Ronstadt is pulling a double…

The Recording Academy has announced 29 songs and albums that it’ll add to the Grammy Hall of Fame, with the 74-year-old half-Mexican American singer landing two albums on the list.

Ronstadt’s Spanish-language album Canciones de Mi Padre, released in 1987, has earned a place in the Grammy Hall.

Ronstadt’s first album of Mexican traditional Mariachi music immediately became a global smash. It sold 2.5 million copies in the U.S. and has been RIAA certified double-platinum. It won Ronstadt the Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album at the 31st Grammy Awards.

Ronstadt was also recognized for Trio, the country album she made with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris. It was also released in 1987.

The album has sold over 4 million copies worldwide and has also received several accolades, including the Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

The Grammy Hall now includes 1,142 recordings.

“We are proud to announce this year’s diverse roster of Grammy Hall of Fame inductees and to recognize recordings that have shaped our industry and inspires music makers of tomorrow,” Harvey Mason Jr., chair and interim president/CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement. “Each recording has had a significant impact on our culture, and it is an honor to add them to our distinguished catalog.”

Here’s the full list of 2021 Grammy Hall of Fame inductees:

“Au Clair de la Lune,” Edouard-Leon Scott De Martinville, single (c. 1853-61)
“Blues Breakers,” John Mayall with Eric Clapton, album (1966)
“Canciones de Mi Padre,” Linda Ronstadt, album (1987)
“Clean Up Woman,” Betty Wright, single (1971)
“Copenhagen,” Fletcher Henderson And His Orchestra, single (1924)
“Don’t Stop Believin’,” Journey, single (1981)
“Freight Train,” Elizabeth Cotton, single (1958)
“Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.,” Bruce Springsteen, album (1973)
“Horses,” Patti Smith, album (1975)
“Hot Buttered Soul,” Isaac Hayes, album (1969)
“In the Right Place,” Dr. John, album (1973)
“Licensed to Ill,” Beastie Boys, album (1986)
“Mad Dogs & Englishmen,” Joe Cocker, album (1970)
“Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at ‘The Club’,” The Cannonball Adderley Quintet, album (1966)
“Ravel: Piano Concerto in G Major,” Leonard Bernstein with the Philharmonia Orchestra Of London, album (1948)
“Schoenberg: The Four String Quartets,” Kolisch String Quartet, album (1937)
“So,” Peter Gabriel, album (1986)
“Solitude,” Billie Holiday, single (1952)
“Ten,” Pearl Jam, album (1991)
“Texas Flood,” Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble, album (1983)
“The Cars,” The Cars, album (1978)
“The Gambler,” Kenny Rogers, single (1978)
“The Low End Theory,” A Tribe Called Quest, album (1991)
“Time Is On My Side,” Irma Thomas, single (1964)
“Trio,” Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, album (1987)
“We Are The World,” USA For Africa, single (1985)
“When the Levee Breaks,” Kansas Joe And Memphis Minnie, single (1929)
“Wreck of the Old 97,” Vernon Dalhart, single (1924)
“Y.M.C.A.,” Village People, single (1978)

Demi Lovato & Marshmello Perform “OK Not To Be OK” at LA’s Legendary Troubadour Nightclub

Posted on October 20, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Demi Lovato is taking her ‘okay’ message on the road…

The 28-year-old part-Mexican American singer/actress has joined voices with Marshmello at Los Angeles’ legendary Troubadour nightclub to perform their smash collaboration “OK Not To Be OK.”

Lovato and Marshmello performed the mental health-themed single as part of the Save Our Stages Fest, an initiative that’s raising money for independent music venues on the verge of closing due to the pandemic.

Marshmello and Lovato’s confidence-boosting ballad is currently at No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs.

The Troubadour is just one of thousands of venues threatened with closure due to COVID-19. The West Hollywood nightclub is famous for incubating the Los Angeles music scene of the ’60s and ’70s, with acts including Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Brown, Eagles, Elton John, Joni Mitchell and more all playing the stage early in their careers.

Save Our Stages is aiming to raise $5 million to help fund the Troubadour, and thousands of other venues like it, over the next few months as doors remain shut amidst the global pandemic.

Shout! Studios Acquires Global Rights to “Linda and the Mockingbirds” Documentary About Linda Ronstadt’s Impactful Journey to Mexico

Posted on September 5, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Linda Ronstadt’s special cultural journey is going global…

Linda and the Mockingbirds, a documentary about the 74-year-old Grammy-winning singer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member’s journey to Mexico to explore her family history and musical roots south of the border, has been picked up for worldwide rights by Shout! Studios, the distribution and production division of the Shout! Factory home video company.

The film was originally scheduled to premiere at the Telluride Film Festival over Labor Day weekend.

Shout! Plans to release the documentary later this year via various distribution platforms.

In a follow-up to last year’s highly acclaimed Ronstadt documentary The Sound of My Voice, Linda and the Mockingbirds narrows in on a road trip taken by Ronstadt, Jackson Browne and a group of younger musicians to the Mexican town of Banámichi in the state of Sonora, the birthplace of Ronstadt’s beloved grandfather.

The film is said to deal with border politics, racism and other personal or hot-button topics affecting Ronstadt’s and Browne’s companions on the trip: the instructors and students of Los Cenzontles, a school and studio based in San Pablo, California dedicated to the promotion of Mexican roots music.

The documentary was directed and produced by actor-turned-filmmaker James Keach, who also produced Sound of My Voice.

“It has been an honor to create a second documentary with Linda Ronstadt, whom I love and admire,” Keach said in a statement. “Crossing the border on this musical journey to Mexico with Linda, Jackson Browne and the young musicians of Los Cenzontles opened the minds and hearts of all of us working on the film. I hope it will open the minds and hearts of everyone who sees it.”

It was Ronstadt’s request that Keach embark on making a second film that would focus on her relationship with the Los Cenzontles Cultural Arts Academy.

Ronstadt has been known for her associations with Mexican music ever since she interrupted her pop career in 1987 to release Canciones De Mi Padre, a labor of love that unexpectedly became a commercial success and was certified double-platinum.

“The film beautifully blends multiple stories, focusing on Linda Ronstadt’s Mexican-American roots, celebrating the music and culture of Mexico and offering a passionate and personal story about immigration,” said Shout!’s Jeffrey Peisch.

CNN to Air Acclaimed Linda Ronstadt Documentary on New Year’s Day

Posted on November 15, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Linda Ronstadt’s inspiring story is headed to the screen…

CNN Films has acquired the documentary feature about the 73-year-old Mexican American singer, Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice, and it has set the film’s television premiere for New Year’s Day on CNN.

Ronstadt was 21 when she first hit the national charts with the Stone Poneys’ “Different Drum,” and her plaintive vocal leapt off the radio from the opening line. By the mid-’70s, she was cranking out smash singles and multiplatinum albums as fast as the public could consume them. Three of her LPs hit No. 1 en route to her becoming the most successful female singer of the decade.

Ronstadt is a 10-time Grammy winner, and has earned a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award by The Latin Recording Academy and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award by The Recording Academy. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Famein 2014.

Two-time Oscar winner Rob Epstein and Oscar nominee Jeffrey Friedman directed the documentray from Greenwich Entertainment, 1091and CNN Films.

Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice premieres at 9:00 pm on Wednesday, January 1.

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