10 Most Rocking Linda Ronstadt Songs

Feature Photo: Rob Bogaerts / Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Ask any rock fan who grew up in the 1970s to name one of their favorite musical artists or singers, and the chances are pretty high that Linda Ronstadt will be one of the names dropped. Everyone loves Linda Ronstadt. She has a voice that cuts right through your heart. Hands down, she is one of the greatest interpreters of songs in all of pop music history. What I always loved about Linda Ronstadt was how she tackled all musical genres from country to pop to rock to jazz, opera, you name a style of music, Linda Ronstadt probably recorded a song bathed in it. Of course, some fans loved her country-style music more than anything, while others preferred the pop songs or rockers. This article focuses on the rock and roll tunes she released throughout her career. I’m going to try to mix it up and showcase her rock and roll side, from the country rock to the pop rock, and even the new wave rock she released. This one is going to be fun.

# 10 – Rescue Me – Linda Ronstadt

It’s pretty daring to take on a song that had already been a number one hit single, but that’s precisely what Linda Ronstadt did with this classic song “Rescue Me.” It’s not easy to take a former number one hit single and do a cover version that will make an impact, but that would become one of the hallmarks of Linda Ronstadt’s career. She never wavered on covering a song, no matter how popular it might have already been. She made them her own, and on this former number one single by Fontella Bass, Linda Ronstadt adds a little bit of grit to it. It’s a perfect album closer for a phenomenal record that opened up with Jackson Browne’s “Rock Me On The Water.”

# 9 – Talking In The Dark

Mad Love (180 Gram Audiophile Pink Vinyl/Limited Anniversary Edition)

There are a lot of great rockers on Linda Ronstadt’s 1980 album Mad Love. However, I had to make sure to include this one written by Elvis Costello because of the vocal that Linda Ronstadt performs on this intense-sounding cut. It’s pretty interesting because at times she sounds like Debbie Harry on this track, and it sounds almost intentional. Nonetheless, her vocal chops are just off the charts on this one, as it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable tracks on the record. If there was one singer who really knew how to handle an Elvis Costello song (remember her version of “Allison”), it was good old Linda.

# 8 – Lovesick Blues

This is one of those songs where Linda Ronstadt took her country roots and blended them with a rock and roll feel that would fuel a sound that many people would later call “cow punk,” It was a genre that would become the hallmark sound of the first Lone Justice album, which featured the jaw-dropping vocals of Maria McKee. This may be the least known Linda Ronstadt recording on this list, but it’s well worth a listen if you haven’t heard it before. It was released on Silk Purse.

# 7 – Get Closer – Get Closer

Get Closer (Exclusive Friday Music Issue on Gold Vinyl)

This is easily one of my favorite Linda Ronstadt vocals of all time, especially on the lick “get closer.” This was the title track to the follow-up album to her new wave record Mad Love. As the album opener, I remember buying this record for the first time, thinking that she had recorded another rocking new wave record, but that turned out not to be true. But that’s okay, it was a spectacular record anyway. If you’re not familiar with this song, make sure you take a listen to it below. This is killer stuff.

# 6 – That’ll Be the Day – Hasten Down The Wind

Hasten Down the Wind by Linda Ronstadt [Music CD]

Linda Ronstadt went back to the origins of rock and roll and recorded the Buddy Holly classic “That’ll Be the Day.” It’s hard to fathom now in 2025 to realize that when Linda Ronstadt recorded this song in the 1970s, rock and roll music was really less than 25 years old. The song was only about 20 years old when she recorded it. I mean, I have t-shirts that are about 20 years old that I still wear.

# 5 – How Do I Make You – Mad Love

A lot of heads turned when Linda Ronstadt released her Mad Love album in 1980. There was a lot of energy that year in rock and roll as new wave took over the airwaves. And all started with bands like Blondie and The Cars, and exploded big time with the Knack’s monster hit “My Sharona.” Linda Ronstadt joined in on the fun. I’m glad she did because this turned out to be one of my favorite Linda Ronstadt albums of all time. It wasn’t all new wave on the album, but this one definitely hit it right. Love this song. Written by Billy Steinberg, this one is so much fun.

# 4 – Heat Wave

Just like we had written in the opening song on this list, Linda Ronstadt was never intimidated about recording a former number-one song. That’s precisely what she did with this spectacular Holland-Dozier-Holland-penned track called “Heat Wave.” The song was originally a number one hit for Martha and the Vandellas during the summer of 1963. Linda sped it up a little, turned the energy up to eleven, and simply killed it with another sensational rocking vocal performance.

# 3 – Back In The U.S.A. – Living In The U.S.A.

Living In The U.S.A. (180 Gram Audiophile Translucent Blue Vinyl/Limited Anniversary Edition/Gatefold Cover)

When listening to this song, I couldn’t help but think of the old phrase “hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet.” I think we could add Linda Ronstadt to the end of that phrase, especially after her recording of this classic Chuck Berry tune. She was on fire when she recorded her version of this legendary song. Asylum Records would release this song as the opening single for her 1975 album Living In The U.S.A. One can never forget the classic cover with Linda Ronstadt on roller skates staring into the camera.

# 2 – Poor Poor Pitiful Me – Simple Dreams

Linda Ronstadt had a habit of covering multiple songs from certain individual songwriters. Warren Zevon would become one of those. Linda Ronstadt would blow the roof off the house with her recording of Warren Zevon’s “Poor Poor Pitiful Me.” Just listen to the way she phrases those lyrics. It’s like she wrote them herself. This is one I could never get enough of. The song was released on the fabulous Simple Dreams album. It would become the third single released from the album, while also breaking into the top 40, peaking at number 31.

# 1 – Tumbling Dice – Simple Dreams

Not many bands can rock harder than the Rolling Stones, but there was an energy that Ronstadt brought to this song that put it in our number one spot. She even changed some of the words to the song, including the opening line. This is a perfect recording. Linda Ronstadt’s stellar vocals are front and center on this one, but we can’t disregard just how important the band was on this track. “Tumbling Dice” would be released as the fourth single from the album. In the end, her recording of the song was Jagger’s idea, and she did not disappoint.