CoronaVinyl Day 158 (Arizona): Heart Like a Wheel by Linda Ronstadt

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Today's CoronaVinyl category is Arizona, which turns out to be more timely than I could have imagined when I made my list of CoronaVinyl categories, as Arizona's presidential votes are still being counted and could help nail Trump's coffin shut.  If it goes blue, it will be the first time since 1996 and only the second time since 1948.

But politics isn't what we're talking about here, so let's get to the music.  Perhaps one of the most famous musicians from Arizona is Linda Ronstadt.  Born and raised in Tucson, her family's roots in Arizona go all the way back to before it was even part of the U.S., and several of her ancestors have made various contributions to Arizona's history.

Ronstadt became one of the biggest solo stars of the '70s, with her silky voice and easy listening combination of rock, folk, and country.  She had five Top 5 albums on the Billboard album chart between 1974 and 1978 -- three of which hit #1 -- and all of them went platinum.

1974's Heart Like a Wheel was her fifth studio album, and it's the one that broker her into stardom, reaching #1 on the Billboard album chart -- a whole 44 spots higher than her previous highest-charting album.  She also netted her first two Top 10 songs from this album.  "You're No Good" hit #1, and "When Will I Be Loved" hit #2.

The album received four Grammy nominations (including Album of the Year), and she won the award for Best Country Vocal Performance Female for "I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love with You."  If you look at who contributed to the album, that's not too much of a surprise.  

• The album was produced by Peter Asher, half of British Invasion pop duo Peter and Gordon.  
• Andrew Gold contributed to most of the songs.  Among his many accomplishments are that he wrote and recorded the original version of "Thank You For Being a Friend," which was later covered as the now-iconic theme song to Golden Girls, he wrote and sang the theme for Mad About You, and his 1996 novelty Halloween song "Spooky Scary Skeletons" became a big viral/meme hit in the 2010s.
• Other artists who lent their talents to the album include:  Eagles members Glenn Frey, Don Henley, and Timothy Schmit; Emmylou Harris; famed composer/arranger David Campbell (whose song is Beck); former Flying Burrito Brothers Sneaky Pete Kleinow and Chris Ethridge; and session drummer Russ Kunkel.

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Dark End of the Street"

This is a soulful ballad, where Ronstadt shows off her pipes.

Favorite song from Side 2:  "When Will I Be Loved"
This is a rollicking country rock cover of my favorite Everly Brothers song.