Heart Like a Wheel
Studio album by
Linda Ronstadt
ReleasedNovember 19, 1974 (1974-11-19)
RecordedJune–September 1974
StudioThe Sound Factory and Clover Recorders, Los Angeles, Track Recorders, Maryland, Record Plant and The Hit Factory, New York City, Trident Studios and AIR Studios, London[1]
Genre
Length31:40
LabelCapitol
ProducerPeter Asher
Linda Ronstadt chronology
Don't Cry Now
(1973)		 Heart Like a Wheel
(1974)		 Prisoner in Disguise
(1975)
Singles from Heart Like a Wheel
  1. "You're No Good"
    Released: November 19, 1974
  2. "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)"
    Released: November 19, 1974
  3. "When Will I Be Loved"
    Released: March 25, 1975
  4. "It Doesn't Matter Anymore"
    Released: March 25, 1975

Heart Like a Wheel is the fifth solo studio album by Linda Ronstadt, released in November 1974. It was Ronstadt's last album to be released by Capitol Records. At the time of its recording, Ronstadt had already moved to Asylum Records and released her first album there; due to contractual obligations, though, Heart Like a Wheel was released by Capitol.[4]

Heart Like a Wheel reached the top of the Billboard 200, becoming her first number one album in the United States. The lead single a cover of Dee Dee Warwick's "You're No Good" peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. At the 18th Annual Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for Album Of The Year, while her version of "I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love with You" won the award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female.

Widely considered Ronstadt's breakthrough album, it was selected by the Library of Congress to be inducted into the National Recording Registry in 2013. The album was also placed on the 2020 revised version of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Christgau's Record GuideA−[6]
Pitchfork8.5/10[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]
Tom HullB[9]

Heart Like a Wheel became Ronstadt's first album to hit the top spot on the Billboard Top 200 album chart and spent four weeks at number 1 on the Billboard Country Album chart in early 1975. "You're No Good," the first single release from the record company, reached number 1 on Billboard's Hot 100. A cover of The Everly Brothers' "When Will I Be Loved" spent two weeks at number 2 on the Hot 100 in June 1975 and reached number 1 on the Cash Box Pop singles chart and on the Hot Country Songs chart. Buddy Holly & the Crickets song, "It Doesn't Matter Anymore", also appeared on the Pop, Adult Contemporary and Country charts.[10]

Stephen Holden's 1975 review Rolling Stone described the title track as "a masterpiece of writing and arrangement" and lauded the album's expansive repertoire, production and song selection.[11] The album's cover of Hank Williams's "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)," peaked at number 2 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.[12]

Heart Like a Wheel spent 51 weeks on the album chart.[13]

Retrospective reviews of Heart Like a Wheel widely regard it as a high-point in Ronstadt's oeuvre. In his review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine described it as "a landmark of '70s mainstream pop/rock."[5] John Lingan claimed in his review for Pitchfork that "[Ronstadt] had one power, but it was a superpower. Viewed from one angle, Linda Ronstadt’s career is the story of a woman gradually recognizing the power of her own voice. She had the tone early, but you can hear her control improve in each successive album. Her breaths sound more natural, her vibrato becomes more pronounced. By Heart Like a Wheel, she’d mastered it."[7]

In 1976, the album earned Ronstadt four nominations at the Grammy Awards. She won Best Country Vocal Performance, Female for the track, "I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love with You". She was also nominated for Album Of The Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female. Producer Peter Asher was among the nominees for Producer of the Year.[14]

In 2006, CMT ranked "Heart Like a Wheel" No. 34 on its list of the 40 greatest albums in country music.[15] The album was ranked No. 490 on the September 22, 2020 edition of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[3]

Heart Like a Wheel was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry in 2013 for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important."[16]

In 2018, Heart Like a Wheel was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[17]

Track listing

Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."When Will I Be Loved"Phil Everly2:04
2."Willin'"Lowell George3:02
3."I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)"Hank Williams2:45
4."Keep Me from Blowing Away"Paul Craft3:10
5."You Can Close Your Eyes"James Taylor3:09
Total length:31:40

Personnel

Adapted from album's liner notes.[18]

  • Linda Ronstadt – lead vocals, backing vocals (2, 4, 6, 9)
  • Andrew Gold – electric piano (1, 3), electric guitar solo (1), drums (1, 2, 3, 7), percussion (1, 2, 3), acoustic piano (3, 4, 5, 8, 10), electric rhythm guitar (4), tambourine (4, 6), guitars (6), backing vocals (6, 7), acoustic guitar (7, 8), ukulele (8). Credit on album cover: "Special thanks to Andrew Gold for his help with the arrangements."
  • Eddie Black – electric guitar (1)
  • Bob Warford – acoustic guitar (2, 4, 8), electric guitar solo (4), electric guitar (7)
  • Sneaky Pete Kleinow – pedal steel guitar (2, 7, 8)
  • J. D. Souther – acoustic guitar (3), harmony vocals (3)
  • Herb Pedersen – banjo (3), backing vocals (7)
  • Paul Craft – acoustic guitar (9)
  • John Starling – acoustic guitar (9)
  • Danny Pendleton – pedal steel guitar (9)
  • John Boylan – acoustic guitar (10)
  • Glenn Frey – acoustic guitar (10)
  • Kenny Edwards – bass guitar (1, 2, 6–8), backing vocals (6, 7)
  • Chris Ethridge – bass guitar (3)
  • Emory Gordy Jr. – bass guitar (4)
  • Tom Guidera – bass guitar (9)
  • Timothy B. Schmit – bass guitar (10)
  • Dennis St. John – drums (4)
  • Russ Kunkel – drums (6)
  • Lloyd Myers – drums (8)
  • Don Henley – drums (10)
  • Peter Asher – percussion (2), cowbell (6), backing vocals (10)
  • Jimmie Fadden – harmonica (2, 7)
  • David Lindley – fiddle (5, 8)
  • Gregory Rose – string arrangements and conductor (1, 2, 10)
  • David Campbell – string arrangements (5), viola (5)
  • Dennis Karmazyn – cello (5)
  • Richard Feves – double bass (5)
  • Clydie King – backing vocals (1)
  • Sherlie Matthews – backing vocals (1)
  • Wendy Waldman – backing vocals (2)
  • Cissy Houston – backing vocals (4)
  • Joyce Nesbitt – backing vocals (4)
  • Maria Muldaur – backing vocals (5)
  • Emmylou Harris – harmony vocals (8)

Production

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[22] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history and formats for Heart Like a Wheel
Region Date Format Label Ref.
North America November 19, 1974
  • LP
  • cassette
  • Asylum Records
  • Capitol Records
 [23]

Reissues

Year Label Edition
2009 Audio Fidelity 24 Karat Gold HDCD
2017 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab SACD

References

  1. ↑ "Linda Ronstadt - Heart Like A Wheel (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs.com. 1976-11-13. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
  2. ↑ Dedrick, Jay (January 1, 1998). "Linda Ronstadt". In Knopper, Steve (ed.). MusicHound Lounge: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. pp. 409–410.
  3. 1 2 3 "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  4. ↑ Moore, Mary Ellen (1978). The Linda Ronstadt Scrapbook: An Illustrated Biography. New York: Grosset & Dunlap. p. 61. ISBN 0-441-48411-5.
  5. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Heart Like a Wheel at AllMusic. Retrieved 3 December 2005.
  6. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: R". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 12, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  7. 1 2 John, Lingan. "Linda Ronstadt: Heart Like a Wheel Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  8. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). "Linda Ronstadt". The Rolling Stone Album Guide. London: Fireside. pp. 701–702. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  9. ↑ Hull, Tom (April 1975). "The Rekord Report: Third Card". Overdose. Retrieved June 26, 2020 – via tomhull.com.
  10. ↑ Linda Ronstadt > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles at AllMusic. Retrieved 28 July 2006.
  11. ↑ Holden, Stephen (January 16, 1975). "Linda Ronstadt Heart Like a Wheel > Album Review". Rolling Stone. No. 178. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 28 July 2006.
  12. ↑ "Country Charts". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
  13. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (April 1, 2007). Joel Whitburn presents The Billboard Albums (6th ed.). Record Research Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-89820-166-6. Cited in "Linda Ronstadt Top Pop Albums". Ronstadt-linda.com. Retrieved 28 July 2006.
  14. ↑ "Grammy Award Nominees 1976 - Grammy Award Winners 1976". Awards & Shows. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  15. ↑ "CMT 40 Greatest Albums". RateYourMusic.
  16. ↑ "2013|View Registry by Induction Years | Recording Registry | National Recording Preservation Board | Programs at the Library of Congress". Library of Congress. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  17. ↑ https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#h
  18. ↑ Heart Like a Wheel (booklet). Capitol. 1974.
  19. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 258. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  20. ↑ "Linda Ronstadt Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  21. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  22. ↑ "American album certifications – Linda Ronstadt – Heart Like a Wheel". Recording Industry Association of America.
  23. ↑ Ronstadt, Linda (November 19, 1974). "Heart Like a Wheel (Liner Notes)". Asylum Records/Capitol Records. ST-11358 (LP); 4XT-11358 (Cassette).
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