TUCSON, Ariz. — Ten-time Grammy winner and Tucson native, Linda Ronstadt, now has her legacy preserved on film. A new documentary "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice."
"The first day it came out in San Francisco she sneaked out of the house and wanted to check in out," Linda's cousin, Jim Ronstadt, said. "And she was very pleased with it."
Jim Ronstadt said despite repeated requests to document Ronstadt's life, she rejected them all before deciding on Academy Award winners Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein.
"I thought it was wonderful," Jim Ronstadt said. "It depicted her very well and covered the early part of her life."
She grew up in Tucson, with a musical family who loved to sing, especially Mexican canciones.
"The family involvement and my grandfather's and her dad's interest in music had a great influence on her," Ronstadt said.
The documentary depicts how she developed her gift and her wide-ranging taste in music.
"She was tough," Jim said. "She wanted to do it the way she wanted it done and she did."
Control is essential for Ronstadt. That's a clear message in the documentary. Jim said it's important for people to know that she's a gutsy star who never compromised.
"The influence she had on the music. The influence she had with women in music. It'll be here for a long time," Jim said.
"She was the first female rock and roll star. Try following Linda Ronstadt every night. But people didn't notice the difficulty of being a woman, trailblazing, and having the success of a Mick Jagger," several people spoke about Linda in the documentary. Including Linda Ronstadt herself: "The rock and roll culture seems to be dominated by hostility against women. They lose the ability to focus on themselves as a person."
KGUN 9 asked what Ronstadt's parents would have to say about her illustrious career.
"Very, very proud of her," Jim said.
Ronstadt's last public concert was a decade ago before Parkinson's disease robbed her of her ability to really sing.
In a poignant moment at the close of the documentary, Ronstadt is heard singing as best she can with family members.
Tickets for the film are available at the Loft Cinema.
