The “First Lady of Rock” will be officially recognized by the city of San Francisco on July 15, 2024, a date also known as her 78th birthday.
On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution sponsored by Supervisors Connie Chan and Rafael Mandelman celebrating Linda Maria Ronstadt, the genre-defying singer who, over the course of her four-decade career, incorporated country, rock ‘n’ roll, big band, jazz, Mexican and Afro-Cuban musical influences.
The declaration also makes special note of Ronstadt’s commitment to social justice, including her involvement with Los Cenzontles, the San Pablo nonprofit dedicated to Mexican cultural arts, and her outspoken support for anti-war, LGBTQ+ and immigration causes.
Ronstadt grew up in Tuscon, Arizona and the Rio Sonora region of Northern Mexico, and spent much of her career in Los Angeles, but she has called San Francisco’s Sea Cliff neighborhood home for the past 25 years.
Chan, whose district includes Sea Cliff, told the San Francisco Chronicle the suggestion for recognition came from local fans, and prompted the Supervisor’s team to start blasting Ronstadt hits in the office.
There are so many to choose from: 1974’s “You’re No Good”; 1977’s “Blue Bayou”; or “To Know Him Is to Love Him,” from her 1984 album Trio with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris.
Ronstadt has released over 30 studio albums, has had 38 Billboard Top 100 singles, won 11 Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, among many, many other accolades. She announced her retirement from performing in 2011; she is no longer able to sing due to progressive supranuclear palsy.
San Francisco’s declaration comes just a few months after the announcement of a forthcoming Linda Ronstadt biopic starring Selena Gomez. The film, based on Ronstadt’s 2013 memoir Simple Dreams, will be produced by John Boylan, Ronstadt’s manager, and James Keach, producer of the 2019 documentary Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice. (Dramatic opportunities abound: In the 1970s and 1980s, Ronstadt was in high-profile romantic relationships with both Governor Jerry Brown and Star Wars director George Lucas.)
July 15 will recognize Ronstadt “for her amazing contributions to American culture, preservation of Mexican American heritage, and advancing social justice,” concludes the pronouncement.
And most importantly: “The Board wishes Ms. Ronstadt a very happy birthday.”
