❤️ A Timeless Cry for Connection: The Resonant Heart of a Ronstadt Classic
Ah, the 1970s. What a time it was, wasn’t it? The air felt charged with possibility, change was in the wind, and the music—oh, the music—spoke directly to the soul in a way that feels almost lost now. And in the midst of it all, there was Linda Ronstadt, a voice so pure and versatile it could bridge the worlds of country, rock, folk, and pop, making every song she touched feel like her own. Her cover of “When Will I Be Loved” is one of those precious musical moments, a simple, yearning melody wrapped in the sophisticated production that defined her golden era.
Released in March 1975, this irresistible track—taken from her seminal 1974 album, Heart Like A Wheel—proved to be an even bigger hit than the song that preceded it. The first single, “You’re No Good,” had already vaulted to the top of the charts, but it was the country-tinged melancholy of “When Will I Be Loved” that cemented Ronstadt’s status as a crossover queen. It peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in June 1975, only held out of the top spot by the sheer dominance of Captain & Tennille’s “Love Will Keep Us Together.” Remarkably, it did climb all the way to No. 1 on the Billboard Country chart, a testament to Ronstadt’s ability to move seamlessly between genres and appeal to an astonishingly wide audience.
The story behind the song actually begins long before Linda Ronstadt adopted it. It was penned by Phil Everly of The Everly Brothers, who took it to a US Top 10 hit back in 1960. Phil reportedly wrote it in his car, parked outside an A&W root beer stand, drawing inspiration from his tumultuous, on-again, off-again relationship with Jackie Ertel-Bleyer. The original Everly Brothers version, with its tight harmonies and rockabilly leanings, was a plea from a younger, perhaps more naive, heart.
Ronstadt’s version, masterfully produced by Peter Asher, rearranged the verses and gave it a fuller, country-rock sheen. It’s this change in tone that gives it its lasting emotional impact. When Linda Ronstadt sings, “I’ve been cheated, been mistreated, when will I be loved?” it’s not the sound of a boy lamenting a broken date; it’s the voice of a mature soul, beautiful and battered, standing alone amidst the wreckage of failed relationships, simply asking when the cycle of heartbreak will end. The song’s meaning, therefore, is an ageless, universal search for enduring, faithful love. It captures that reflective, lonely moment when you realize you’ve given your best and still ended up on the losing side of romance, yet you refuse to give up hope. It’s a bittersweet, defiant question posed to an often-cruel world.
And what a joy it is to recall those moments of seeing her perform it, often on television variety shows that brought the best music right into our living rooms! The clip of her singing it with The Smothers Brothers is a perfect snapshot of the era, blending her pure, earnest delivery with their gentle, slightly subversive comedy. It’s a nostalgic glimpse back at a time when music had room for both deep emotion and lighthearted television banter. For those of us who grew up with her voice as the soundtrack to our lives—from “Different Drum” to “Blue Bayou”—“When Will I Be Loved” remains a comforting, familiar tune, a perfect slice of her heart that resonates just as deeply today.
This video shows Linda Ronstadt performing her famous hit, “When Will I Be Loved,” alongside the delightful antics of The Smothers Brothers.
Oldies Songs