''Living in the USA'' is the ninth studio album by American singer

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

, released in 1978. The album was Ronstadt's third and final No. 1 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of ar ...

album chart.

Release

The album was originally released by

Asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...

in the LP format in September 1978 (catalog number 155 or 6E-155). Subsequently, in 1990, Asylum released the album on cassette (TCS-155) and in the CD format (2-155). In addition to the standard 1978 release, collector's-item editions of the LP were made in the same time period of the album in red vinyl (catalog number K53085) and also of a

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics that extend at lea ...

(catalog number DP 401) featuring a photograph of Ronstadt lacing up the

roller skating Roller skating is the act of traveling on surfaces with roller skates. It is a recreational activity, a sport, and a form of transportation. Roller rinks and skate parks are built for roller skating, though it also takes place on streets, sid ...

boots that she is wearing on the front cover (this photograph is also included on the

record sleeve A record sleeve is the outer covering of a vinyl record. Alternative terms are ''dust sleeve'', ''album liner'' and ''liner''. The term is also used to denominate the outermost cardboard covering of a record, i.e. the ''record jacket'' or ''album ...

in the standard release).

Single releases and radio play

The album's first single release was

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

's " Back in the USA" which reached number 11 on the Cash Box Top 100 and number 16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. (It was listed at number 1 on many Album Rock playlists.) The disc's biggest success was Ronstadt's version of Smokey Robinson's " Ooh Baby Baby" (featuring alto-sax work from

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album ''Taking Off'' in 19 ...

) that hit number 7 Pop and number 2 Easy Listening as well as the Country and even the Soul chart. " Just One Look" and " Alison" later became hit singles for Ronstadt as well, while "All That You Dream" and

Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", " Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Th ...

's " Mohammed's Radio" were popular tracks on Album-Oriented Radio stations. Although not released as a single, Ronstadt's version of " Love Me Tender" was edited together with the original version of the song by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, creating a duet between the two famous singers that was played by many radio stations at the time.

Critical reception

The album received largely positive reviews at the time of release. Ronstadt covered her last Warren Zevon song for this album ("Mohammed's Radio"). The album largely consisted of material that had previously been recorded and released by other artists including covers of songs written and performed previously by Little Feat, Elvis Presley and Elvis Costello. At the time, Ronstadt's cover of Elvis Costello's "Alison" was criticized by Costello himself after he heard her version of the song, although he did admit he "liked the money." Ronstadt had her management reach out to Costello and ask if he had any other material she could cover. He responded by sending her three songs that she recorded for her follow-up album. After the release of '' Mad Love'', Ronstadt's follow-up album with the three Costello songs she solicited, Costello again had negative comments about her versions of his songs. In later years, Costello praised Ronstadt and apologized for the harshness of his comments.

Track listing

Personnel

* Linda Ronstadt – lead vocals, backing vocals (3, 5, 9) *

Dan Dugmore Dan Dugmore is an American session musician known primarily for playing the pedal steel guitar Born in 1949, Dugmore was raised in Pasadena, California. Influenced by the Flying Burrito Brothers, he learned to play steel guitar after Flying Bur ...

– electric guitar (1, 3, 7) pedal steel guitar (4-6, 8-9) *

Waddy Wachtel Robert "Waddy" Wachtel (born May 24, 1947) is an American musician, composer and record producer, most notable for his guitar work. Wachtel has worked as session musician for other artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, Kim Carnes, Randy ...

– electric guitar (1, 3-8), backing vocals (1, 6, 10), acoustic guitar (9, 10) *

Don Grolnick Don Grolnick (September 23, 1947 – June 1, 1996) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and record producer. He was a member of the groups Steps Ahead and Dreams, both with Michael Brecker, and played often with the Brecker Brothers. As a sess ...

– acoustic piano (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9) electric piano (4, 5, 6), organ (5, 10) *

Kenny Edwards Kenneth Michael Edwards (February 10, 1946 – August 18, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, bassist, guitarist, mandolinist, and session musician. He was a founding member of the Stone Poneys and Bryndle and a long-time collaborator wi ...

– bass guitar (1, 3-9), backing vocals (1, 3, 9) *

Russ Kunkel Russell Kunkel (born September 27, 1948) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician with many popular artists, including Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Buffett, Harry Chapin, Rita Coolidge, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Dan F ...

– drums (1, 3-9), congas (5, 9) *

Mike Mainieri Michael T. Mainieri Jr. (born July 4, 1938) is an American vibraphonist, known for his work with the jazz fusion group Steps Ahead. He is married to the singer-songwriter and harpist Dee Carstensen. Biography Mainieri was born in The Bronx, Ne ...

–

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist ...

(2), arrangements (2) *

Peter Asher Peter Asher, (born 22 June 1944) is an English guitarist, singer, manager and record producer. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the pop music vocal duo Peter and Gordon before going on to a successful career as a manager and r ...

– backing vocals (1), cowbell (3, 9), tambourine (3, 6, 9), shaker (6), sleigh bells (6) *

– alto saxophone (4, 7) * Pat Henderson – backing vocals (3, 8) * Sherlie Matthews – backing vocals (3, 8) *

Andrew Gold Andrew Maurice Gold (August 2, 1951 – June 3, 2011) was an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who influenced much of the Los Angeles-dominated pop/soft rock sound in the 1970s. Gold played on scores of reco ...

– backing vocals (4) * Jim Gilstrap – backing vocals (7) * John Lehman – backing vocals (7) *

David Lasley David Eldon Lasley (August 20, 1947 – December 9, 2021) was an American recording artist, singer, musician and songwriter. He was best known as a touring background singer for James Taylor, as a session singer on recordings by artists including ...

– backing vocals (9) *

Arnold McCuller Arnold McCuller (born August 26, 1950) is an American vocalist, songwriter, and record producer, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He was active as a solo artist and session musician, but is perhaps best known for his work as a touring back- ...

– backing vocals (9)

Production

* Peter Asher – producer * Val Garay – recording, mixing * George Ybarra – recording assistant, mix assistant * Jan Michael Alejandro – technician * Harold Jones – technician *

Doug Sax Doug Lionel Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three of The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six of Pink Floyd's albums, including ''The Wall''; Ray Charl ...

– mastering at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, California). * Kosh – art direction, design * Jim Shea – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1978 albums Linda Ronstadt albums Albums produced by Peter Asher Asylum Records albums Rhino Records albums