Linda Ronstadt, celebrated as one of the most influential female singers of her generation, admits there’s one song that still fills her with “fear.”Back in 1967, Ronstadt was a member of The Stone Poneys. She was the sole female and lead vocalist alongside Bobby Kimmel on rhythm guitar and vocals, and Kenny Edwards on lead guitar.
According to a post by The Great American Songbook Foundation, the singer admitted that the band's hit "Different Drum" still strikes "fear" in her. However, Ronstadt initially didn’t see it as a frightening song; in fact, she liked the original version, by the Greenbriar Boys, so much that she wanted to record it with her band, believing it suited their folk-rock style perfectly.
But the band's agent and recording producer, Nick Venet, wanted a more upbeat sound for the song. Per The Great American Songbook Foundation, the tune was changed to feature two guitars, bass, drums, and a "baroque-style harpsichord bridge."
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This was where Ronstadt's fear set in. Venet's new arrangement was something she was unfamiliar with.
Far Out Magazine reported that Ronstadt had just one run-through of the song before recording the second and final take. The latter would ultimately be released as a single.
“Today I will break my finger trying to get that record off when it’s on,” she said in the Marc Meyers book Anatomy of a Song, as reported by Songfacts. “Everyone hears something in that song – a breakup, the antiwar movement, women’s lib. I hear a fear and a lack of confidence on my part. It all happened so fast that day.”
Who originally wrote 'Different Drum?'
The original composer of "Different Drum" was Mike Nesmith, who would go on to achieve fame as a member of The Monkees. Nesmith was a songwriter who sometimes worked under the name of Michael Blessing in the early part of his career.
In an interview with Rebeat Magazine, Nesmith discussed the song and how it ultimately changed him as a songwriter. He originally penned the tune for the Greenbriar Boys, the version that inspired Ronstadt to cover the song with The Stone Poneys, in 1964.
Nesmith explained that the original version of the tune has "the twang, and it’s got the balance, and it’s got all that stuff. That’s real kind of mountain music. That’s home-style backyard, a hot Saturday afternoon, and fruit jars full of iced tea. That’s where that comes from."
He continued, "I sang 'Different Drum' for John Herald of the Greenbriar Boys like that. He took it home and turned it into the ballad that it became. Linda heard the ballad and made us all rich. So it was great, fantastic."
“Different Drum” would reach No. 13 on the Billboard charts and usher in Linda Ronstadt’s career as a pop and country artist. Mike Nesmith would go on to worldwide success as a cast member of The Monkees television series and musical group.
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