n 1960, The Everly Brothers scored a Top 10 hit with the song "When Will I Be Loved." Fifteen years later, a singer from Arizona surpassed the original and took it all the way to #2.

Born on July 15, 1946, Linda Ronstadt formed her first band in 1960 by teaming with her sister and brother to form The Three Ronstadts, which didn't result in any chart success.

First charting on April 26, 1975, "When Will I Be Loved" was Tuscon, Ariz. native Linda Ronstadt's fourth Top 40 single and second Top 5 hit from her sixth studio LP, Heart Like A Wheel. The album first charted on Dec. 7, 1974, rose to No. 1 on the Hot 200 album chart for one week, and remained on the chart for 51 weeks. It was certified gold by the RIAA on Jan. 31, 1975.

In 1964, Linda teamed with Bob Kimmel and Kenny Edwards to form The Stone Poneys, which scored a #13 hit with "Different Drum." By 1970, she had chosen to follow a different drummer herself and went solo, recruiting a tour band that eventually found its own success as The Eagles. Linda's career, however, was stagnating, and she found the spark that renewed her with Peter Asher.

Asher had once been part of the duo Peter and Gordon, which topped the chart in 1964 with "World Without Love." With Peter as Linda's manager, the chaos seemed to straighten itself out. As she stated in her biography Linda Ronstadt, "Peter [Asher] was the first person willing to work with me as an equal, even though his abilities were far superior to mine. I didn't have to fight for my ideas.... All of the sudden, making records became so much more fun."

A direct result of that partnership was Linda's 1974 album Heart Like a Wheel. Produced by Asher, it contained a mix of old and new songs that were crafted to fit Ronstadt's voice. She explained to Rolling Stone magazine how the songs for the album were chosen, "I pick them because something will happen in my life and I want to describe that situation, and it sets off a tape recorder in my head of a song.... I pick the tunes and then Peter and I both act as editors when it comes to making arrangements."

The album's first hit, "You're No Good," had originally been a #51 hit for Betty Everett. Linda's version went all the way to #1, becoming her first Billboard Top 10 hit. For a follow-up, Linda turned to another remake, this time of The Everly Brothers' #8 single "When Will I Be Loved." Entering the charts at #81, Linda's version overtook The Everly Brothers' peak in its ninth chart week. Two weeks alter, the song spent the first of two weeks at #2.

While the sudden success after years of effort was welcome, Ronstadt also found it a bit unsettling. She stated, "The first thing I had to do when Heart Like A Wheel went platinum was stop feeling guilty about my success. The most miserable time of my life was in 1975, after the album. All of my dreams of success had come true, but I still felt like the same old schlep. I was still feeling very untrustworthy. Now I realize that I worked hard and earned my success, and it's up to me whether I enjoy it or not." Although she didn't top the singles charts again, "When Will I Be Loved" didn't mark her last appearance in the #2 position -- in 1987 her "Somewhere Out There" duet with James Ingram, from the animated film An American Tail, also rose to the penultimate chart spot.

- Christopher G. Feldman, The Billboard Book of No. 2 Singles, Billboard, 2000.

 

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