In 1961, American singer-songwriter Roy Orbison wrote and recorded the song “Blue Bayou,” which would ultimately end up on his full-length studio album from 1963, In Dreams. The song was an international hit for Orbison, who pointed out that while the song may have seemed simply about being on the road, in actuality it was “a sad song, a lonely song, but it’s a loneliness that precedes happiness.”
16 years later, in 1977, Linda Ronstadt was working on what would become her eighth studio album, Simple Dreams. While she was selecting work for the album, her musician friends JD Souther and Glenn Frey suggested the Orbison song to her for the tracklist.
Ronstadt took her friends’ advice, recorded “Blue Bayou” for her album, and the rest is iconic music history.
“Blue Bayou” was released in August of 1977 and immediately began crawling up the charts. On the Billboard Hot 100, the song peaked at number three, and it took the number two spot on the Country chart as well as number three on the Easy Listening chart. “Blue Bayou” charting the way it did gave Ronstadt the distinction of being the first female artist to ever have two singles in the Top 5 in the same week, as her single “It’s So Easy” was sitting in the number five spot on the Pop charts. This also made her the second act overall for the accomplishment, only behind The Beatles.
“Blue Bayou” sold over a million copies in the United States by 1978, certifying it Gold by the RIAA. This made it the first of three gold singles for Ronstadt over the course of her career. Later on, the track was certified Platinum, meaning it sold over two million copies.
Ronstadt was nominated for a Grammy award for the song in the categories Best Female Pop Vocal Performance as well as Record of the Year. She lost the former to Barbra Streisand for “Evergreen,” and the latter to “Hotel California” by The Eagles.
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Related: 1989 Award-Winning Linda Ronstadt Cover Is Still a Beloved Hit 37 Years Later