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Grammy-winning singer Linda Ronstadt’s name recently trended on Twitter after the 1970 song Long Long Time from her second album Silk Purse featured in the third episode of HBO’s popular drama The Last of Us.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the third episode of The Last of Us.
The song played a pivotal role in establishing the relationship between the characters of Bill and Frank. In one of their initial scenes, Frank (Murray Bartlett) sits at the piano, shuffles through Bill’s (Nick Offerman) sheet music, and decides to play Ronstadt’s Long Long Time.
In response to Frank’s note, Bill plays a rendition of the song, and the duo ultimately proceeds to share a tender kiss. The ballad about unrequited love, which also serves as the title of the third episode, serves as the musical theme as the two characters stay together until their deaths.
Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) arrive at Bill’s home long after his and Frank’s deaths and find a letter from Bill to continue the journey forward. As the duo hops into Bill’s car and hits the play button on the car stereo, the original version of Linda Ronstadt’s Long Long Time starts playing inside the vehicle.
While The Last of Us co-creator Craig Mazin was hailed online for featuring Ronstadt’s ballad in the show, her name trending on social media also sparked concern among netizens.
However, several social media users soon confirmed that the singer was alive and her name ended up on the trending pages for her song being used on the HBO show.
The concern among fans comes following Ronstadt’s 2013 Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, which affected her singing ability.
What is Linda Ronstadt’s net worth in 2023?
Linda Ronstadt is an American singer known for her music spanning several genres, including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards, two Academy of Country Music Awards, an Emmy Award, and an ALMA Award.
She was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Ronstadt has an approximate net worth of $130 million. She garnered the majority of her fortune from her long music career during her active years from 1967 to 2011.
Linda Ronstadt started singing across small venues in Tucson back in the 1960s as part of a folk trio with her siblings Peter and Gretchen. She later moved to Los Angeles and formed Stone Poneys with Bobby Kimmel and Kenny Edwards.
The trio were signed to Capitol Records before Ronstadt went solo and released her 1969 album Hand Sown… Home Grown. It is reportedly considered the first alternative record by a female artist. Ronstadt continued to gain popularity across California and started touring with popular artists like the Doors and Neil Young.
Ronstadt soon earned the status of “First Lady of Rock” or “Queen of Rock” with the release of her 1970s albums Heart Like a Wheel, Simple Dreams, and Living in the USA.
The musician continued to release new music during the 1980s with albums like Mad Love, What's New, Canciones de Mi Padre, and Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind, all of which earned multi-platinum certification.
She also collaborated with artists like Dolly Parton, Frank Zappa, Bette Midler, and Johnny Cash, among others.
Linda Ronstadt released over 30 studio albums, had 38 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and earned gold, platinum or multi-platinum certification on most of her records. She was also featured on more than 120 albums. All of her musical projects and tours contributed to her fortune and made her a millionaire.
The singer also earned from additional endeavors like writing and acting. Ronstadt’s autobiography, Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir, was published in English and Spanish in 2013. She also had multiple TV appearances on shows like Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons, The Muppet Show, and Playboy After Dark, among others.
Ronstadt also garnered some fortune from her role in musicals. She played Mabel Stanley in the 1980 TV film version of The Pirates of Penzance as well as in a Broadway production of the show.
She was also nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Linda Ronstadt reprised the role in the 1983 film of the same name and earned a Golden Globe nomination for her role.
The musician released her last full-length album in 2004 and performed her last live concert in 2009. She announced her retirement from music in 2011 and was later diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, which left her unable to sing.
A look into Linda Ronstadt’s illness and health condition
In 2013, Linda Ronstadt revealed that she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and that she failed to sing due to loss of muscle control. She was reportedly diagnosed with the condition eight months before the official announcement.
The musician reportedly suffered from the symptoms while experiencing the aftereffects of shoulder surgery and a tick bite. In 2019, doctors revised Ronstadt’s diagnosis to progressive supranuclear palsy, a Parkinson’s-like degenerative disease.
The condition is commonly mistaken for Parkinson's disease due to the similarity of the symptoms. Speaking to Today in November 2022, Linda Ronstadt said that she could no longer sing due to her condition but was left with music in mind:
“I can sing in my brain. It’s not quite the same Sometimes, I choose the song, and sometimes my brain chooses the song.”
She continued:
“My brain chooses the worst music. It just blares away in my head, like really bad Christmas carols.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, progressive supranuclear palsy is an uncommon condition often caused by the deterioration of brain cells that control thinking, movement, and coordination.
Twitter expresses concern over Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt recently ended up on the Twitter trending page after her song Long Long Time was featured on the third episode of the HBO series The Last of Us.
While many praised the show for using the 1970s ballad, some social media users were left concerned after seeing Ronstadt’s name trending:
Meanwhile, several people also clarified the reason behind Ronstadt's name trending on Twitter:
As reactions continued to pour in online, The Last of Us co-creator Craig Mazin opened up about incorporating Linda Ronstadt’s song on the third episode of the show:
“I had the thought that this would happen, that there was a song that would be played, and that we would be surprised by who was good at it and who was bad at it.”
He added:
“I remember saying to Neil, ‘I’m not sure what the song is, I just know that it has to be this incredibly sad song about yearning for love, and never getting love, and just making your peace with the fact that you will always be alone. But it can’t be on the nose. And it can’t be a song that we all know.’”
Mazin said that he finally decided to use Linda Ronstadt’s balled and texted his friend Seth Rudetsky about the song after researching for “hours and hours and hours.”
He shared that the song was used with the aim of showing “the arc of commitment” while highlighting “moments in your life where love means something different.”
