Hasten Down the Wind

Hasten Down the Wind
Studio album by
Linda Ronstadt
ReleasedAugust 9, 1976
RecordedMarch 1976
StudioSound Factory (Hollywood)
Genres
Length41:23
LabelAsylum
ProducerPeter Asher
Linda Ronstadt chronology
Prisoner in Disguise
(1975)		 Hasten Down the Wind
(1976)		 Greatest Hits
(1976)
Singles from Hasten Down the Wind
  1. "That'll Be the Day"
    Released: August 1976
  2. "Someone to Lay Down Beside Me"
    Released: November 1976
  3. "Crazy"
    Released: November 1976
  4. "Lose Again"
    Released: May 1977
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStar[1]
Christgau's Record GuideB−[2]
Rolling Stone(average)[3]
The Rolling Stone Album GuideStarStarStar[4]
Stereo ReviewStarStarStarStarHalf star[5]

Hasten Down the Wind is the seventh studio album by American singer Linda Ronstadt, released by Capitol on August 9, 1976. Becoming her third straight million-selling album, Ronstadt was the first female artist to accomplish this feat.[6] A critical and commercial success, Hasten garnered her second Grammy Award for Pop Vocal Performance, Female at the 19th Grammy Awards ceremony (1977). It represented a slight departure from her previous albums Heart Like a Wheel (1974) and Prisoner in Disguise (1975) in that she chose to showcase new songwriters over the traditional country rock sound she had been producing up to that point. A more serious and poignant album than its predecessors, it won critical acclaim.

Hasten Down the Wind contained two major hit singles: Ronstadt's covers of Buddy Holly's "That'll Be the Day" (US Pop #11, Country #27) and her reworking of the late Patsy Cline's 1961 hit, "Crazy", reaching #6 on the US Country chart in early 1977.[7]

The album showcased songs from artists such as Warren Zevon ("Hasten Down the Wind") and Karla Bonoff ("Someone to Lay Down Beside Me", US #42, Easy Listening #38), both of whom would soon be making a name for themselves in the singer-songwriter world. The album included a cover of a cover: "The Tattler" by Washington Phillips, which Ry Cooder had re-arranged for his 1974 album Paradise and Lunch. The album also included two songs co-written by Ronstadt, including one in Spanish (her first recorded foray into Spanish music, more than a decade before she released her first fully-Spanish album).

Her third album to go platinum, Hasten Down the Wind spent several weeks in the top three of the Billboard album charts. It was also the second of four number 1 Country albums for her.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Lose Again"Karla Bonoff3:34
2."The Tattler"Ry Cooder, Russ Titelman, Washington Phillips3:56
3."If He's Ever Near"Karla Bonoff3:15
4."That'll Be the Day"Jerry Allison, Buddy Holly, Norman Petty2:32
5."Lo Siento Mi Vida"Linda Ronstadt, Kenny Edwards, Gilbert Ronstadt3:54
6."Hasten Down the Wind"Warren Zevon2:40
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Rivers of Babylon"Brent Dowe, Trevor McNaughton0:52
2."Give One Heart"John Hall, Johanna Hall4:07
3."Try Me Again"Linda Ronstadt, Andrew Gold3:59
4."Crazy"Willie Nelson3:58
5."Down So Low"Tracy Nelson4:08
6."Someone to Lay Down Beside Me"Karla Bonoff4:28
Total length:41:23

Personnel

  • Linda Ronstadt – lead vocals, backing vocals (1–3, 8, 12), handclaps (4)
  • Andrew Gold – acoustic piano (1, 6, 9, 11-12), organ (1, 3), ARP String Ensemble (1, 3), acoustic guitar (1, 3, 10), finger cymbal (1, 3), backing vocals (1-2, ft 4, 7-8), electric piano (2, 8), sleigh bells (2), handclaps (2), electric guitar (4, 9), bass guitar (5), harmony vocals (5), tambourine (6), lead guitar (8), rhythm guitar (8), cowbell (8), clavinet (12)
  • Clarence McDonald – acoustic piano (10)
  • Dan Dugmore – electric guitar (1-2, 11, 12), steel guitar (5, 8-10)
  • Waddy Wachtel – electric guitar (3-4, 6), acoustic guitar (5), "reggae" lead guitar (8)
  • Kenny Edwards – bass guitar (1–4, 6, 8–12), backing vocals (1, 2, 4, 7), mandolin (2), string arrangements (2), acoustic guitar (5), harmony vocals (5)
  • Mike Botts – drums (1-2, 4, 8–12)
  • Russ Kunkel – drums (3, 5, 6)
  • Peter Asher – handclaps (2), shaker (2, 8), tambourine, (2, 3), wood block (4), cowbell (8), backing vocals (8)
  • David Campbell – string arrangements and conductor (1-2, 6, 9, 12)
  • Charles Veal – concertmaster (1, 9, 12), violin (2), viola (6)
  • Dennis Karmazyn – cello (1, 6, 9, 12)
  • Ken Yerke – violin (2)
  • Richard Feves – double bass (6)
  • Paul Polivnick – viola (6)
  • Karla Bonoff – backing vocals (3, 12)
  • Wendy Waldman – backing vocals (3, 12)
  • Don Henley – harmony vocals (6)
  • Herb Pedersen – backing vocals (8)
  • Pat Henderson – backing vocals (9), choir vocals (11)
  • Becky Louis – backing vocals (9), choir vocals (11)
  • Sherlie Matthews – backing vocals (9), choir vocals (11)
  • Gerald Garrett – choir vocals (11)
  • Jim Gilstrap – choir vocals (11)
  • Ron Hicklin – choir vocals (11)
  • Clydie King – choir vocals (11)
  • Bill Thedford – choir vocals (11)

Production

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[15] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[16] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history and formats for Hasten Down the Wind
Region Date Format Label Ref.
North America August 9, 1976
  • LP
  • cassette
 Asylum Records [17]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Allmusic review
  2. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: R". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 12, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. ↑ "Hasten Down The Wind". Rolling Stone. September 23, 1976. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016.
  4. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City: Simon and Schuster. p. 701. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  5. ↑ Stereo Review review
  6. ↑ "Bio". Linda Ronstadt. Elektra. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  7. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 301.
  8. ↑ "Linda Ronstadt Hasten Down the Wind". National Museum of American History. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
  9. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 258. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Image 5119A". RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  11. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Linda Ronstadt – Hasten Down The Wind" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  12. ↑ "Official Albums Chart on 29/8/1976 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 December 2025.
  13. ↑ "Linda Ronstadt Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  14. ↑ "Top US Billboard 200 Albums - Year-end 1977". BestSellingAlbums.org.
  15. ↑ "British album certifications – Linda Ronstadt – Hasten Down the Wind". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Formats field. Type Hasten Down the Wind Linda Ronstadt in the "Search:" field.
  16. ↑ "American album certifications – Linda Ronstadt – Hasten Down the Wind". Recording Industry Association of America.
  17. ↑ Ronstadt, Linda (August 9, 1976). "Hasten Down the Wind (Liner Notes)". Asylum Records. 7E-1072 (LP); TC5-1072 (Cassette).
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