Five on Friday is the meme created by Travis of . To take part select five songs to share and sign in on Trav’s web site with a link for others to enjoy your selections.

The announcement came out this past week that due to Parkinson’s disease that Linda Ronstadt could no longer sing. For those of us who have been listening to her for decades through many musical formats, this was very sad news. We wish the lady only the best and with gratitude thank her for the bell-like clarity of that voice that has given us so much pleasure. Fortunately, we have the recordings so that her voice will never be silenced for future listeners. This week is dedicated to that incredible variety that is Linda Ronstadt.

The early years with one of the saddest of broken heart songs – Long Long Time

Take This Child From Tucson Arizona, Give her the wings to fly through harmony, And she won’t bother you no more – Under African Skies –

The story behind the duet from Linda,  “When Paul Simon asked me for something from my childhood that visually symbolized the part of the country I grew up in, without even thinking I immediately said the San Xavier [del Bac] Mission, so he put it in a song [“Under African Skies”] that I sang with him as a duet on his Graceland album.”

Written by Randy Newman for the musical “Faust” – Feels Like Home

She knows her way around the standards – Here from her album with Nelson Riddle – What’s New

My favorite from her Canciones de mi Padres album – Los Laureles

Bonus: Almost a half hour of pure greatness – Nine Favorite Songs