Album of the Day

Linda Ronstadt's third million-selling album in a row, HASTEN DOWN THE WIND displays the multi-faceted approach that made the performer one of the most successful of the 1970s. Ethan Russell's dramatic cover photo shows the singer looking backwards, and in oldies “That'll Be the Day” and “Crazy,” she scored major hits on the Pop and Country charts, respectively. But the 1976 Asylum set also features a forward-looking embrace of up-and-coming writers including Karla Bonoff and Warren Zevon, who penned the title track (Ronstadt herself co-wrote a couple of numbers, among them her first Spanish-sung song). HASTEN DOWN THE WIND won a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance, and we’ll give it another spin to wish Ronstadt a happy birthday.