Tucson, Arizona, icon Linda Ronstadt lost her capacity to speak and hear after a second bout of COVID earlier this year.
With the help of therapy and attentive, around-the-clock care, the legendary songstress has regained her speech, she recently told a high school classmate who checked in with her ahead of their 60th reunion at Catalina High School.
Though Ronstadt has regained her speech, she said her hearing loss may be permanent.
Ronstadt was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. She had a breakout hit “Different Drum” with The Stone Poneys before embarking on a successful solo career. She retired from performing in 2011 and later revealed she is no longer able to sing due to Parkinson’s disease.
With Ronstadt’s permission, her classmate has also shared with the Arizona Daily Star how they met as teens, why Ronstadt didn’t graduate with the 1964 Catalina High School class and how the two have kept in contact over the years. Read more in the following story:
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Linda Ronstadt continues her Tucson Festival of Books panel with stories about her childhood. Her book “Feels Like Home: A Song for the Sonoran Borderlands” highlights her life and legacy. Video by Pascal Albright/Arizona Daily Star
