Did You Know…that two Top 10 recording artists teamed up behind the scenes to create Linda Ronstadt’s biggest hit?
As one half of popular British Invasion duo Peter & Gordon, Peter Asher scored 10 Top 40 hits, among them “A World Without Love,” “I Go To Pieces,” and “Lady Godiva.”
He later found even greater success producing landmark albums for James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt.
Peter first worked with Linda on her 1973 album Don’t Cry Now, when he was brought in to complete production after recording had begun. Although the LP yielded the FM radio favorites “Love Has No Pride” and “Desperado,” neither became Top 40 hits.
For Linda’s next album, Peter was on board from day one. Together they chose songs they both liked with Peter helping Linda find “her voice.”
A song that she had been performing in her live shows — “You’re No Good” — was the first single.
Although soul singer Betty Everett had taken the song to #5 on the US R&B chart in 1963, Peter knew it best from The Swinging Blue Jeans 1964 UK Top 3 version.
Initial attempts at recording the instrumental rhythm track live in the studio were unsatisfactory, so Peter took a different approach, building it bit by bit, this time with the other key artist in the mix.
Multi-instrumentalist Andrew Gold, who played lead guitar for a band that once opened for Linda, sat behind the drum kit on the basic rhythm track, then overdubbed nearly everything else: piano and electric keyboards, guitars, and percussion, adding additional instrumental layers, as needed.
Andrew even joined Peter and engineer Val Garay to provide the perfectly synchronized handclaps heard in the coda.
Released on November 19, 1974, “You’re No Good” entered the national chart three weeks later and reached #1 on February 15, 1975.
That same week the album from which “You’re No Good” was taken — Heart Like A Wheel — also topped its chart.
Gold’s role in Ronstadt’s success didn’t end there. He made major contributions to her next two platinum-selling albums, and debuted as a solo artist in 1975.
His second album produced the Top 10 hit “Lonely Boy,” featuring Linda on backing vocals and Peter on handclaps.
The circle was now complete: Top 10 hits for Peter, Linda, and Andrew…and a defining album for one of rock ’n’ roll’s greatest artists.
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