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Ruffling Feathers: why was Linda Ronstadt banned in Las Vegas?
Far Out Magazine
Thu May 16, 2024
It’s hard to imagine anyone having a problem with Linda Ronstadt. Throughout her career, she was one of the most effortless singers in the world of country rock, and her interpretations of classics like ‘You’re No Good’ were the stuff of legend no matter what part of the world you came from. Anyone can relate to songs about love lost and the hardships of everyday life, but once Ronstadt dared to touch on American politics, she ended up being banned from Las Vegas.
Then again, the idea of getting banned from Las Vegas is itself undeniably hilarious. The amount of debauchery going down in Nevada is the stuff of American folklore at this point, so there needed to be a major reason for Ronstadt’s expulsion. So what prompted several people to call for her not to perform there anymore? Simple: her saying what she had the right to say.
When Ronstadt first ducked into Las Vegas’ Aladdin Resort and Casino in 2004 to perform her set with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, tension was already in the air following the 9/11 attacks. The Iraq War was still fresh in people’s minds, and many fans put blinders up whenever someone dared speak out of turn.
So when Ronstadt decided to dedicate her version of the Eagles’ ‘Desperado’ to documentarian Michael Moore for his work on Fahrenheit 9/11, fans were pissed. This was far from the kind of crowd who would have taken kindly to getting a lecture, and Ronstadt was greeted with boos, with the organisers recalling to Rolling Stone, “Ms Ronstadt was hired to entertain the guests of the Aladdin, not to espouse her political views. Following her performance, she was escorted out of the hotel and immediately checked out of her room. And she will not be welcomed back.”
Then again, this was far from a universal hot-button issue at the time. As much as people may have wanted to rally around the flag after such a massive act of terrorism, there were just as many people looking to raise their voices in protest. Green Day’s American Idiot was just on the horizon, and System of a Down were about to put out their own protest record about the ongoing war on Mezmerise and Hypnotise.
To her credit, Ronstadt didn’t even begin to repent for what she said, instead retorting, “I keep hoping that if I’m annoying enough to them, they won’t hire me back.” One gig doesn’t break a lifetime of wonderful music, but the outlook on the war would become much more prevalent once other bands took to the touring circuit.
When working on their own tours, Pearl Jam ended up falling in with a crowd in Texas when Eddie Vedder decided to dress up as a cheap version of President George W. Bush in a dazzling suit for their protest song, ‘Bu$hleaguer’. It wouldn’t be long before Ronstadt’s friends, the Eagles, turned up their voices as well.
While Don Henley is normally never short on words when talking about music that he believes in, he was more than happy to share his thoughts about the dystopia going on in America in the song ‘Long Road Out of Eden’. Ronstadt may have left her Las Vegas audience furious that night, but rock and roll isn’t always meant to dampen someone’s problems. It’s about letting your voice be heard, and if it means turning it up as loud as you want to, so be it.
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