My Linda Rondstadt story [View all]

In St Louis area we had a thing called the Mississippi River Festival that was a big deal in the 70s. In what I’m guessing was 75, Linda Rondstadt came through. My crew and I would typically get there early to be up front in the GA of the gently sloping grass bowl. With some of our large bunch holding down our blanketed territory, my buddy and I started tossing frisbee around as the place was filling up.

As we were doing so, Ms. Rondstadt was walkingg in on the far side of some of that orange lattice style fencing that marked the edge of things from backstage to trailers that served a dressing rooms. We saw her and she saw us, somehow, and then clapped her hands together and held them up to indicate “here, throw it to me.” Which I, of course, did. She had a legit throw back, but it died just on the other side of the barrier. That meant she had to approach me to pick the thing up and hand it back over the fencing to me. She was perhaps just you might be picturing her: cutoff shorts, tshirt, no make up and just as darling and affable as can be. She handed it back to me with a girlish giggle like “I’m such a clutz” and headed on her way.

***I tell this story because I have a buddy here area who has heard the story before and just yesterday for Fathers Day he received a recently published book on the history of the festival itself. And there in the introduction, and I’m paraphrasing, was “The laid back atmosphere was known to artists and fans alike, so laid back that you might even be lucky enough to play some frisbee with Linda Rondstadt before the show.” How this was known to the authors is a mystery; if there was a photo to this effect it is, sadly, as per my pal, not in the book. Oh well. At least I know it wasn’t some 17 year old’s fever dream.***