My older brother Bruce brought this home in 1969 and played it. A lot. So did I. Who was this girl? Then he brought home a poster—a portion of it is below— and I think it alternated with a poster of Janis Joplin on his bedroom door at our house on Huasna Road.

Sadly, there’s no good live version of Rondstadt singing “Different Drum,” but at a tribute, Carrie Underwood did well. Here’s an excerpt:

I did not know until just now that Mike Nesmith of the Monkees wrote this song.

Okay, big brother, I grok you.

So this is thanks to my big bro’s outstanding musical taste (I would find out many years later, as we discussed Blind Faith, that my younger sister, Sally, has inherited the same gift), I began to follow this young woman. She never, ever, let me down.

Since I have so many chores to do to prepare for Mothers’ Day, I naturally chose to do the video. Ronstadt’s pipes are phenomenal—what continues to amaze, years later, is her versatility.

I am so glad that Bruce brought that record home from Brown’s Music in San Luis Obispo.