I have indelibly strong memories of hearing the Stone Poneys’ Different Drum on 77 WABC when I was a kid. It was one of those records that I was always especially excited to hear, even before I knew what Linda Ronstadt looked like. The way the single was put together was, like its singer, perfect, and it made me keenly aware of how the sound of a record can be as important as the song itself. My favorite singer was Petula, but even to my pre-adolescent ears I knew that Linda had a wider vocal range.
The Wall Street Journal steps out of character with this blog-like item telling how Mike Nesmith’s song Different Drum became Linda Ronstadt’s first hit single. The comparison between the recording of the song by the Greenbriar Boys that interested Linda, and her own version, illustrates my point about record production. Nick Venet, who helped Brian Wilson develop the Beach Boys sound, produced Different Drum.
A video that’s missing from the WSJ post is Mike Nesmith’s intentionally botched attempt at singing Different Drum on the Monkees TV show.
