“Linda, you play Country Music with a difference… that’s wild!” - Hugh Hefner 

Check out a young and bare-footed Linda ripping through a rare Bob Dylan track with Flying Burrito Brothers and Eagles guitarist Bernie Leadon on the decidedly buttoned-down but still swinging Playboy After Dark from 1970.

By the way, on fiddle is a guy by the name of Chris Darrow, who co-founded with David Lindley, the revered psychedelic outfit Kaleidoscope, who were once hailed by Jimmy Page as his “favorite band of all time.” Darrow was a mainstay on the Californian country scene in the late ‘60s and ‘70s – alas, as you can see by the grimace on Bernie Leadon’s face at around 1:50, Chris really flubs his solo here.

Of course, 1970 was a long time before Linda really broke through. That wouldn’t happen until 1974’s Grammy-winning Heart Like A Wheel. 1977’s Simple Dreams is the album that really made her a superstar: it knocked Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours off the top of the chart and produced the hits “Blue Bayou”, “It’s So Easy” and “Poor Poor Pitiful Me”. Watch out for a 40th Anniversary Edition of Simple Dreams, coming out September 15. Featuring remastered audio, plus a trio of live songs taken from a 1980 concert performance, it can be pre-ordered here.

In the meantime, you can check out the original album on Spotify here.

-DL