10 Best Karla Bonoff Songs

Karla Bonoff emerged from the same LA scene as musicians like Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, and the Eagles. She watched those artists quickly graduate from Monday open mic nights to stars.

But Bonoff had to bide her time. It wasn’t until 1976 that she placed three songs on Linda Ronstadt’s album Hasten Down the Wind. This led to a recording career where she released four albums of originals between 1977 and 1988. Bonoff didn’t have the star power of Linda Ronstadt. She never became a major star, despite one top 20 single. But her records have good songs and Bonoff’s vocals are lovely.

Bonoff is better known as a writer than a performing artist. Yet a couple of the songs in the upper echelons of this list are covers.

10 Best Karla Bonoff Songs

#10 Wild Heart of the Young

from Carry Me Home, 2020, originally from Wild Heart of the Young, 1982
Bonoff’s first three albums have generally held up well, with the slick cast of musicians supplying a sophisticated soft-rock sound. It makes her 2020 album of remakes, Carry Me Home, largely unnecessary.

But along with the selections from her 1988 album New World, the title track from her 1982 record sounds better in its stripped-down version, bringing out the song’s prettiness.

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#9 Tell Me Why

from New World, 1988
‘Tell Me Why’ is another Bonoff song that became a hit in the hands of another artist. In 1993, Wynonna Judd took the song to #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. It was also the title track of Judd’s album, which topped the country charts. It makes sense – there’s a country twang to Bonoff’s original.

“A fool in love with a fool that never cared” is one of Bonoff’s best lines.

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#8 Falling Star

from Karla Bonoff, 1977
‘Falling Star’ is one of the simplest arrangements on Bonoff’s 1977 debut album, with acoustic guitars and a harmonium.

Linda Ronstadt eventually recorded this song too. It appeared on her 1999 box set (imaginatively titled Box Set).

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#7 Home

from Karla Bonoff, 1977
Bonnie Raitt had already released a cover of ‘Home’ on her album Sweet Forgiveness when Bonoff released her own version. The country-tinged tune was written about Bonoff’s first long road trip, seeing snow for the first time and missing her own house.

Linda Ronstadt features on backing vocals.

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#6 Someone To Lay Down Beside Me

from Karla Bonoff, 1977
‘Someone To Lay Down Beside Me’ is one of the three Bonoff songs that Linda Ronstadt recorded on her 1976 album Hasten Down The Wind. Bonoff struggled to complete the song – she later told an interviewer that:

I had the music for the song for a really long time and I knew it was special and I could never come up with lyrics for it. One night I watched it appear on the paper, and it was the most disconnected-from-my-body experience. To this day I play the song on the road and I never get tired of singing it; it just has this life of its own. It’s in some ways the most important song of my repertoire and has this magical quality to it.

from https://performingsongwriter.com/happy-birthday-karla-bonoff/

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#5 Personally

from Wild Heart of the Young, 1982
Glenn Frey, of the Eagles, was lined up to produce Bonoff’s third album. While it didn’t eventuate, he unearthed the song ‘Personally’. Frey was an avid collector of R&B songs and found a 1978 version of the song recorded by Jackie Moore.

Not writing allows Bonoff to step outside her comfort zone. ‘Personally’ is confident and sassy, contrasting with Bonoff’s usual wistful balladry. While Glenn Frey doesn’t appear on the recording, fellow Eagles Don Henley and Timothy B. Schmitt are on backing vocals.

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#4 All My Life

from New World, 1988
The most recent of Bonoff’s four studio albums, New World is her most dated. ‘All My Life’ is drowning under gated reverb drums and mushy synths. But a great song is a great song, and ‘All My Life’ is one of Bonoff’s finest moments, a yearning, romantic ballad.

Linda Ronstadt quickly picked up on it, turning it into a #11 Billboard duet with Aaron Neville.

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#3 The Water Is Wide

from Restless Nights, 1979
‘The Water is Wide’ is a traditional Scottish song about the difficulties of maintaining love over the years. It’s been covered by everyone from Bob Dylan to PJ Harvey, while the tune’s used for other hymns.

James Taylor on acoustic guitar and The Band’s Garth Hudson on accordion is a great choice of backing band for a folk cover.

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#2 Isn’t It Always Love

from Karla Bonoff, 1977
‘Isn’t It Always Love’ opened the second side of Bonoff’s debut album. It’s more upbeat than most of her material, with the rhythm section veering toward reggae.

It later became a top-ten country hit for Lynn Anderson.

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#1 Restless Nights

from Restless Nights, 1979
The title track of her second album is my favourite Bonoff cut. It features the same low-key sincerity of her best work, but the spooky Danny Kortchmar guitar riff takes it to a different place.

The harmonies on the chorus are terrific, with Don Henley and Eagles associate JD Souther on backing vocals.

Did I miss your favourite Karla Bonoff song?

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• 1970s album reviews
• 10 best songs by the Eagles
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