1974 Soft-Rock Cover, the Artist's Only No. 1 Hit, Became a Timeless Breakup Anthem
Written in 1963, singer Linda Ronstadt took the breakup ballad "You're No Good" to number one with her cover version over ten years later in 1974.
Ronstadt began performing the song at her live shows at the suggestion of her band member, Kenny Edwards. "You're No Good" became a staple for her to use as the closing number for performances.
While working on her album Heart Like a Wheel, Ronstadt made the last-minute decision to include "You're No Good" on the tracklist. It took some tries to get it right; originally, the song had more of an R&B feel, but Ronstadt ended up vetoing that version, saying, "It was just the wrong groove for me. I don't think I knew how to phrase around [the musicians], certainly no fault of theirs. They were fantastic."
The album version, with much more of a southern rock feel to it, was recorded on July 5, 1974. Capitol Records, Ronstadt's label, was unsure of what track to use as the lead single off of the album and ended up selecting "You're No Good" a week after the album's release.
"You're No Good" hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 15, 1975, the only song of Ronstadt's to do so. In part due to the single's success, Heart Like a Wheel became a massive hit as an album, achieving double platinum status and topping the Billboard album chart. The album was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
While the success of the song "You're No Good" for Ronstadt was fairly undeniable, she felt differently about the song, saying in a 1983 interview, "I thought the production on 'You're No Good' was very good but [that] I didn't sing it very well. As a song it was just an afterthought. It's not the kind of song I got a lot of satisfaction out of singing."
However, the song has withstood the test of time and become a classic breakup anthem, with Billboard listing it amongst their "100 Best Breakup Songs."
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This story was originally published July 11, 2026 at 12:37 PM.