Linda Ronstadt’s Final Recording Before Her Retirement Gets a 20th Anniversary Reissue

Linda Ronstadt and Ann Savoy (Photo from the back cover of the Adieu False Heart album)

Linda Ronstadt’s final recording before her retirement is receiving a 20th anniversary reissue. Adieu False Heart, the GRAMMY-nominated 2006 collaboration with celebrated Cajun artist Ann Savoy, is making its vinyl debut along with its long-awaited return to CD. The album features a genre-spanning blend of covers performed through a Cajun lens, including such memorable tracks as “Walk Away Renée,” “I Can’t Get Over You,” and the title track. It arrives on Nov. 20, 2026, via Craft Recordings and HighTone Records and is available to order in the U.S. here, in Canada here and in the U.K. here.

From the Sept. 23 announcement: Adieu False Heart began as a friendship between Savoy—the noted Cajun singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer—and singer, musician, and cultural icon Ronstadt. The pair first collaborated on 2002’s Evangeline Made—a star-studded project, produced by Savoy, that featured rock musicians covering classic Cajun music. Their musical partnership blossomed from there, turning into impromptu jam sessions, sharing songs that they loved, and calling themselves the “Zozo Sisters,” after the Creole word for “little bird.”

“Never in my life would I have ever dreamed that this wonderful singer and megastar would give me the time of day musically,” recalls Savoy. “When I realized how comfortable she was to be around, how accepting of me, how responsive to song ideas I brought to her, and how natural it was just sitting around with her singing and playing guitars, I was totally encompassed by singing with her and sharing ideas.”

These intimate musical moments evolved, soon catching the ear of acclaimed producer Steve Buckingham, whose impressive credits include multiple projects with Ronstadt. Before long, an album was in the works for Vanguard Records. Joining them was award-winning engineer Gary Paczosa and a host of top musicians from Louisiana and Nashville, including Ann’s son Joel Savoy (fiddle, acoustic guitar), Buddy Miller and Sam Broussard (acoustic guitars), Andrea Zonn (viola, violin), Sam Bush (mandolin), Byron House (upright bass), Stuart Duncan (fiddle), Dirk Powell (accordion, banjo), and Kristin Wilkinson (viola, string arrangements).

The album—which marked Savoy’s first English-language project—draws on songs from across the 20th century, spanning folk, country, pop, Cajun, rock, and beyond, set to subtle arrangements that let the women’s voices take center stage. Focusing primarily on balladry, Ronstadt and Savoy duet on beautifully melancholic renditions of songs like the Left Banke’s “Walk Away Renée,”Julie Miller’s “I Can’t Get Over You,” and the country hit “Till I’m Too Old to Die Young” (made famous by Moe Bandy).

The pair also pay tribute to Richard Thompson on “King of Bohemia” and “Burns’ Supper,” and to bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe with a rendition of “The One I Love Is Gone,” while incorporating earlier classics, including John Jacob Niles’ “Go Away from My Window,” Arthur Smith’s old-time country tune, “Adieu False Heart,” and a Creole song, “Plus tu tournes,” penned by Michel Hindenoch.

Adieu False Heart drew broad acclaim, earning two GRAMMY nominations—for Best Traditional Folk Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. Twenty years on, it endures as the closing chapter of Ronstadt’s recording career—a stunning farewell from one of pop’s most celebrated voices. Savoy, meanwhile, has continued to share her love of Cajun music with the world through a myriad of solo and collaborative releases, as well as several books. Her most recent album, 2024’s Another Heart, serves as a spiritual follow-up to Adieu False Heart, paying tribute to her early musical influences.

Ann Savoy (Photo by Gabrielle Savoy; used with permission)

Reflecting on their collaboration, Savoy says, “The album still lives on as a work of art and beauty, a testament to our happy hours spent together, creating, sharing, forging a friendship that continues to enrich our lives.”

Cover art of the 2006 album from Linda Ronstadt and Ann Savoy, Adieu False Heart.

Adieu False Heart Tracklist
1. Opening
2. Adieu False Heart
3. I Can’t Get Over You
4. Marie Mouri
5. King of Bohemia
6. Plus tu tournes
7. Go Away From My Window
8. Burns’ Supper
9. The One I Love Is Gone
10. Interlude
11. Rattle My Cage
12. Parlez-moi d’amour
13. Too Old to Die Young
14. Interlude
15. Walk Away Renee
16. Closing

Related: 12 essential Linda Ronstadt songs