Linda Ronstadt’s 'Tumbling Dice' Cover: How It Became a Hit and What the Stones Thought

Mick Jagger once called Ronstadt’s version of “Tumbling Dice” the best cover of a Stones song ever. Keith Richards also gave it his nod, reportedly saying it was “the only cover that really works.” That’s high praise from the guys who wrote it, and it hints at why the track stuck — she flipped the swagger into a kind of wounded country-rock ache without losing the original’s cool.

Ronstadt recorded it for Simple Dreams in 1977, her first album with producer Peter Asher. The arrangement swapped the Stones’ loose, piano-driven groove for a tighter, pedal-steel-and-harmony approach that fit her voice perfectly. It peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 — not her highest charting single, but enough to help push Simple Dreams to triple-platinum status and become one of her most recognizable covers.