Linda Ronstadt to Join Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014

'Love Is a Rose' hitmaker Linda Ronstadt pioneered the way for country-rock, and her ambitions have paid off. She will join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.

During the seventies, the songstress was widely regarded as rock’s leading lady, while also commanding respect and success in the country market with her beautiful vocals and ability to transcend genres in an effortless and successful manner. And the best part? She's extraordinarily humble about her talent, telling Billboard earlier, "I always thought I couldn't sing very well. I was always very frustrated by it, and I was always sorta disappointed by it, y'know?"

"Everything I did always fell short of my expectations," Ronstadt adds. "I wasn't very good when I started, but the good news is I got better. I didn't become the greatest singer in all of pop music, but I became, at least for my time, the most diverse. I wish it had all been better, but it wasn't. It's what it was, and I got to make it better later. I wish the records had been better, but they were as good as I could do at the time."

The Grammy-winning singer, who has charted no fewer than 11 Top 40 hits, will be joined in the Rock Hall by some of music's most elite company, including Nirvana, Kiss, Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates and Cat Stevens. And although she may have fallen short of her expectations, she clearly exceeded expectations of the music industry, which is why she was chosen for this honor.

Chosen by more than 700 voters (artists, historians and music industry professionals) of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first recording.

Joel Peresman, president/CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, speaks highly of the 2014 inductees, saying, "All of the 2014 inductees introduced us to something new. They might have drawn from their predecessors or built on what came before them, but they all took something from their roots, transformed it, made it their own and brought it to the world at the right time."

That is definitely true of Ronstadt, who dominated popular music in the 1970s with her sterling voice and was one of the most important voices in the creation of country-rock. She regularly crossed over to country charts in the '70s, which was a rarity for rock singers at the time. Ronstadt was last nominated seven years ago, according to Country Universe.

The Rock Hall's induction will take place April 10, 2014 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The 29th annual induction ceremony will be open to the public (as it has for recent ceremonies in Los Angeles and Cleveland), and the event will air as an HBO special in May.

Ronstadt's induction comes at a difficult time in her life, as she recently opened up about her battle with Parkinson's Disease, which has put an end to her phenomenal career. Hopefully this induction will be a bright spot in her life; it is certainly well-deserved.