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Who Is Emmylou Harris?
Emmylou Harris is an influential American singer, songwriter, and musician known for her distinctive blend of country, folk, and rock music. She first gained attention performing in bars around the Washington, D.C. area, where she met Gram Parsons, a pivotal figure in her early career. After Parsons’ tragic death in 1973, Harris launched a successful solo career, releasing her major-label debut, Pieces of the Sky (1975). Throughout her career, Harris has experimented with various genres, most notably on her 1985 autobiographical album, The Ballad of Sally Rose.
Early Career
Born on April 2, 1947, in Birmingham, Alabama, Emmylou Harris was raised in a military family, with her father serving as a decorated Marine Corps pilot who spent 16 months as a prisoner of war during the Korean War. Her family moved frequently, but she spent much of her childhood in North Carolina before finishing high school in Virginia, near Washington, D.C.
Harris initially pursued a degree in drama at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro but dropped out to follow her passion for music in New York City. She performed folk and country music in Greenwich Village while working as a waitress. During this time, she met and married songwriter Tom Slocum in 1969, and together they moved to Nashville. Harris recorded her debut album, Gliding Bird (1970), but her label went bankrupt, and her marriage soon ended. She returned to the D.C. area with her young daughter and resumed performing in local venues.
Partnership with Gram Parsons
Harris’ big break came when she was introduced to Gram Parsons, a former member of the Flying Burrito Brothers. Parsons was a pioneer of the country-rock genre and was looking for a female vocalist to harmonize on his debut solo album, GP (1972). Harris became his protégé, learning from his innovative style. She toured with Parsons and recorded with him again for his second album, Grievous Angel (1973). Unfortunately, Parsons passed away later that year, but their collaboration left a lasting influence on Harris’ music.
Rise to Stardom
Following Parsons’ death, Harris formed her own group, the Angel Band, and signed with Warner Bros./Reprise Records. In 1975, she released Pieces of the Sky, her solo major-label debut, produced by Brian Ahern, who would later become her husband. The album was a critical success, showcasing Harris’ versatility with covers ranging from Merle Haggard to The Beatles. The single “If I Could Only Win Your Love” became a Top 5 country hit, establishing her as a rising star.
Her next album, Elite Hotel (1976), solidified her place in the country music world, with two No. 1 hits and a Grammy Award for Best Country Female Vocal Performance. Harris’ signature blend of country, folk, and rock resonated with audiences, and she continued to release a string of successful albums, including Luxury Liner (1977), Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town (1978), and Blue Kentucky Girl (1979), the latter of which won her another Grammy Award.
Continued Success and Evolution
Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, Harris experimented with different musical styles, releasing albums such as the bluegrass-inspired Roses in the Snow (1980) and the eclectic compilation Evangeline (1981). She collaborated with numerous artists, including Bob Dylan, Dolly Parton, Neil Young, and Linda Ronstadt. However, her personal life was marked by struggles, including the disbanding of her backing group, the Hot Band, and her separation from Brian Ahern in 1983.
Despite these challenges, Emmylou Harris’ enduring contributions to music have cemented her status as a trailblazing figure in country, folk, and rock, inspiring countless musicians and earning her a legacy as one of the most versatile and accomplished performers of her generation.
Branching Out
In collaboration with singer-songwriter Paul Kennerley, with whom she had previously worked, Emmylou Harris wrote and recorded a semi-autobiographical album, The Ballad of Sally Rose (1985). Although the album achieved mediocre commercial success, critics hailed it as a pivotal moment in Harris’s artistic evolution, showcasing her unique musical style that blends pop, folk, gospel, and blues with traditional country influences. After a successful tour together in 1985, Harris and Kennerley were married. Following this, she released two more solo albums, Thirteen (1986) and The Angel Band (1987). In 1987, Harris achieved significant acclaim with the album Trio, a collaboration with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt. This project quickly became her best-selling album to date, featuring hits such as “To Know Him is to Love Him,” “Telling Me Lies,” and “Those Memories of You.” She concluded the decade with another solo effort, Bluebird (1988).
Harris began the 1990s on a high note with the release of Brand New Dance (1990) and Duets, a compilation of her earlier collaborations with notable artists like George Jones, Willie Nelson, and Gram Parsons. With a new backup band, the Nash Ramblers, she produced a second live album, At the Ryman (1992). In 1993, Harris transitioned from Warner/Reprise to Asylum Records, marking a significant change in her career trajectory, coinciding with the end of her marriage to Kennerley.
Recent Work
Following the releases of Cowgirl’s Prayer (1993) and Songs of the West (1994), Harris shifted her musical direction by teaming up with producer Daniel Lanois, known for his work with prominent artists such as Bob Dylan, U2, and Peter Gabriel. This partnership culminated in her most experimental album to date, Wrecking Ball (1996), which leaned more toward rock influences than her previous works. The album showcased her distinctive, throaty vocals on tracks written by renowned musicians, including Neil Young (who provided backing vocals on the title track) and Jimi Hendrix (“May This Be Love”).
Wrecking Ball received widespread critical acclaim, winning the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album and revitalizing Harris’s career. That same year, she released a comprehensive three-album retrospective, Portraits, featuring selected songs from her tenure with Warner Bros.
Harris experienced a resurgence in her career with the release of three albums in 1998 and 1999: Spyboy, named after her new band; Trio II, which reunited her with Ronstadt and Parton; and Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions, a collaboration with Ronstadt. She also performed at the popular all-female Lilith Fair, solidifying her connections with a new generation of fans and performers. In 2000, she released Red Dirt Girl, her first album of original material in five years, featuring contributions from artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Patti Scialfa, and Dave Matthews.
Harris continued her prolific output with Stumble into Grace (2003) and collaborated with artists including Shawn Colvin and Rachel Portman for the soundtrack of Because of Winn-Dixie (2005). In July of the same year, she released The Very Best of Emmylou Harris: Heartaches & Highways. Her extensive contributions to country music were recognized in 2008 when she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2011, Harris released her 21st studio album, Hard Bargain, which paid tribute to her late mentor Gram Parsons. This was followed by a duets album with her former bandmate Rodney Crowell, titled Old Yellow Moon (2013), which won a Grammy Award for Best Americana Album in 2014.