Emmylou Harris - Blue Kentucky Girl (1979)

Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter.

In 1979 Emmylou Harris switched record labels, moving from Reprise to Warner Brothers. Her first album on her new label was Blue Kentucky Girl, which saw her focus on a traditional country sound, including covers of songs originally by Loretta Lynn, The Louvin Brothers, The Foggy Mountain Boys and Diana Trask. There was also a cover of "Hickory Wind", by her old musical partner Gram Parsons, and a countrified rendition of The Drifters' 1960 hit "Save The Last Dance For Me". The album featured several duets and collaborations - one with Don Everly, one with Tanya Tucker, one with Sharon & Cheryl White, and featuring with both Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton. Harris, Ronstadt and Parton had attempted to record an album together as a trio but didn't quite manage it, though songs from the sessions would appear on all three artists' records over the years. They did eventually manage to record the Trio album in 1987.

The album proved to be a big success, generating three hit singles on the country chart. The title track got to #6, "Save The Last Dance For Me" go to #4, and "Beneath Still Waters" gave her a fourth #1 country hit.

Quarter Moon In A Ten Cent Town (1978) <|> Roses In The Snow (1980)
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Emmylou Harris - Quarter Moon In A Ten Cent Town (1978)

Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter.

Emmylou Harris' fourth album and final album for Reprise Records came out in 1978, another fine example of her signature country-rock style applied to a fine selection of cover songs. The core instrumental backing came from The Hot Band as usual, but there were also appearances from Rick Danko and Garth Hudson of The Band, singer Nicolette Larson, bluegrass musician Ricky Skaggs, harmonica player Mickey Raphael, and Hot Band alumni James Burton. Willie Nelson also appeared for a vocal duet on "One Paper Kid".

The album generated three hit singles on the Billboard country chart - "Easy From Now On" got to #12, Dolly Parton's "To Daddy" got to #3, and Delbert McClinton's "Two More Bottles Of Wine" gave her a third #1. The album itself got to #3. After this album she signed a new deal with Warner Brothers.

Luxury Liner (1977) <|> Blue Kentucky Girl (1979)
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Emmylou Harris - Luxury Liner (1977)

Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter.

1975 and 1976 had been breakthrough years for Emmylou Harris, giving her two Top 10 country albums and four hit singles. Now recognised as the queen of country rock, she was much in demand as a backing vocalist, and made guest appearances on albums by Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt and Guy Clark. She recorded her next album throughout 1976. At this time guitarist James Burton left The Hot Band to go and work with Elvis, and he was replaced by English guitarist Albert Lee. The rest of The Hot Band consisted of pedal steel guitarist Hank DeVito, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Rodney Crowell, pianist Glenn D. Hardin, bassist Emory Gordy and drummer John Ware.

Luxury Liner came out in 1977, and like her first two records it showcased stellar performances of an impressive repertoire of cover material. The songs included those by Gram Parsons, Townes Van Zandt, Chuck Berry, The Louvin Brothers, The Carter Family and Jimmy Work. It also had two new numbers by Hot Band member Rodney Crowell. Guest musicians included bluegrass multi-instrumentalist Ricky Skaggs, dobro player Mike Auldridge, harmonica player Mickey Raphael and singer Nicolette Larson (who duetted with Harris on The Carter Family's "Hello Stranger"). The highlight of the album was without a doubt her outstanding cover of Townes Van Zandt's enigmatic outlaw song "Pancho And Lefty".

The album got to #1 on the country chart, and ended up being her biggest selling record. It also generated another two Top 10 country singles - Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell" (#6) and Jimmy Work's "Making Believe" (#8). That same year she also married her producer, Brian Ahern.

Elite Hotel (1975) <|> Quarter Moon In A Ten Cent Town (1978)
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Emmylou Harris - Elite Hotel (1975)

Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter.

1975's Pieces Of The Sky had set Emmylou Harris on the road towards becoming a country-rock superstar. It was quickly followed the same year by Elite Hotel, following much the same formula (including the same host of top-notch session musicians, The Hot Band) and resulting in if anything an even better album. Like its predecessor, it consisted mostly of covers, with numbers by Buck Owens, Don Gibson, Hank Williams, Rodney Crowell and others, including a total of three Gram Parsons songs. Also like Pieces Of The Sky, it featured a string-laden Beatles cover, this time Paul McCartney's "Here, There And Everywhere".
It was an even bigger success than the one before, becoming a #1 country album and winning her a Grammy (and also crossing over to #25 on the pop chart). The three singles released were also massive successes on the country singles chart - "Together Again" and "Sweet Dreams" both at #1, and "One Of These Days" at #3. Interestingly all the other songs were easily just as good as those chosen for single release, and the album gave her alot of crossover appeal with rock audiences.

Pieces Of The Sky (1975) <|> Luxury Liner (1977)
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Emmylou Harris - Pieces Of The Sky (1975)

Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter.

Harris' recording career had actually begun back in 1970, with her Gliding Bird album, but she has since come to disown it. Her next album would have to wait until 1975, but by then many important things had happened to her. First she divorced her folk singer husband Tom Slocum, and then she worked as part of a trio with Gerry Mule and Tom Guidera. It was then she was discovered by Chris Hillman of The Flying Burrito Brothers, who briefly considered asking her to join the band, but instead reccomended her to his old bandmate (and original Burrito Brothers founder) Gram Parsons. She thus appeared on Parsons' debut solo album, and went on to tour with him as part of his band, The Fallen Angels (see Live 1973). Parsons gave her a study in country music, and under his tutelage she found her identity. When Parsons died in 1974, she was left at a crossroads.
Her new direction became apparent with 1975's Pieces Of The Sky, released on Reprise records, where she strove forward with the country-rock sound Parsons had introduced her to. Alongside her own tribute to Parsons, "From Boulder To Birmingham", were covers of songs by country artists such as Merle Haggard, The Louvin Brothers and Dolly Parton, plus a version of The Beatles' "For No One". Among the high profile backing musicians featured were guitarists James Burton, Herb Pederson, Bernie Leadon and Amos Garrett, fiddle player Byron Berline, keyboard players Bill Payne and Glen D Hardin, and pedal steel guitarist Ben Keith.
The album was a massive success, and effectively kick-started Harris' career as a country singer. It got to #7 on the country albums chart, and "If I Could Only Win Your Love" became a #4 hit country single.

Gliding Bird (1970) <|> Elite Hotel (1975)
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Emmylou Harris - Gliding Bird (1970)

Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter.

Emmylou Harris was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and spent her childhood living in Virginia and North Carolina. In the 60s she moved to New York and pursued a career as a folk singer. She married fellow songwriter Tom Slocum in 1969, and recorded her debut album the following year, released on Jubilee Records.
Gliding Bird was recorded five years before her career as a successful country singer took off, and is often seen as nothing but an interesting prologue to her career, with 1975's Pieces Of The Sky considered her official debut. Indeed the album didn't really go anywhere, as Jubilee Records folded after its production, which limited distribution and promotion. Nevertheless, it's still a great album. This was before she had truly embraced country music, and it could be called country-folk or folk-rock instead. Whilst some of the songs have definate country flavours to them, others are pure folk in the vein of singer-songwriters such as Joni Mitchell. Half the songs are originals, and the covers are Bob Dylan's "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight", Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'", Hank Williams' "I Saw The Light", Burt Bucharach's "I'll Never Fall In Love Again", and the title track by her husband Tom Slocum. The arrangements are sparse, and at times strangely haunting. There is some tasty instrumentation, but it's all in the shadow of Harris' heavenly voice.

|> Pieces Of The Sky (1975)
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