Music Etcetera: Emmylou Harris: Collaborations #1

She’s my age, 64, as this is written in early 2012. She may well have appeared on more recordings than any other popular music star ever. Her solo career has yielded 14 Top Ten albums on the Billboard country charts, two of which went to #1. Her singles have reached the country Top Ten 20 times, with five #1’s.

She made a collaboration LP with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt, Trio, that went to country music’s #1 position in 1987, and Trio 2, its 1999 follow-on, was a #4. Trio was also a #6 hit on the Billboard top albums chart, indicating its appeal outside what I call the “twang bubble”: country music’s prime audience. Four songs from Trio were released as singles and went into the country music Top Ten. One, “To Know Him Is To Love Him,” was a country #1 record.

In fact, during her four-decades-plus of professional work, “collaboration” has been her middle name. Her name is Emmylou Harris, and she has performed alongside a vast number of singers, both in and out of the country music field.

For example, take John Denver. Here's a YouTube video commemorating his “Wild Montana Skies,” on which Emmylou sings the harmony vocal:

“Wild Montana Skies,” with words and music by John Denver, was a #14 country (#26 adult contemporary) hit for him and Emmylou in 1983. Emmylou’s part begins with “His mother's brother took him in to family and his home,” at the start of the third full verse. Listen to how well she blends with John’s surging, idiosyncratic singing style. Listen also for when she sings notes different from his. They’re not wrong notes, they’re exactly the right notes. (For instance, listen for the higher-pitched note she sings on “own,” in “On the eve of his 21st birthday he set out on his own.”) That’s why harmony singing is so hard. You’re not just singing along, you’re complementing the lead vocal.

More to come on Emmylou Harris's musical collaborations ...

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P.S. Learn more about Emmylou Harris's career at:

Labels: Country Music, Emmylou Harris Collaborations