Emmylou Harris
April 2, 1947 — Birmingham, Alabama
Emmylou Harris is one of the defining voices in the history of American country and roots music — an artist whose pure, crystalline soprano, uncompromising artistic instincts, and relentless championing of brilliant but under-recognized musicians shaped four decades of country, folk, and Americana.
Folk Circuit and a Fateful Meeting
Born on April 2, 1947, in Birmingham, Alabama, and raised in a military family, Harris studied drama at the University of North Carolina before gravitating to the Greenwich Village folk circuit in the late 1960s. She was struggling as a solo artist in Washington, D.C., when she was discovered by Gram Parsons, the visionary founder of country rock who had played with the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers. Parsons recruited her as a duet partner, and their musical chemistry was immediate and extraordinary. Together they recorded GP and Grievous Angel, albums that became cornerstones of country rock. Parsons's death from a drug overdose in 1973 was devastating, but Harris chose to carry the music forward.
Hot Band and Commercial Success
Harris assembled the Hot Band — a rotating lineup of brilliant musicians including Rodney Crowell, Ricky Skaggs, and Albert Lee — and recorded a string of critically acclaimed, commercially successful albums through the late 1970s and 1980s including Elite Hotel, Luxury Liner, and Roses in the Snow. She had a gift for finding songs by writers others overlooked, and consistently introduced her audience to material by Townes Van Zandt, Vince Gill, and others before they became household names. Her voice — clear, emotionally direct, and capable of expressing heartbreak without a trace of melodrama — became the standard for country phrasing.
Did You Know?
Harris's hair turned silver-white early and she famously refused to dye it, making her distinctive appearance as much a statement as her music. She cofounded the Bonaparte's Retreat dog rescue organization and has long been an outspoken advocate for animal welfare. She has testified before Congress on behalf of veterans and spends considerable energy on causes few artists bother with.
Wrecking Ball and Continued Evolution
With producer Daniel Lanois, Harris recorded Wrecking Ball (1995), an atmospheric, rock-influenced album that won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album and reset expectations for what a country artist could do in midcareer. She has continued to record prolifically, collaborate widely — notably with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt on Trio, and later with Mark Knopfler — and perform live into her seventies. With fourteen Grammy Awards, her selection for the Country Music Hall of Fame, and a body of work that extends from honky-tonk to ethereal folk-rock, Harris stands as one of country music's unassailable legends.