Emmylou Harris
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{{Infobox musical artist
|Name = Emmylou Harris
|Img = Emmylouharrissf2005.jpg
|Img_capt = Emmylou Harris performing at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco in 2005.
|Background = solo_singer
|Birth_name =
|Alias =
|Born = {{birth date and age|1947|4|2}}<br>[[Birmingham, Alabama|Birmingham]], [[Alabama]], [[United States|U.S.]]
|Died =
|Origin =
|Instrument = [[Voice]], [[Steel-string acoustic guitar|guitar]]
|Genre = [[Folk music|Folk]], [[country rock]], [[Country music|country]], [[Bluegrass music|bluegrass]], [[Rock music|rock]], [[Pop music|pop]], [[Alternative country|alt-country]]
|Occupation = [[Singer-songwriter]], [[music producer|producer]], [[Arrangement|arranger]], [[session musician]]
|Years_active = 1969-present
|Label = [[Jubilee Records|Jubilee]], [[Reprise Records|Reprise]], [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]], [[Elektra Records|Elektra]], [[Rhino Records|Rhino]], [[Nonesuch Records|Nonesuch]]
|Associated_acts = [[Gram Parsons]]</br> [[The Hot Band]],</br> [[Rodney Crowell]]</br> [[Bob Dylan]]</br> [[Ricky Skaggs]]</br> [[Beth Neilsen Chapman]]</br> [[Dixie Chicks]]</br> [[Arlo Guthrie]]<br> [[Neil Young]]</br> [[The Band]]</br> [[Don Williams]]</br> [[Dolly Parton]]</br> [[Linda Ronstadt]]</br> [[Dave Matthews]]</br> [[Patty Griffin]]</br> [[Willie Nelson]]</br> [[John Denver]]</br> [[Bruce Springsteen]]</br> [[Steve Earle]]</br> [[Arlo Guthrie]]</br> [[Ryan Adams]]</br> [[Bright Eyes]]</br> [[Spyboy]]</br> [[The Nash Ramblers]]
|URL = [http://www.emmylou.net www.emmylou.net]
|Current_members =
|Past_members =
}}
'''Emmylou Harris''' (born [[April 2]] [[1947]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[Country music|country]], [[folk music|folk]], [[alternative rock music|alternative rock]], and [[alternative country]] [[musician]], having received numerous [[Grammy Awards]] throughout her career. In addition to her work as a solo artist and [[bandleader]], both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a [[singer-songwriter]], she is a sought-after [[backing vocalist]] and duet partner, working with numerous other highly successful, well-known artists.
==Biography==
=== Early years ===
Emmylou Harris was the daughter of a career military father, a [[Marine Corps]] officer who was reported missing in action in Korea in 1952 and spent ten months as a prisoner of war. Born in [[Birmingham, Alabama]], she spent her childhood in [[North Carolina]] and [[Woodbridge, Virginia]], where she graduated from [[Gar-Field Senior High School]] as class [[valedictorian]]. In high school she also won a drama scholarship to the [[University of North Carolina at Greensboro]], where she began to study music seriously, learning to play the songs of [[Bob Dylan]] and [[Joan Baez]] on guitar. Leaving college to pursue her musical aspirations, she moved to [[New York City|New York]], working as a waitress to support herself while performing folk songs in [[Greenwich Village]] [[Coffeehouse|coffeehouses]]. She married fellow songwriter Tom Slocum in 1969 and in the following year recorded her first album, ''[[Gliding Bird]]'', which was released by [[Jubilee Records]]. The label was on its last legs financially, and filed for bankruptcy shortly after the record's release. (It was reissued in 1979 on [[Emus Records]], and in 1984, Harris successfully sued [[Morris Levy]] for the rights to the album.) Harris and Slocum soon divorced, and Harris and her newborn daughter Hallie moved in with her parents in the [[Maryland]] suburbs on the edge of [[Washington, D.C.]] <ref>"Charlie Rose Show" June 25, 2008</ref>
=== With Gram Parsons ===
Harris soon returned to performing as part of a trio with Gerry Mule and Tom Guidera. One night in 1971 members of the [[country rock]] group [[The Flying Burrito Brothers]] happened to be in the audience. Former [[The Byrds|Byrds]] member [[Chris Hillman]], who had taken over the band after the departure of its founder [[Gram Parsons]], was so impressed by Harris that he briefly considered asking her to join the band. Instead, Hillman ended up recommending her to Parsons, who was looking for a female vocalist to work with on his first solo album, ''[[GP (album)|GP]]''. Harris toured as a member of Parsons' band, The Fallen Angels, in 1973, and the couple shone during vocal harmonies and duets. Harris was quite pleased, and invested a lot emotionally in their relationship. Later that year, Parsons and Harris were working together to record a studio album, ''[[Grievous Angel]]''. Parsons died in his motel room near what is now [[Joshua Tree National Park]] on [[September 19]], [[1973]], from an accidental [[overdose]] of drugs and alcohol. Parsons's ''Grievous Angel'' was released [[posthumously]] in 1974 and three more tracks from his last sessions with Harris were included on another posthumous Parsons album, ''[[Sleepless Nights (album)|Sleepless Nights]]'', in 1976. There was one more album of recorded material from that period of time that was packaged with the name, ''[[Live 1973]]'', but wasn't released until 1982.
Following Parsons' death, Harris was devastated and appeared to be at an emotional and musical crossroads. The working relationship between Harris and Parsons is one of great importance in country and country-rock music history. Parsons offered Harris a study in true country music, introducing her to artists like [[The Louvin Brothers]]. Harris was a pioneer as a female performer of the early 1970s, drawn to a new respect for country and folk songs, but comfortable with music of several genres, which drew a crossover of listeners to songs from Parsons, and new songwriters like [[Rodney Crowell]], while still easing in the rock and pop music they both enjoyed. The effect of a country-rock hybrid that continued to blossom was arguably just as influential on Parsons and Harris as their music was to both [[The Byrds]] and the [[Rolling Stones]], and quite a few bands to come later. Harris was instrumental in bringing attention to Parsons's vision and achievements. Harris' earliest [[signature song]], and arguably her most personal one, "[[Boulder to Birmingham]]", written shortly after Gram's death, showed the depth of her shock and pain at losing Parsons. It was, according to her friend [[Linda Ronstadt]], the beginning of a "lifetime effort to process what had happened", noting the number of songs written and/or performed by Harris about her life with (and without) Parsons.
<blockquote>
''I would rock my soul in the bosom of Abraham'' </br>
''I would hold my life in his saving grace.'' </br>
''I would walk all the way from Boulder to Birmingham'' </br>
''If I thought I could see, I could see your face.'' </br>
<br> --[[Boulder to Birmingham]]<br />
By Emmylou Harris''
</blockquote>
Harris moved back to Washington D.C., and formed an electric band, The Angel Band, consisting of Bruce Archer on guitar, Tom Guidera on bass, Danny Pendleton on pedal steel and Mark Cuff on drums. Friend Linda Ronstadt invited Harris to join her in Los Angeles. Ronstadt, having a deep admiration for Harris's musicianship, informed everyone she could of Harris's talents and was instrumental in helping to get her work in musical venues (often singing with her), along the [[Sunset Strip]]. In fact, Harris credits Ronstadt with being the force behind her getting a record contract.
===The Hot Band===
[[Warner Brothers]] A&R representative Mary Martin introduced Harris to [[Canada|Canadian]] producer Brian Ahern, who produced her [[major label]] debut album, ''[[Pieces of the Sky]]'', released in 1975 on [[Reprise Records]]. The album was surprisingly eclectic, especially by [[Nashville]] standards, including [[cover versions]] of [[The Beatles]]' "[[For No One]]", [[Merle Haggard]]'s "Bottle Let Me Down" and [[The Louvin Brothers]]' "If I Could Only Win Your Love". It also featured "Bluebird Wine", a composition by young [[Texas]] songwriter Rodney Crowell, who was the first in a long line of songwriters whose talents Harris has championed. The record was one of the most expensive country records produced at the time, featuring the talents of [[James Burton]], [[Glen Hardin]], [[Ron Tutt]], [[Ray Pohlman]], and [[Bill Payne]], as well as two tracks ("Before Believing" and "Queen of the Silver Dollar") that were cut with the Angel Band. Two singles were released: "Too Far Gone", which initially charted at #73 (a 1979 reissue hit #13), and Harris's first big hit, "If I Could Only Win Your Love", which peaked at #4.
Executives of [[Warner Bros. Records]] (Reprise Records's parent company) told Harris they would agree to record her if she would "get a hot band". Harris did so, enlisting guitarist [[James Burton]] and pianist [[Glen Hardin]], both of whom had played with [[Elvis Presley]] as well as Parsons. Burton was a renowned guitarist, starting in [[Ricky Nelson]]'s band in the 1950s, and Hardin had been a member of [[The Crickets]]. Other [[The Hot Band|Hot Band]] members were drummer John Ware, [[pedal steel]] guitarist [[Hank DeVito]], and bassist [[Emory Gordy, Jr.]], with whom Harris had worked while performing with Parsons. Singer-songwriter Crowell was enlisted as a rhythm guitarist and duet partner.<ref name="Hot Band">[http://www.emmylou.net/hotband.html The Hot Band], Emmylou.net, retrieved 2007-10-04</ref> Harris's first tour schedule originally dovetailed around Presley's, owing to Burton and Hardin's continuing commitments to Presley's band. The [[Hot Band]] lived up to its name, with most of the members moving on with fresh talent replacing them as they continued on to solo careers of their own.
''[[Elite Hotel]]'', released in December 1975, established that the buzz created by ''Pieces of the Sky'' was well-founded. Unusual for country albums at the time, which largely revolved around a hit single, Harris's albums borrowed their approach from the album-oriented rock market; in terms of quality and artistic merit, tracks like "Sin City", "Wheels", and "Till I Gain Control Again", which weren't singles, easily stood against tracks like "Together Again", "Sweet Dreams", and "One of These Days", which were. While ''Elite Hotel'' was a #1 country album, the album did sufficiently well as a crossover success with the rock audience. Harris appealed to those who normally disapproved of the country market's pull toward crossover pop singles ("Together Again" and "Sweet Dreams" both topped the country charts). ''Elite Hotel'' won a [[Grammy]] in 1976 for [[Best Country Vocal Performance, Female]].
Harris's reputation for guest work continued. Aside from contributing to albums by [[Linda Ronstadt]], [[Guy Clark]] and [[Neil Young]], Harris was tapped by [[Bob Dylan]] to perform on his ''[[Desire]]'' album. Harris also filmed one of the studio sequences, owing to her touring schedule, in [[The Band]]'s ''[[The Last Waltz]]'', singing "Evangeline."
Burton left the Hot Band in 1976, choosing to remain with Elvis Presley's band, and was replaced by English guitarist [[Albert Lee]]. Harris and Ahern were married in 1977. Harris's commercial apex was ''[[Luxury Liner (album)|Luxury Liner]]'', released in 1977, which remains one of her definitive records. On ''Luxury Liner'', Harris's mix of songs from [[Chuck Berry]] ("(You Never Can Tell) C'est La Vie"), [[Gram Parsons]] (the title track and "She"), [[The Carter Family]] ("Hello Stranger") and [[Kitty Wells]] ("Making Believe") illustrate a continuity and artistic merit to country music often overlooked at the time. Despite Top Ten singles with "C'est La Vie" and "Making Believe," the album's best known track is the first recorded cover of [[Townes Van Zandt]]'s classic "[[Pancho & Lefty]]", which would be a #1 hit for [[Willie Nelson]] and [[Merle Haggard]] in 1983. At the end of 1977, Crowell left the Hot Band to pursue a solo career; his replacement was [[Bluegrass music|bluegrass]] [[multi-instrumentalist]] and singer [[Ricky Skaggs]].
''[[Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town]]'' signalled a slight change of direction from Harris's previous three albums. Rather than mixing classic and contemporary, the album is made up largely of recently written songs, though from an wide variety of writers. "Two More Bottles of Wine" became Harris's third #1 single, "To Daddy", written by [[Dolly Parton]], went to #3, and a third single, "Easy From Now On", went Top Twenty. The album included two songs apiece from Crowell ("I Ain't Living Long Like This" and "Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight") and [[Canadian]] songwriter [[Jesse Winchester]] ("Defying Gravity" and "My Songbird"), and [[Utah Phillips]]' "Green Rolling Hills."
===The Roots Records===
Harris's second daughter, Meghann, was born in 1979. During this time, Harris cut three studio albums that reflected a shift toward traditional country (the industry, on the other hand, was about to embrace ''[[Urban Cowboy]]''). The first key to the change in direction was her [[Grammy Award]]-winning 1979 album ''[[Blue Kentucky Girl]]''. Apart from a cover of [[The Drifters]]' "Save The Last Dance For Me", the album was largely made up of classic-styled country material in the vein of [[Loretta Lynn]] and [[Kitty Wells]]. One of her best-loved albums, the record includes songs ranging from [[The Louvin Brothers]]' "Everytime You Leave" to [[Willie Nelson]]'s "Sister's Coming Home" to [[Gram Parson]]'s signature "Hickory Wind". [[Wesley Rose]] took special interest in Harris's recording of "Beneath Still Waters", which became a #1 smash.
A Christmas album, ''[[Light of the Stable (album)|Light of the Stable]]'', was released in 1979; its [[title track]] featured backing vocals by [[Dolly Parton]], [[Linda Ronstadt]] and [[Neil Young]], all three of whom Harris had been working with sporadically since the mid-1970s. The album is largely acoustic, featuring readings of traditional fare such as "Silent Night," "O Little Town of Bethlehem" and "The First Noel."
In the 1980's, Harris pursued country music's history even further with the [[bluegrass music|bluegrass]]-oriented recording of ''[[Roses in the Snow]]'', featuring [[Ricky Skaggs]], [[Tony Rice]], [[Albert Lee]], [[Emory Gordy]] and [[Jerry Douglas (musician)|Jerry Douglas]]. Harris's versions of the traditional "Wayfaring Stranger" and [[Paul Simon]]'s "The Boxer" were strong singles.
In 1980, Harris recorded "That Lovin' You Feelin' Again" with [[Roy Orbison]]. The duet was a Top 10 hit on both the Country and Adult Contemporary charts. They would win the [[Grammy Award]] for [[Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group]]. She would also be featured on [[Paul Kennerley]]'s concept album ''[[The Legend of Jesse James]]'', which also featured [[Levon Helm]] of [[The Band]] and [[Johnny Cash]].
===Pop-chart success, songwriting===
In 1981, Harris reached the Top 40 on the [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] [[Billboard Hot 100|pop chart]] with a cover of "[[Mister Sandman]]"—again Top 10 Country as well as Adult Contemporary—from her ''[[Evangeline (album)|Evangeline]]'' album. (The album version of the song featured harmony by [[Dolly Parton]] and [[Linda Ronstadt]], but neither Parton's nor Ronstadt's [[Record industry|record companies]] would allow their artists' vocals to be used on the single, so Harris re-recorded the song, singing all three parts.)
''[[White Shoes]]'' in 1983 included an eclectic pairing of the rockish reading of "[[Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend]]" with a remake of the [[Donna Summer]] hit "On the Radio", as well as tracks from a diverse group of songwriters such as Hot Band member Crowell, [[Sandy Denny]] and [[T-Bone Burnett]].
Harris's major-label releases thus far had included few self-penned songs, but in 1985 her songwriting skills were much in evidence with the release of ''[[The Ballad of Sally Rose]]'', for which she co-wrote all of the songs. The album was semi-autobiographical in theme, based loosely on her relationship with Parsons. Harris described it as a "country opera". Her co-writer and producer on the album was [[England|English]] songwriter and musician [[Paul Kennerley]], writer of the hit singles "Born to Run" (on Harris's 1981 ''[[Cimarron (Emmylou Harris album)|Cimarron]]'' album) and "In My Dreams" (on ''White Shoes''). Kennerley also produced her next album, ''[[Thirteen (Emmylou Harris album)|Thirteen]]''. They were married in 1985 and divorced in 1993.
In 1987, Harris enjoyed the biggest commercial success of her long and varied career when she teamed up with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt for their long-promised and much-anticipated ''[[Trio (album)|Trio]]'' album. (Their original recording sessions for this project had begun 10 years earlier.) The album spent five weeks at #1 on Billboard's Country Albums chart (also quickly reaching the Top 10 on the Pop Albums chart), sold several million copies and produced four Top 10 Country hits, including "To Know Him Is To Love Him", which hit #1. The disc was nominated for the coveted [[Grammy Award for Album of the Year|Album Of The Year]] Grammy award (given to [[U2]] that year for ''[[The Joshua Tree]]'') and the three women won the statuette for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
Harris also found time in 1987 to release a solo album, ''[[Angel Band]]'', featuring traditional [[Gospel music|gospel songs]], on which she worked, among others, with rising country star [[Vince Gill]].
In 1989, she recorded two songs with the [[Nitty Gritty Dirt Band]] on their album, ''[[Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume II]]''. In a snippet of studio chatter included on one of the tracks, she talked during the recording session about her beginnings and how music had changed:
<blockquote>Years ago I had the experience of sitting around in a living room with a bunch of people and singing and playing, and it was like a spiritual experience, it was wonderful. And I decided then that was what I was going to do with my life was play music, do music. In the making of records, I think over the years we've all gotten a little too technical, a little too hung up on getting things perfect. We've lost the living room. The living room has gone out of the music, but today I feel like we got it back. </blockquote>
Around 1991, she dissolved The Hot Band and formed a new band of acoustic musicians—[[Sam Bush]] on fiddle, mandolin and vocals, [[Roy Huskey, Jr.]] on bass and vocals, [[Larry Atamanuik]] on drums, [[Al Perkins]] on banjo, guitar, [[Dobro]] guitar and vocals, and [[Jon Randall]] on guitar, mandolin and vocals—which she named The Nash Ramblers. They recorded a [[Grammy Award]]-winning [[At the Ryman|live album]] in 1992 at the [[Ryman Auditorium]] in [[Nashville, Tennessee]], which led to the $8 million restoration of the facility into a premium concert and event venue. It was her last album with [[Reprise Records]].
===New directions===
<!-- Commented out: [[Image:NeilYoungHeartOfGoldfilmsti.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Emmylou Harris, left, performing with Neil and Pegi Young in ''Neil Young: Heart of Gold''.]] -->
By the 1990s, Harris started receiving less airplay as mainstream country stations began shifting their focus to the youth-oriented "new country" format. Harris's albums ''Bluebird'' and ''Brand New Dance'' (1989 and 1990, respectively) received ample critical acclaim and sold reasonably well, yet her chart success was on the wane. 1993's ''[[Cowgirl's Prayer]]''—the first album since her switch to [[Elektra Records]]—was critically praised but received very little airplay, and its lead single, "High Powered Love" charted very low, peaking at #63, prompting her to shift her career in a new direction.
In 1995, Harris released one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the decade, ''[[Wrecking Ball (Emmylou Harris album)|Wrecking Ball]]'', produced by [[Daniel Lanois]], best known for his work with [[U2]], [[Peter Gabriel]] and [[Bob Dylan]]. An experimental album for Harris, the record included Harris's rendition of the [[Neil Young]]-penned title track (Young himself provided guest vocals on two of the album's songs), [[Steve Earle]]'s "Goodbye", [[Julie Miller]]'s "All My Tears", [[Jimi Hendrix]]'s "May This Be Love", [[Kate and Anna McGarrigle]]'s "Goin' Back to Harlan" and [[Gillian Welch]]'s "Orphan Girl". U2's [[Larry Mullen, Jr.]] showed up to play drums for the project. The album received virtually no country airplay whatsoever, but did bring Harris to the attention of [[alternative rock]] listeners, many of whom had never listened to her music before.
Harris then took her ''Wrecking Ball'' material on the road, releasing the live ''[[Spyboy (album)|Spyboy]]'' in 1998, backed with a [[power trio]] comprising Nashville [[Record producer|producer]], [[songwriter]] and [[guitarist]] [[Buddy Miller]] and [[New Orleans]] musicians, drummer [[Brady Blade]] and [[bassist]]-[[singer|vocalist]]-[[percussion instrument|percussionist]] Daryl Johnson. In addition to performing songs from ''Wrecking Ball'', the album updated many of Harris's career hits, including "Boulder to Birmingham".
Also in 1998, she appeared prominently on [[Willie Nelson]]'s moody, instrumentally sparse ''[[Teatro (album)|Teatro]]'' album, produced by ''Wrecking Ball'' producer Lanois.
During the summer of 1997 and 1998, Harris joined [[Sarah McLachlan]]'s all-woman musical touring festival; the [[Lilith Fair]] where new artists like [[Patty Griffin]] could share new experiences and ideas with seasoned musicians like Harris and [[Bonnie Raitt]].
In January 1999, Harris released ''[[Trio 2 (album)|Trio 2]]'' with Parton and Ronstadt. Much of the album had actually been recorded in 1994, but remained unreleased for nearly five years because of [[record label]] and personnel disputes, conflicting schedules, and career priorities of the three artists. ''Trio 2'' was much more contemporary-sounding than its predecessor and was certified Gold. It included their version of Neil Young's classic "After The Gold Rush", which became a popular music video and won another Grammy—this one for [[Best Country Collaboration with Vocals]]. Harris and Ronstadt then released a duet album, ''[[Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions]]'', later the same year. The two superstars toured together during the fall months in support of the disc. Both albums made the Top 10 of Billboard's Country Albums chart and did well on the pop side as well.
Also in 1999, Harris paid tribute to her former singing partner [[Gram Parsons]] by co-executive producing ''[[Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons]]'', an album that gathered together more than a dozen artists. Harris performed duets with [[Beck]], [[Sheryl Crow]] and [[The Pretenders]] on this album's tracks.
In 2000, Harris released her solo follow-up to ''Wrecking Ball'', ''[[Red Dirt Girl]]'', produced by Lanois protege [[Malcolm Burn]]. For the first time since ''[[The Ballad of Sally Rose]]'', the album contained a number of Harris's own compositions. Like ''Wrecking Ball'', the album's sound leaned more toward alternative rock than country. Nevertheless it reached #5 on Billboard's Country Albums chart as well as a healthy #54 on the pop side. It also won Harris another of her 12 Grammy awards, in the category of [[Best Contemporary Folk Album]].
Harris also accompanied on [[alternative country]] singer [[Ryan Adams]]' solo debut ''[[Heartbreaker (Ryan Adams album)|Heartbreaker]]''.
Also in 2000, Harris joined an all-star group of traditional [[country music|country]], [[folk music|folk]] and [[blues]] artists for the [[T-Bone Burnett]]-produced [[O Brother, Where Art Thou? (soundtrack)|soundtrack]] to the [[Coen Brothers]] film, ''[[O Brother, Where Art Thou?]]'' The soundtrack won multiple [[Country Music Association|CMA]], [[Academy of Country Music|ACM]] and Grammy awards. A [[documentary film|documentary]]/[[concert film]], ''[[Down from the Mountain]]'', featured the artists performing music from the film and other songs at the [[Ryman Auditorium]]. Harris and many of the same artists took their show on the road for the Down from the Mountain Tour in 2002. In 2003, Harris supplied the finishing touches in harmonizing with the [[Dixie Chicks]] on a song they were recording in the studio, "Godspeed".
September 9, 2005 Harris took part in a series of concerts and entertainers televised [[simulcast]] by every [[United States|American]] [[television station]] to raise money for victims of [[Hurricane Katrina]] and [[Hurricane Rita]], which was called, "''Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast.]]'' She performed with [[Beth Neilsen Chapman]] and the Dixie Chicks, singing Patty Griffin's song, "Mary", in harmony.
===Recent work===
Harris released ''[[Stumble into Grace]]'', her follow-up to ''[[Red Dirt Girl]]'', in 2003. Like its predecessor, it contained mostly self-penned material. In 2004, Harris led the [[Sweet Harmony Traveling Revue]] tour with [[Gillian Welch]], [[David Rawlings]], [[Buddy Miller]] and [[Patty Griffin]]. They performed singly and together and swapped instruments.
[[Image:Emmylou Harris 2006 2.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Emmylou Harris playing in Ahoy, Rotterdam, The Netherlands in 2006.]]
In 2005, Harris worked with [[Conor Oberst]] on [[Bright Eyes (band)|Bright Eyes]]' release, ''[[I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning]]'', performing backup vocals on three tracks. In July, she joined [[Elvis Costello]] on several dates of his U.S. tour, performing alongside Costello and his band on several numbers each night. Emmylou and Costello recorded a version of Costello's song, "The Scarlet Tide", from the soundtrack of the movie ''[[Cold Mountain (film)|Cold Mountain]]''. July also saw the release of ''The Very Best of Emmylou Harris: Heartaches and Highways,'' a single-disc retrospective of Harris's career, on the [[Rhino Entertainment]] label. This same year, Harris appeared as a guest vocalist on [[Neil Young]]'s widely acclaimed ''[[Prairie Wind (album)|Prairie Wind]]''. She also appeared in the [[Jonathan Demme]] documentary-concert film ''[[Neil Young: Heart of Gold]]'', released in 2006.
''[[All the Roadrunning]]'', an album of collaborations with former [[Dire Straits]] frontman [[Mark Knopfler]], was released on April 24, 2006 (April 25 in USA), and supported by a tour of Europe and the USA. The album was a commercial success, reaching #10 in the UK and #17 in the USA. Selections recorded during the ''All the Roadrunning'' tour performance at the [[Gibson Amphitheatre]] were released as a CD/DVD package titled ''[[Real Live Roadrunning]]'' on November 14, 2006. In addition to several of the compositions that Harris and Knopfler recorded together in the studio, ''Real Live Roadrunning'' features solo hits from both members of the duo, as well as a few classic tracks from Knopfler's days with Dire Straits.
Harris is featured on a ''A Tribute To [[Joni Mitchell]]'', released on April 24, 2007. Harris covered the song "The Magdalene Laundries" (originally on Mitchell's 1994 album, ''[[Turbulent Indigo]]''). She sang "Another Pot O' Tea" with [[Anne Murray]] on Murray's album ''Duets:
Friends & Legends'', released November 13, 2007, in Canada and January 15, 2008, in the U.S.
A new solo album, ''[[All I Intended to Be]]'', was released on June 10, 2008 to critical acclaim. Contributors include [[Buddy Miller]], [[Kate and Anna McGarrigle|the McGarrigle sisters]], [[Vince Gill]], and [[Dolly Parton]].
== Activism ==
In 1997 and 1998, Harris performed in [[Sarah McLachlan]]'s [[Lilith Fair]], promoting [[feminism]] in music. Since 1999, Harris has been organizing an annual benefit tour called Concerts for a Landmine Free World. All proceeds from the tours support the [[Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation]]'s (VVAF) efforts to assist innocent victims of conflicts around the world. The tour also benefits the VVAF's work to raise [[United States|America]]'s awareness of the global [[land mine|landmine]] problem. Artists that have joined Harris on the road for these dates include [[Mary Chapin Carpenter]], [[Bruce Cockburn]], [[Sheryl Crow]], [[Steve Earle]], [[Joan Baez]], [[Patty Griffin]], [[Nanci Griffith]], [[Willie Nelson]], and [[Lucinda Williams]]. Harris is a supporter of [[animal rights]] and an active member of [[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals|PETA]].<ref>[http://www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com/EmmyLouHarris.asp Kentucky Fried Cruelty :: Celebrity Support :: Emmylou Harris<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> She founded, and in her spare time assists at, an [[animal shelter]] in Nashville.<ref>[http://www.emmylou.net/br.html Bonaparte's Retreat<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==Awards and other honors==
===Grammy Awards===
'''2005''' [[Best Female Country Vocal Performance]] ("The Connection")
'''2001''' [[Grammy Award for Album of the Year|Album of the Year]] (''[[O Brother, Where Art Thou? (soundtrack)|O Brother, Where Art Thou?]]'')
'''2000''' [[Best Contemporary Folk Album]] (''[[Red Dirt Girl]]'')
'''1999''' [[Best Country Collaboration with Vocals]] ("After The Gold Rush", with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt)
'''1998''' [[Best Country Collaboration with Vocals]] ("Same Old Train", with [[Alison Krauss]], [[Clint Black]], [[Dwight Yoakam]], [[Earl Scruggs]], [[Joe Diffie]], [[Marty Stuart]], [[Merle Haggard]], [[Pam Tillis]], [[Patty Loveless]], [[Randy Travis]], [[Ricky Skaggs]] & [[Travis Tritt]])
'''1995''' [[Best Contemporary Folk Album]] (''[[Wrecking Ball (Emmylou Harris album)|Wrecking Ball]]'')
'''1992''' [[Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal]] (''Emmylou Harris & The Nash Ramblers [[At the Ryman]]'', as Emmylou Harris & The Nash Ramblers)
'''1987''' [[Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal]] (''[[Trio (album)|Trio]]'', with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt)
'''1984''' [[Best Country Vocal Performance, Female]] ("In My Dreams")
'''1980''' [[Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group]] ("That Lovin' You Feelin' Again", with Roy Orbison)
'''1979''' [[Best Country Vocal Performance, Female]] (''[[Blue Kentucky Girl]]'')
'''1976''' [[Best Country Vocal Performance, Female]] (''[[Elite Hotel]]'')<ref>[http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Winners Grammy Award Winners] at www.grammy.com, retrieved 21 March 2008/</ref>
===Country Music Association Awards===
'''2001''' Album of the Year (''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'')
'''1980''' Female Vocalist Of The Year
'''1988''' Vocal Event of the Year (''Trio'', with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt)
<ref>[http://www.cmaawards.com/2007/database/ArtistDetail.aspx?artistId=237 Artist Detail Emmylou Harris] www.cmaawards.com, retrieved 21 March 2008</ref>
===Other honors===
* ''[[CMT]]'s [[40 Greatest Women of Country Music]]'' - #5 ranking ([[2002]])
* Inducted into the [[Country Music Hall of Fame]] on [[February 12]], [[2008]] <ref name="Morris"> Morris, Edward (28 April, 2008) [http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1586429/emmylou-harris-ernest-v-pop-stoneman-enter-country-music-hall-of-fame.jhtml CMT News: Emmylou Harris, Ernest V. "Pop" Stoneman Enter Country Music Hall of Fame] Retrieved 5 July, 2008 </ref>
==Discography==
{{Main|Emmylou Harris discography}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
* ''In the Country of Country: A Journey to the Roots of American Music,'' [[Nicholas Dawidoff]], [[Random House|Vintage Books]], 1998. ISBN 0-679-41567-X
* ''Emmylou Harris: Angel in Disguise,'' Jim Brown, Fox Music Books, 2004. ISBN 1-894997-03-4
* Fong-Torres, Ben. (1998). "Emmylou Harris". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 230.
== External links ==
{{commons}}
* [http://www.emmylouharris.com/ Official Site] (requires [[Adobe Flash|Flash player]])
* [http://www.emmylou.net Emmylou Harris] Comprehensive former official site
* [http://www.billdeyoung.com/eh.htm Emmylou Harris - Sweetheart of the Rodeo] – An excellent biography by Bill DeYoung
* [http://www.emmylou.nl Emmylou Harris Dutch Homepage]
*{{allmusicguide | id = 11:yya9kent7q7v | label = Emmylou Harris}}
* {{imdb name|id=0004994|name=Emmylou Harris}}
* [http://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article/5081/review/music/songbird_rare_tracks_and_forgotten_gems] David Dark's Review of Songbird in Paste
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvZackpkRRU Discussion of the forming of the Hot Band and the start of Emmylou Harris's career from the Old Grey Whistle Stop program on the BBC]
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{{Emmylou Harris}}
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[[Category:American singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:American country singers]]
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[[Category:1947 births]]
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[[Category:Emmylou Harris albums| ]]
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