Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter who, in addition to having a huge career, can also boast of having won no less than 14 Grammys to date, just that. Of course, mainly in the Country category, but still !
She began her artistic career at the University of North Carolina after obtaining a scholarship to attend classes in the School of Music, Drama and Dance. Course which she quickly gives up to move to New York and start singing in the bars of Greenwich Village.
A career which will begin to take height when she manages to release a first album called "Gliding bird" in 1969. Album which will go somewhat unnoticed but which at least has the merit of launching her career for good.
We find her in a trio with Gerry Mule and Tom Guidera at the beginning of the 1970s. Then it is alongside Gram Persons and his group 'The Fallen Angels' that she is found during the year 1973. A duo which works particularly well to the point of preparing an album called "Grevious Angel". A great adventure that turns into a tragedy when Parsons is found dead of an overdose in a hotel room. The album was released anyway in 1974 but would de facto become a posthumous album ...
Back in solo from the year 1975 with the release of the album "Pieces of the sky" under the label Reprise Records. An album which will know a level of recognition much higher than its first opus in particular thanks to the Single "If I could only win your win". An exceptional year in 1975 with the release of a second album "Elite hotel", an album that went even further than its predecessor and produced the flagship Single "Together again" a year later in 1976.
Also in 1975 she formed the group 'Hot Band' to assist her and surrounded herself with James Burton, Glen Hardin, John Ware, Hank De Vito and Emory Gordy Jr.
An association which will have worked perfectly on the albums of 1975 and which will work even more on her new album "Luxury liner" which will be released two years later in 1977. Album which paradoxically will struggle to produce Singles of the level of the previous ones.
New notorious successes in 1978 with the album "Quarter moon in a ten hundred town", in 1979 with the album "Blue Kentucky girl" and in 1980 with the album "Roses in the snow". Three very Country oriented albums which will only produce hits in this category.
A year 1980 which sees her obtain one of her biggest successes but in duet this time on the enormous title "That lovin 'you feeling again", title which she recorded with Roy Orbison and which we will find on the soundtrack of the movie 'Roadie'.
The consecration, the real one, came in 1981 with his masterful cover of the track "Mister Sandman", a track taken from the album "Evangeline" which was released that same year. Title that will remain as her biggest solo success.
The year 1981 will also see the release of another album "Cimarron", album which see her unscrew in the Charts album in an unexpected way to say the least. On the Singles side, she will save the furniture thanks to the Country Charts but it is clear that this year 1981 will mark an obvious breaking point in her career. As much in a good way as in a bad way ...
She will release a large number of albums until the end of the 1980s but none will experience the record levels of success of those of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Except in 1987 when she will know one of her success among the most important but not solo this time but rather in trio, the whole on the album aptly named "Trio" and which will see her push the song in company of Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt.
The 90s will not be more favorable to her except on the album "Wrecking ball" in 1995, the only album of the decade to allow her to exist for a time, or a little at the highest level.
She would have to wait until the 2000s to finally return to the race in spectacular fashion with several very large-caliber albums. Albums which, unfortunately, will not produce major hits except once again in Charts Country.
Only the Single "This is us" which will be part in 2006 of the album "All the roadrunning" of Marc Knopfler of Dire Straits will give her a last major success on the Singles side ...
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others ...) :
60s Decade :
I’ll be your baby tonight 1969
70s Decade :
Too far gone 1975
If I could only win your love 1975
Together again 1976
One of these days 1976
Sweet dreams 1976
(You never can tell) C’est la vie 1977
Making believe 1977
To daddy 1977
Two more bottles of wine 1978
Easy from now on 1978
Save the last dance for me 1979
Blue Kentucky girl 1979
80s Decade :
Beneath still waters 1980
Wayfaring stranger 1980
The boxer 1980
That lovin’ you feeling again (Roy Orbison) 1980
Mister sandman 1981
I Don’t have to crawl 1981
Tennessee Rose 1982
(Lost his love) On our last date 1982
I’m movin’ on 1983
Wild Montana skies (John Denver) 1983
So sad to watch good love go bad 1983
In my dreams 1984
Pledding my love 1984
Someone like you 1984
White line 1985
Today I started loving you again 1986
To know him is to love him 1987
Telling me lies 1987
Those memories of you 1987
Wildflowers 1988
Heaven only knows 1989
90s Decade :
Gulf coast highway 1990
Wheels of love 1990
High powered love 1993
You don’t know me 1994
Crescent city 1994
Where will I be ? 1995
Sweet old world 1995
Wrecking ball 1996
Love hurts 1998
2000s Decade :
I don’t wanna talk about it now 2000
This is us 2006
Not enough 2008
Tracks :
1969 ... a beginning of career which rhymes with a luxury cover and not just any since she revisits here the title of Bob Dylan dating from 1967. A title which paradoxically will not make neither the fortune of Dylan nor of Harris but of UB40 and Robert Palmer 21 years later in 1990. It's all about interpretation as they say ...
1975 ... she will have to wait another 6 years and the year 1975 to obtain her first classified title. All thanks to this title full of finesse which shows a potential in this area more than obvious ...
1975 ... a year 1975 which saw her grow in an impressive way. The real take-off of a career that turns out to be extraordinary to say the least ...
1976 ... it is clear that in the field of Country, she has become what we do best in a few years. And that's just the beginning...
1976 ... on the other hand, it is sure that this kind of music will somewhat marginalize her. Difficult in these conditions to compete with the greatest Disco singer of the moment ...
1976 ... in the Country version ride, she quickly established herself as one of the queens of the estate. We want more, that's clear !
1977 ... she attacks here the title of Chuck Berry dating from 1964. And once again, it will not be her revisited version that will remain in history but that of Pulp Fiction dating from 1994. When it does not want not, that does not want ...
1977 ... this time she revisits the title of Kitty Wells dating from 1955 and her version will undoubtedly remain as one of the most successful. MA-GIC !
1977 ... a BIG year 1977 which saw the young singer in particularly good shape. In just 3 years she will have been able to rise to the highest level of the Country hierarchy, a real feat !
1978 ... she unrolls quietly and aligns the top Country hits with an ease for the less impressive. The competition has better watch out, that's clear !
1978 ... another pretty ballad of which she has the secret. And like that, she will produce a hell of a lot throughout her career !
1979 ... here she revisits the title of the Drifters dating from 1960 and the least we can say is that its version holds up once again. Not necessarily her best cover but a good job once again ...
1979 ... a decade of 70 which will have seen her hatch and then explode at the highest level. It remains to be seen what the next decade has in store for her ...
1980 ... she starts the 1980s by staying at the top of the planetary hierarchy on the Country side. But will she one day succeed in producing a hit of the same magnitude outside of her favorite musical field ? Good question...
1980 ... here she revisits a title dating from the middle of the...19th century, a damn daring bet as they say ! A title outside of time and standards as long as she manages to sublimate in a very astonishing way. What talent !
1980 ... the year of the covers, this time with an original version of the Simon & Garfunkel title dating from 1970. Admittedly, the level of success of its version will be less than the original, but all the same...
1980 ... her finest collaboration and above all the most fruitful. It must be said that by bringing together two such talents, we suspected that this would necessarily produce something exceptional. And the result is...exceptional !
1981 ... after the mega success at 2, here comes the mega success solo. She will sign here quite simply the biggest success of all her discography all on a cover this time totally improbable of the title of Chordettes dating from 1955. You had to dare it, she did it. MAS-TER-FUL !
1981 ... one of its very rare titles to have been classified in the so-called 'General Public' Charts. Like what, when she wants, she can. We would have liked so much for her to do more like that !
1982 ... chase the natural, it comes back at a gallop. We suspected that the parenthesis was not going to last longer than that. Frankly shame ...
1982 ... all the titles which will come out thereafter during this decade 80 will all be classified whether they are copies or not like this revisited version of the title of Floyd Cramer dating from 1970. But only in the Country Charts ...
1983 ... she continues her adventure quietly by copying once again the title of another, namely that of Hank Snow dating from 1950. And this without asking too many questions about how the world is evolving around her. Rightly or wrongly, that's something else ...
1983 ... it is in duo or trio that she will obtain her greatest number of very big caliber hits. The duets are done. The trios are coming soon ...
1983 ... another nice ballad as she knows how to do them so well, at least the revisited version that she knew how to make of this title of Everly Brothers dating from 1960. It is clear that her know-how in this field is really exceptional and allows to produce titles of more than certain quality !
1984 ... on average, it's 1 original title for 1 revisited title. Knowing that the previous title was a revisited title, you will easily guess what nature it is ...
1984 ... we start again in the luxury cover with on that one the resumption of the title of Johnny Ace dating from 1954. Nothing very original but a good job once again ...
1984 ... the more the years go by, the more the level of success drops. It is clear that this mid-1980s marks the breaking point between the Grande Epoque and a sequel that will prove to be a little more complicated to manage ...
1985 ... it is clear that at a time when synthesizers and drum machines now reign supreme, it is difficult for Country to find its place in all of this ...
1986 ... for the year 1986, its luxury cover will be this one, namely a revisited version of the title of Merle Haggard And The Strangers dating from 1968. We let ourselves be rocked once again ...
1987 ... there were the legendary duets, now comes the legendary trio and what a trio ! Dooly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, that's what we call the Dream Team ! A trio which revisits here the title of Teddy Bears dating from 1958 with the key to a result which can only be exceptional once again ...
1987 ... three extraordinary singers, three extraordinary careers, three extraordinary voices. The result, too, could only be out of the ordinary !
1987 ... the 3 girls cover here the title of Bill and James Monroe dating from 1978 and it works perfectly once again. The opposite would have been surprising...
1988 ... four very big caliber titles just for this legendary trio. It is clear that it was really worth it to bring these 3 together !
1989 ... already 20 years of career and a particularly flattering prize list. Will she continue on the same dynamic for the next decade, it is the future that will answer this question ...
1990 ... a future that unfortunately begins to darken seriously. With a level of success in free fall to start this decade 90 ...
1990 ... and this one will do even worse than its predecessor. Decidedly, nothing is going on the planet Harris anymore ...
1993 ... year 1991 without relief, year 1992 downright empty, it smells scorched all that. Will the 90s be the decade of too many...?
1994 ... a magnificent ballad of which she will not be at the origin again. Her revisited version of the title of Eddy Arnold dating from 1956 is a real wonder and paradoxically will not bring her more than that. Go figure ...
1994 ... that doesn't stop her from continuing to believe in it. Rightly or wrongly afterwards, that's another thing given the weakness of its results in the Charts ...
1995 ... and yet she is far from demerit. But how can you exist in a decade of the 90s when everything is moving at the speed of light. Mission almost impossible ...
1995 ... yet another title that literally floats in the air. She will have done a lot of like that throughout her career. We take, we take !
1996 ... once again all in finesse and lightness. It is clear that she is doing more and more in figuration but luxury figuration and that's what changes everything !
1998 ... here comes a new version of a title repeated over and over again. Namely the title of the Everly Brothers dating from 1960. Its version will not bring much more but whatever, the main thing is to participate as they say ...
2000 ... she will have gone through the 1960s, then the 1970s, then the 1980s, then the 1990s and here she is starting the 2000s ! But what a career !
2006 ... of course, the 2 are former glories of the 80s but when we compare their respective palmares, we are close to near-perfection. So why sulk his pleasure...!
2008 ... one of his last feats of arms. Almost 40 years after its beginnings, the adventure seems to be coming to an end, at least on the creations part. Afterwards, with such talent, she can still have some big surprises in store for us in the years to come, that's for sure ...
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Greatest Hits :
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