Emmylou Harris’ Timeless Songs Have Made Her A Music Legend
Emmylou Harris and her songs have made quite an immense impact on the music industry. After releasing countless hit albums and singles, Harris has won an impressive 13 Grammys along with many other awards.
Harris’ success as a solo artist also led to her being a desirable duet partner. Over the years she has collaborated with many of music’s greats, such as Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and Neil Young.
Perhaps most famously, Harris teamed up with country star Dolly Parton and rock singer Linda Ronstadt for a collaboration album called Trio in 1987.
The album was a smash success and climbed to the top of the chart. The group released a second Trio album in 1999.
Although Harris isn’t strictly a country artist (she sings folk, bluegrass, rock, and pop too), she’s always been welcome in the community.
In celebration of Emmylou Harris’ 77th birthday, let’s look back at some of the signature songs of her career.
Check Out 4 Iconic Emmylou Harris Songs Below
“Together Again”
Country singer Buck Owens wrote “Together Again” before Harris was even 18 years old. Owens originally released the song as a single in 1964.
“Together Again” eventually beat Owens’ previous #1 hit “My Heart Skips a Beat” to take the top spot on the Billboard country chart.
Harris included her version of “Together Again” on her 1975 album Elite Hotel. Like Owens, Harris turned the song into a #1 hit.
Harris and Owens came together for a special duet, in 1979 called “Play Together Again, Again.” It served as a tribute to the song that was such a success for them both.
“You Never Can Tell”
“You Never Can Tell” is one of the most frequently covered Chuck Berry songs. Man country stars, including John Prine, Chely Wright, and Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter have recorded the song.
But Harris’ cover of “You Never Can Tell,” Harris’ is the most well-known.
As a longtime fan of Berry’s music, Harris wanted to offer her spin on “You Never Can Tell.” Her version was released in 1977, and listeners loved it immediately.
Harris’ recording of “You Never Can Tell” claimed the #6 spot on the Country and Western Chart in the U.S. It also hit big in the Netherlands and the Flemish Region of Belgium, where it charted at the #4 and #5 spots respectively.
“Tennessee Rose”
As the second single off Harris’ Grammy-nominated album Cimarron, “Tennessee Rose” broke into the Top 10 on the Billboard country chart. It was even more successful in Canada, where it peaked at the #5 spot on the chart.
Written by Karen Brooks and Hank DeVito, the lyrics express the feelings of a woman who misses her lover when they are apart. She is so smitten that she would do anything for more time with her love, as she sings:
“I wouldn’t take no, the whole world dipped in gold, for a night with my Tennessee Rose.” Throughout the song, the narrator continues to encourage the object of her affection to treasure her love, singing “The gift I hold is believing, that you will always be mine.“
From 1974-1991, Harris performed with a backing band called The Hot Band. She joined the Hot Band to perform “Tennessee Rose” many times, but the above performance is one of our favorites.
“To Know Him Is To Love Him”
One of Harris’ most recognizable songs happens to be from her Trio collaboration with Parton and Ronstadt.
“To Know Him Is to Love Him” has a long history. It was first recorded in September 1958 by the pop group The Teddy Bears. One of the band members, Phil Spector, wrote the song after feeling inspired by some words he read on his father’s tombstone.
The original recording was a #1 hit for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, which prompted many other artists to record their own versions. Trio was the most successful of all those who covered the song after they released their version in January 1987.
Harris and her fellow Trio artists were the first to bring the song back to the top of the charts since The Teddy Bears’ original decades earlier. Of all the songs they recorded together “To Know Him Is to Love Him” remains Trio‘s most successful.
Harris has provided us with a wealth of beautiful music, and she doesn’t intend to stop any time soon.
Knowing the quality of music Harris has already released, we can’t wait to hear what else she has in store for us in the future!