Emmylou Harris

Guide Note:

Country and folk music artist Emmylou Harris has had a successful musical career from 1969 to the present, and has collaborated with a number of other popular musicians, including Neil Young and Mark Knopfler. Fast Facts:

1. Born April 2, 1947 in Birmingham, Alabama
2. Solo Albums: 23
3. Father spent 10 months as a POW during the Korean War
4. Grammy Awards: 5
5. Performed at 2 Lilith Fairs
6. Member of PETA
7. Collaborated with Roy Orbison on "That Lovin' You Feelin' Again"

Harris studied music at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, after which she moved to New York City. Emulating musical heroes Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, Harris began to hone her skills as a folk singer at coffee shops throughout Greenwich Village.

Harris released her solo debut, Gliding Bird, in 1969 on fledgling Jubilee Records.

In 1973, Harris was invited to join Gram Parsons' band The Fallen Angels on the recommendation of Chris Hillman, then playing with Parsons' former band, The Flying Burrito Brothers. Harris collaborated with Parsons on his final album, Greivous Angel, in the months before his death from a drug overdose.

Harris released her major label solo debut, Pieces of the Sky, in 1975 on Reprise Records. Hoping to reach a bigger audience, she formed The Hot Band (so named because a record executive had advised her to "get a hot band"), and released her follow-up, Elite Hotel, in 1975. It won a Grammy in 1975 for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female.

Harris continued releasing commercially and critically successful albums throughout the remainder of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and collaborated with artists including Dolly Parton, T-Bone Burnett, Willie Nelson, Linda Ronstadt, Vince Gill and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. She recently appeared on Neil Young's acclaimed Prairie Wind album and in the Jonathan Demme-directed concert film Neil Young: Heart of Gold.