Emmylou Harris is a thirteen time Grammy Award winning American singer and songwriter
originally from Birmingham, Alabama known for her musical career as well as her
activism.
Emmylou
released her first album 'Gliding Bird' in 1969. She was still establishing
herself in the industry and finding her sound so it was a mixture of Joan Beez
influenced originals with covers of some of the country/folk industries most
prolific names such as Bob Dylan and Hank Williams. A folk re-imagination of
Dionne Warwick/Bacharach/David hit 'I'll Never Fall In Love Again' gained the
songwriter particular attention.
Her next LP
'Pieces Of The Sky' came six years later and charted at #7 on the US Country
chart, it also included Harris's first hit single 'If I Could Only Win Your
Love' which peaked at #4 on the Country singles chart. Whilst there was a lot
of buzz around her major label debut, Harris established a solid backing band
and released 'Elite Hotel' at the end of the same year. It topped the Country
chart and included two number one singles, 'Sweet Dreams' and 'Together Again'.
Her album success continued after the release of these two albums, to date she
has had fourteen original albums chart within the top 10 of the US Country
chart.
She scored
a number one in 1987 when she recorded 'Trio' with Dolly Parton and Linda
Ronstadt. To date she has sold over 5.5 million records in the States. Emmylou
is also known for her charity work, since 1999 she has performed an annual tour
entitled Concerts for a Landmine Free World with proceeds going to Vietnam
Veterans of America Foundation. She has been joined by a large selection of
artists on these tours, including Bruce Cockburn, Sheryl Crow, Steve Earle and
Joan Baez to name a few. She has been honoured with numerous awards over her
long career, perhaps her most successful being thirteen Grammy Award wins. Her
first came in 1976 after the release of 'Elite Hotel' she won the award for
Best Country Vocal Performance and her most recent was a victory in 2014 in the
Best Americana Album category for 'Old Yellow Moon'.
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