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Blessed with a crystalline voice, a remarkable gift for phrasing, and a restless creative spirit, few artists had as profound an impact on contemporary music as Emmylou Harris. She traveled a singular artistic path, proudly carrying the torch of "cosmic American music" passed down by her mentor, Gram Parsons, which made a profound mark on both country and rock. Beginning as a folk singer in New York City, Harris released her first album in 1970, only to see it disappear with the bankruptcy of her record label. But a year later, she was playing a folk club in Washington D.C. when Chris Hillman saw her perform, and he recommended her to his former bandmate Gram Parsons. Harris would contribute superb vocals to Parsons' solo albums, 1972's G.P. and 1974's Grievous Angel, and he would be her guide in country music until his death in September 1973. Harris moved on to a solo career with albums like 1977's Pieces of the Sky and Elite Hotel, and 1977's Luxury Liner, where she blended an abiding respect for country music's history with a passion and flair informed by rock. While Harris was a superb interpretive vocalist, she would later come into her own as a songwriter with 1985's ambitious concept album The Ballad of Sally Rose, and in 1987 she enjoyed a major critical and commercial success with Trio, a collaboration with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt. With 1992's At the Ryman, Harris revitalized her muse with a superb acoustic session, and on 1995's Wrecking Ball, she teamed with producer Daniel Lanois to create a strikingly atmospheric set informed by alternative rock as much as country. Moving into the 2000s, Harris continued to explore her creative boundaries, keeping one foot in country while also finding inspiration in rock and alternative sounds. She also found time for collaborations with Mark Knopfler (2006's All the Roadrunning) and Rodney Crowell (2013's Old Yellow Moon and 2015's The Traveling Kind). With the exception of Neil Young -- not surprisingly an occasional collaborator -- no other mainstream star established a similarly large body of work as consistently iconoclastic, eclectic, or daring; even more than four decades into her career, Harris' latter-day music remained as heartfelt, visionary, and vital as her earliest recordings.

Harris was born on April 2, 1947, to a military family stationed in Birmingham, Alabama. After spending much of her childhood in North Carolina, she moved to Woodbridge, Virginia while in her teens and graduated high school there as class valedictorian. After winning a drama scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, she began to seriously study music, learning to play songs by Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. Soon, Harris was performing in a duo with fellow UNC student Mike Williams, eventually quitting school to move to New York, only to find the city's folk music community dying out in the wake of the psychedelic era.

Still, Harris remained in New York, traveling the Greenwich Village club circuit before becoming a regular at Gerdes Folk City, where she struck up friendships with fellow folkies Jerry Jeff Walker, David Bromberg, and Paul Siebel. After marrying songwriter Tom Slocum in 1969, she recorded her debut LP, 1970's Gliding Bird. Shortly after the record's release, however, Harris' label declared bankruptcy, and while pregnant with her first child, her marriage began to fall apart. After moving to Nashville, she and Slocum divorced, leaving Harris to raise daughter Hallie on her own. After several months of struggle and poverty, she moved back in with her parents, who had since bought a farm outside of Washington, D.C.

There she returned to performing, starting a trio with local musicians Gerry Mule and Tom Guidera. One evening in 1971, while playing at an area club called Clyde's, the trio performed to a crowd that included members of the country-rock pioneers the Flying Burrito Brothers. In the wake of the departure of Gram Parsons, the band's founder, the Burritos were led by ex-Byrd Chris Hillman, who was so impressed by Harris' talents that he considered inviting her to join the group. Instead, Hillman himself quit to join Stephen Stills' Manassas, but he recommended her to Parsons, who wanted a female vocalist to flesh out the sound of his solo work, a trailblazing fusion of country and rock & roll he dubbed "cosmic American music." Their connection was instant, and soon Harris was learning about country music and singing harmony on Parsons' solo debut, 1972's G.P. A tour with Parsons' backup unit, the Fallen Angels, followed, and in 1973 they returned to the studio to cut his landmark LP Grievous Angel.

On September 19, just weeks after the album sessions ended, Parsons' fondness for drugs and alcohol finally caught up to him, and he was found dead in a hotel room outside of the Joshua Tree National Monument in California. At the time, Harris was back in Washington, collecting her daughter for a planned move to the West Coast. Instead, she remained in D.C., reuniting with Tom Guidera to form the Angel Band. The group signed to Reprise and relocated to Los Angeles to begin work on Harris' major-label solo debut, 1975's acclaimed Pieces of the Sky, an impeccable collection made up largely of diverse covers ranging in origin from Merle Haggard to the Beatles. Produced by Brian Ahern, who would go on to helm Harris' next ten records -- as well as becoming her second husband -- Pieces of the Sky's second single, a rendition of the Louvin Brothers' "If I Could Only Win Your Love," became her first Top Five hit. "Light of the Stable," a Christmas single complete with backing vocals from Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Neil Young, soon followed; Harris then repaid the favor by singing on Ronstadt's "The Sweetest Gift" and Young's "Star of Bethlehem."

For her second LP, 1976's Elite Hotel, Harris established a new backing unit, the Hot Band, which featured legendary Elvis Presley sidemen James Burton and Glen D. Hardin as well as a young songwriter named Rodney Crowell on backup vocals and rhythm guitar. The resulting album proved to be a smash, with covers of Buck Owens' "Together Again" and the Patsy Cline perennial "Sweet Dreams" both topping the charts. Before beginning sessions for her third effort, 1977's Luxury Liner, Harris guested on Bob Dylan's Desire and appeared in Martin Scorsese's documentary of the Band's legendary final performance, The Last Waltz. Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town followed in 1978, led by the single "Two More Bottles of Wine," her third number one. The record was Crowell's last with the Hot Band; one of the tracks, "Green Rolling Hills," included backing from Ricky Skaggs, soon to become Crowell's replacement as Harris' vocal partner.

Released in 1979, Blue Kentucky Girl was her most country-oriented work to date, an indication of what was to come a year later with Roses in the Snow, a full-fledged excursion into acoustic bluegrass. In the summer of 1980, a duet with Roy Orbison, "That Lovin' You Feelin' Again," hit the Top Ten; a yuletide LP, Light of the Stable, followed at the end of the year. Shortly afterward, Harris quit touring to focus on raising her second daughter, Meghann. Evangeline, a patchwork of songs left off of previous albums, appeared in 1981. Shortly afterward, Skaggs left the Hot Band to embark on a solo career; his replacement was Barry Tashian, a singer/songwriter best known for fronting the '60s rock band the Remains.

In 1982, drummer John Ware, the final holdover from the first Hot Band lineup, left the group; at the same time, Harris' marriage to Ahern was also beginning to disintegrate. After 1981's Cimarron, Harris and the Hot Band cut a live album, Last Date, named in honor of the album's chart-topping single "(Lost His Love) On Our Last Date," a vocal version of the Floyd Cramer instrumental. Quickly, they returned to the studio to record White Shoes, Harris' final LP with Ahern at the helm. Her most far-ranging affair yet, it included covers of Donna Summer's "On the Radio," Johnny Ace's "Pledging My Love," and Sandy Denny's "Old-Fashioned Waltz."

After leaving Ahern, she and her children moved back to Nashville. There, Harris joined forces with singer/songwriter Paul Kennerley, on whose 1980 concept album, The Legend of Jesse James, she had sung backup. Together, they began formulating a record called The Ballad of Sally Rose, employing the pseudonym Harris often used on the road to veil what was otherwise a clearly autobiographical portrait of her own life. Though a commercial failure, the 1985 record proved pivotal in Harris' continued evolution as an artist and a risk-taker, and she would release an expanded edition of the album in 2018. It also marked another chapter in her personal life when she and Kennerley wed shortly after concluding their tour. Angel Band, a subtle acoustic collection of traditional country spirituals, followed, although the record was not issued until 1987, after the release of its immediate follow-up, Thirteen.

Harris, Dolly Parton, and Linda Ronstadt had first toyed with the idea of recording an album together as far back as 1977, only to watch the project falter in light of touring commitments and other red tape. Finally, in 1987, they issued Trio, a collection that proved to be Harris' best-selling album to date, generating the hits "To Know Him Is to Love Him" (a cover of the Phil Spector classic), "Telling Me Lies," and "Those Memories of You." The record's success spurred the 1990 release of Duets, a compilation of her earlier hits in conjunction with George Jones, Willie Nelson, Gram Parsons, and others. (In 1999, Harris would reunite with Parton and Ronstadt for a second collaborative album, Trio II, and the two albums and a number of unreleased tracks were later compiled into a box set, 2016's The Complete Trio Collection.) Fronting a new band, the Nash Ramblers, in 1992, Harris issued At the Ryman, a live set recorded at Nashville's legendary Ryman Auditorium, the former home of the Grand Ole Opry. At the time of the record's release, Harris was also serving a term as president of the Country Music Foundation.

In 1993, she ended her long association with Warner Bros./Reprise to move to Asylum Records, where she released Cowgirl's Prayer shortly after her separation from Paul Kennerley. Two years later, during a stage in her career when most performers retreat to the safety of rehashing their greatest hits again and again, Harris issued Wrecking Ball, perhaps her most adventuresome record to date. Produced by Daniel Lanois, the New Orleans-based artist best known for his atmospheric work with U2, Peter Gabriel, and Bob Dylan, Wrecking Ball was a hypnotic, staggeringly beautiful work comprised of songs ranging from the Neil Young-penned title track (which featured its writer on backing vocals) to Jimi Hendrix's "May This Be Love" and the talented newcomer Gillian Welch's "Orphan Girl."

A three-disc retrospective of her years with Warner Bros., Portraits, appeared in 1996, and in 1998 Harris resurfaced with Spyboy. Following the release of Trio II later that year, she and Ronstadt again reunited, this time minus Parton, for 1999's Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions. In 2000, Harris returned with Red Dirt Girl, her first album of original material in five years, featuring appearances from Bruce Springsteen, Patti Scialfa, Jill Cuniff, and Patty Griffin. She also made an appearance on the soundtrack for O Brother, Where Art Thou?, along with a number of traditional blues, country, and folk artists. In 2003, Harris released Stumble Into Grace; two years later, she collaborated with Conor Oberst on I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, as well as recording a version of "The Scarlet Tide" with Elvis Costello for the soundtrack to Cold Mountain. The retrospective The Very Best of Emmylou Harris: Heartaches & Highways was also released in 2005 on Rhino.

All the Roadrunning, a collection of songs written with Mark Knopfler over the course of seven years, was released in 2006. In 2007 Harris sang a duet with Anne Murray, which appeared on Murray's 2008 album Duets: Friends and Legends. The Brian Ahern-produced All I Intended to Be arrived in 2008 as well. Hard Bargain, Harris' 21st studio album, was released by Nonesuch early in 2011. Produced by Jay Joyce, the album featured the striking Harris originals "Darlin' Kate" (written for Kate McGarrigle) and "The Road" (written for Gram Parsons). She contributed vocals to three songs on the Nick Cave/Warren Ellis-composed score to the film Lawless, including "Cosmonaut" and "Fire in the Blood," as well as a reading of Townes Van Zandt's "Snake Song." Harris also recorded Old Yellow Moon, a duet album with songwriter Rodney Crowell, a reunited version of her Hot Band, and producer Brian Ahern, performing the work of songwriters they admired. The album was issued in February of 2013. The pair followed it with The Traveling Kind, produced by Joe Henry. A mirror image of its predecessor, it showcased the pair's writing in collaboration with Mary Carr, Cory Chisel, Will Jennings, and Larry Klein, among others, as well as covers of songs by Lucinda Williams and Amy Allison. Nonesuch released the album in May 2015. ~ Jason Ankeny

Rodney Crowell first gained widespread recognition as a leader of country's new traditionalist movement in the mid-'80s, though he was a figure with roots and ambitions extending far beyond the movement's perimeter. Fusing the sensibility of the Texas singer/songwriter community with a sound that honored country's past but added a rock & roll punch, Crowell's first success was as a writer and a sideman, spending three years as part of Emmylou Harris & the Hot Band and penning a handful of tunes for the vocalist. Crowell produced several fine albums for Rosanne Cash (they were married from 1979 to 1992), and also penned hits for Crystal Gayle, Bob Seger, and Highway 101 before enjoying a commercial breakthrough with 1988's album Diamonds & Dirt. 1992's Life Is Messy and 2001's The Houston Kid found Crowell moving into more personal territory, and as he stepped away from major labels to independent imprints, he pleased both critics and fans with smart and insightful releases such as 2014's Tarpaper Sky, 2021's Triage, and 2023's The Chicago Sessions.

Rodney Crowell was born in Houston, Texas on August 7, 1950. Raised in a musical family, he formed his first band, the Arbitrators, while in high school, and in 1972 he moved to Nashville to become a professional musician. There, he struck up friendships with fellow Texas-bred singer/songwriters Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark. Crowell's first big break came while he was performing as a lounge singer, where one of his acoustic sets was heard by Jerry Reed. Crowell's own "You Can't Keep Me Here in Tennessee" caught the ear of Reed and his manager, and two days later, Reed recorded the song after signing Crowell to his publishing company. In 1975, he moved to Los Angeles to join Emmylou Harris & the Hot Band as a guitarist, and soon became one of her primary songwriters; among the Crowell compositions Harris first popularized were "Til I Gain Control Again," "Ain't Livin' Long Like This," "Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight," and "Bluebird Wine." In 1977, Crowell exited the Hot Band to form his own group, the Cherry Bombs, and in 1978 released his first album, Ain't Living Long Like This; surprisingly, given that he had built his growing reputation as a songwriter, his first two minor hits -- "Elvira" and "(Now and Then, There's) A Fool Such as I" -- were both covers.

Also in 1978, Crowell began producing tracks for the album Right or Wrong, the American debut from singer/songwriter Rosanne Cash; around the time of the record's 1979 release, he and Cash married. In between recording his own 1980 sophomore record, But What Will the Neighbors Think, and producing Cash's commercial breakthrough, Seven Year Ache, Crowell's songwriting career took full flight when "Leavin' Louisiana in the Broad Daylight" hit number one for the Oak Ridge Boys in 1980. Among his other significant compositions were "Til I Gain Control Again" (a number one for Crystal Gayle in 1983), "Shame on the Moon" (a Top Five pop hit for Bob Seger in 1982), "Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper's Dream)" (a 1984 number one for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), and "Somewhere Tonight" (a number one in 1987 for Highway 101).

In 1980, Crowell issued his own hit, "Ashes by Now," which was a Top 40 pop crossover success; the follow-up, "Stars on the Water," was popular with both pop and country listeners. In 1981, he issued his third LP, a self-titled effort that was not commercially successful; when a fourth effort was rejected by his label, he turned his energies to writing and producing, most significantly helming Cash's 1987 masterpiece King's Record Shop. At Cash's urging, Crowell reignited his performing career in 1986 with the acclaimed Street Language, an eclectic effort co-produced by Memphis soul legend Booker T. Jones.

In 1988, Crowell finally broke through commercially with Diamonds & Dirt, a record that generated an unbroken string of five number one singles with "It's Such a Small World" (a duet with Cash), "I Couldn't Leave You If I Tried," "She's Crazy for Leavin'" (co-written by Guy Clark), "After All This Time," and "Above and Beyond." Keys to the Highway was also highly successful.

Crowell and Cash divorced in 1991, prompting both artists to document their marriage's dissolution with starkly confessional albums; Crowell's 1992 Life Is Messy featured guests Steve Winwood and Linda Ronstadt. Switching to MCA Records for Let the Picture Paint Itself in 1994, he followed with Jewel of the South the next year. In 1997, he formed the Cicadas with longtime backup musicians Steuart Smith, Michael Rhodes, and Vince Santoro. He married singer Claudia Church in 1998, and in 1999 wrote her country chart debut, "What's the Matter with You Baby." Crowell issued his first album since 1995, The Houston Kid, in 2001. Continuing in the autobiographical vein of that record, he released Fate's Right Hand in 2003, followed by The Outsider in 2005 and Sex and Gasoline in 2008. In 2012, Crowell released the album Kin in collaboration with best-selling memoirist and poet Mary Karr. Produced by Joe Henry, it included musical contributions from Lucinda Williams, Norah Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Vince Gill, Lee Ann Womack, Rosanne Cash, Chely Wright, and Emmylou Harris on songs Crowell and Karr co-wrote.

In 2013, Crowell revisited his partnership with Harris, producer Brian Ahern, and other members of the Hot Band on the Nonesuch album Old Yellow Moon. Crowell and Harris teamed up again two years later on the album The Traveling Kind. He resumed his solo career with Tarpaper Sky, which was released in April 2014 on New West. An introspective and primarily acoustic set, Close Ties, arrived in March 2017, again through New West. Acoustic Classics arrived in 2018, and featured Crowell interpreting many of his most recognizable songs in an acoustic setting. November 2018 saw the release of Christmas Everywhere, a set of original songs for the holidays penned by Crowell. The following year, he released Texas, a tribute to his home state that featured a number of superstar cameos, including appearances by Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson, Billy Gibbons, and Ringo Starr. It was Crowell's first album for his own RC1 Records label, and their next release would be 2021's Triage, a contemplative, deeply personal set that dealt with his personal mortality as well as the many varieties of strife that gripped the world that year.

In 2020, Crowell was part of the lineup for the Cayamo Cruise, a prestigious roots music-themed ocean cruise, where he met fellow performer Jeff Tweedy of Wilco. Tweedy was a fan of Crowell's work and vice versa, and Tweedy suggested Crowell set up a session at Wilco's recording and rehearsal studio in Chicago, the Loft. Crowell took Tweedy up on the offer and invited him to produce the project. 2023's The Chicago Sessions was the result of the Loft recordings, with three members of Crowell's band (Jedd Hughes on guitar, Catherine Marx on keyboards, and Zachariah Hickman on bass) joined by Windy City drummers John Perrine and Spencer Tweedy (the latter is Jeff's son). ~ Jason Ankeny & Mark Deming