Emmylou Harris

American singer and composer Emmylou Harris was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Emmylou Harris has always been fascinated by the art, and while studying in high school she even won the scholarship to the University of North Carolina, where the future singer started exploring the music thoroughly. Inspired by compositions of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, Harris began learning basics of guitar playing. Everything was going perfectly, so the singer, wishing to persuade the professional musical career, decided to move to New York. Her regular performances in small and cozy coffee houses of Greenwich Village were of great success: the sincerity of performance and manner of playing were enjoyed by New York connoisseurs of music.

The release of Emmylou Harris’ debut studio album titled Gliding Bird took place in 1970. The record included interesting interpretations of Bob Dylan’s and Hank Williams’ compositions alongside with Emmylou’s own songs. That long play attracted attention to the young artist’s creativity, so in early seventies she got acquainted with numerous representatives from country music world, and Gram Parsons was among them. Thereby the collaboration of Harris and Parsons began: her voice could be heard on his albums GP (1973) and Grievous Angel (1973). There is no doubt that such kind of joint work turned out to be an amazing school for Emmylou. She gained the experience and recorded her second album Pieces Of The Sky that saw the light in 1975. Pieces Of The Sky was very well received by listeners, and its Golden Status proved that perfectly. The same year Harris issued another studio attempt titled Elite Hotel (1975), which peaked at the very top of American country chart.

In 1976 Harris was honored to get her very first prestigious award: she won Grammy in the nomination Best country female vocal performance. Received a great support from listeners and friends, Emmylou kept on writing new songs. Thus, in 1979 she got her second Grammy, this time for the album Blue Kentucky Girl (1979). A year later the singer added another award to her collection due to collaboration with Roy Orbison – the composition That Lovin' You Feelin' Again proved to be a real hit. This way, step by step, Harris found her style and signature sound. Sincere lyrics and rememberable melodies were so much enjoyed by numerous music lovers, so the singer got her truly well-deserved acknowledgement of listeners.

During the entire career Harris remained faithful to herself and she did not fit into new fashionable trends. Her style can be easily recognized on both old and new records - Stumble Into Grace (2003), All I Intended To Be (2008) and other Emmylou’s creation found their places on country music lovers’ shelves. The release of the artist’s fresh work titled Hard Bargain took place in 2011. There is no doubt that this time Harris prepared to her fans outstanding compositions, performed at the highest level. Probably that long play is a good example of positive side of absence of musical experiments. Emmylou’s style, so loved by millions of listeners, is presented on Hard Bargain as large as life.