Emmylou Harris

Few American singers have travelled as widely between country and rock as Emmylou Harris, and few have made that journey sound so unforced. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1947, she came to music through the folk revival of the 1960s, drifting from coffeehouses in North Carolina to the Greenwich Village scene in New York. Her voice became the centre of a sound that helped define country rock in the 1970s and Americana in the 1990s, and she built a following that crossed from country audiences to rock crowds in live performance. Critics and fellow musicians have consistently praised her voice, her stylistic instincts and her songwriting.

Gram Parsons discovered her and steered her towards country rock. After his death in 1973 she signed with Reprise, and Pieces of the Sky (1975) brought critical acclaim and commercial success. By 1980 she had five US country number ones, including "Together Again" and "Sweet Dreams". Trio (1987), made with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt, went platinum and produced four top ten singles. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2025.