Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. A highly regarded figure in contemporary music, she is known for having a consistent artistic direction. Harris is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana genre in the 1990s. Her music united both country and rock audiences in live performance settings. Her characteristic voice, musical style and songwriting have been acclaimed by critics and fellow recording artists.
Harris developed an interest in folk music in her early years which led to her performing professionally. Moving to New York City in the 1960s, she recorded a folk album and performed regionally. She was discovered by Gram Parsons, who influenced her country rock direction. Following his 1973 death, Harris obtained her own recording contract from Reprise–Warner Bros. Her second album, Pieces of the Sky (1975), found both critical acclaim and commercial success. Follow-up 1970s albums further elevated Harris' career such as Elite Hotel (1976), Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town (1978) and Blue Kentucky Girl (1979). By 1980, she had acquired four number one songs on the US and Canadian country charts: "Together Again", "Sweet Dreams", "Two More Bottles of Wine" and "Beneath Still Waters".
Harris had a continued string of commercially and critically successful albums like Roses in the Snow (1980), Evangeline (1981) and Last Date (1982). Her backing group The Hot Band helped establish a musical foundation for her concerts and albums. Her 1980s albums spawned the top ten singles "Wayfaring Stranger", "Born to Run" and "Last Date". The 1985 album The Ballad of Sally Rose was among Harris' first self-written projects. The album (along with its follow-ups) failed to sustain the commercial momentum of previous albums. Harris then collaborated with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt on Trio (1987). The platinum-selling album was also a critical success that spawned four top ten singles.
In 1992, Warner Bros. released the live album At the Ryman. It garnered critical praise and renewed interest in its live venue, the Ryman Auditorium. Harris was inspired to move in a new musical direction with 1995's Wrecking Ball. She then reunited with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt for Trio II (1999). By the 2000s, Harris had signed with Nonesuch Records and recorded several albums of self-composed material like Red Dirt Girl (2000), All I Intended to Be (2008) and Hard Bargain (2011). She also found collaborative partnerships, such as with Mark Knopfler on the internationally successful All the Roadrunning (2006). She then collaborated with Rodney Crowell on the critically acclaimed Old Yellow Moon (2013) and The Traveling Kind (2015). She also became involved in activism during this time, including starting her own dog rescue called Bonaparte's Retreat.
Harris has been estimated to have sold over 15 million records worldwide. She has also earned 13 Grammy Awards, placed 27 singles into the top ten of the US country chart, and several of her albums have received gold certifications in the US. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008 and was ranked among Rolling Stone's list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time in 2022.
Walked this earth for 14 years, one night I was killed
For speaking to a woman whose skin was white as dough
That's a sin in Mississippi but how was I to know?
I'd come down from Chicago to visit with my kin
Up there I was a cheeky kid, I guess I'd always been
But the harm they put upon me was too hard for what I'd done
For I was just a black boy and never hurt no one
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
They took me from my uncle's house, Mose Wright was his name
He'd later stand and without hesitation point the blame
At the ones who beat and cut me and shot me with a gun
And threw me in the river like I was trash when they were done
I was sent back to my mother, at least what was left of me
She kept my casket open for the whole wide world to see
The awful desecration and the evidence of hate
You could not recognize me, the mutilation was so great
There came a cry for justice to be finally fulfilled
All because of me, a black boy, my name was Emmett Till
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, but I'd have rather lived till I was too old to die young
Not miss all I left behind and all that might have come
Summer clouds above my head, the grass beneath my feet
The warmth of a good woman, her kisses soft and sweet
Perhaps to be a father with a black boy of my own
Watch him grow into a kinder world than I had known
Where no child would be murdered for the color of his skin
And love would be the only thing inside the hearts of men
They say the horror of that night is haunting heaven still
Where I am one more black boy, my name is Emmett Till
I am too old to die young.
Lewis "Buddy" Norton. Well worth reading. Some of it is narrated by a crow on a telephone wire who witnessed the initial event.
A true story. Emmet Till, a Detroiter, was visiting relatives in Mississippi, where he saw the wife of a white shopkeeper. The story goes that he whistled at her. The husband was so incensed that he and a friend went out that night, kidnapped Till, tortured and then killed him. The northern press was so aghast at the brutality of the crime that they printed pictures of Till in his coffin, the marks of torture clearly on his face. The shopkeeper and his friend were caught, and an all-white jury acquitted them. Justice in the South in the 50's
Emmett Till was 14 years old when he was murdered.
A true story. Emmet Till, a Detroiter, was visiting relatives in Mississippi, where he saw the wife of a white shopkeeper. The story goes that he whistled at her. The husband was so incensed that he and a friend went out that night, kidnapped Till, tortured and then killed him. The northern press was so aghast at the brutality of the crime that they printed pictures of Till in his coffin, the marks of torture clearly on his face. The shopkeeper and his friend were caught, and an all-white jury acquitted them. Justice in the South in the 50's
Truly a shame.
Profound... this is a truly great song...
It pains me to say this, but Emmylou's solo efforts have never (to my thinking) matched her background singing. She can make virtually any artist's song better by handling background harmonies. But her solo work just seems so...anemic.