Emmylou Harris
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About Emmylou Harris
A 14-time Grammy winner and Billboard Century Award recipient, Emmylou Harris’ contribution as a singer and songwriter spans 40 years. She has recorded more than 25 albums and has lent her talents to countless fellow artists’ recordings. In recognition of her remarkable career, Harris was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008 and earned a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award in 2018.
Harris is known as much for her eloquently straightforward songwriting as for her incomparably expressive singing. Admired through her career for her talent as an artist and song connoisseur, Harris shook up country radio in the 1970s, and established herself as the premiere songwriter of a generation selling more than 15 million records and garnering 14 Grammy Awards, three CMA Awards, and four Americana Awards.
Harris is one of the most admired and influential women in music. She has recorded with such diverse artists as Linda Ronstadt, Daniel Lanois, Bob Dylan, Mark Knopfler, Neil Young, Gram Parsons, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Roy Orbison, Ryan Adams, Beck, Elvis Costello, Johnny Cash, Lucinda Williams, Lyle Lovett and Rodney Crowell. Few artists have achieved such honesty or have revealed such maturity in their writing. Forty years into her career, Harris continues to share the hard-earned wisdom that—hopefully if not inevitably—comes with getting older, though she’s never stopped looking ahead.
A longtime social activist, Harris has lent her voice to many causes. Most passionately to animal welfare. In 2004 she established Bonaparte's Retreat with the goal of rescuing shelter dogs and adopting them into forever homes. To this day, Bonaparte's Retreat continues to save dogs most in need at Metro Nashville Animal Care and Control and at municipal shelters in surrounding counties.
Emmylou Harris
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Emmylou Harris is a singer-songwriter and musician credited with shaping country rock in the 1970s and Americana in the 1990s.1
The 14-time Grammy Award winner and Billboard Century Award recipient has sold over 15 million records worldwide.2 Harris is known for a voice that moves effortlessly between rock, country, pop, and folk genres.1
Emmylou Harris is also known for her collaborations with other famous artists, such as Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, and Neil Young.2
Score your Emmylou Harris tickets now on AXS and experience one of American music's most celebrated voices live.
Emmylou Harris’s Background
Emmylou Harris grew up in a military family, raised by a Marine Corps father who served in both World War II and the Korean War. The family lived in North Carolina before settling in Virginia.1
Harris grew up listening to urban folk singers and began performing in Washington, D.C. clubs, where she recorded her debut folk album, Gliding Bird, in 1969.1 The Flying Burrito Brothers discovered her in these clubs and introduced her to Gram Parsons.
After meeting Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris sang harmony on his solo albums, and following his death in 1973, she continued his musical vision.1 Her major label debut was Pieces of the Sky in 1975, and the song, If I Could Only Win Your Love reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.3
Emmylou Harris’s early musical career helped launch the careers of other popular musicians, including Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, and Rodney Crowell.1
Emmylou Harris’s Awards
Over five decades, Emmylou Harris has won 14 Grammy Awards, four Americana Awards, and three Country Music Association Awards. She also holds inductions into both the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame.4,1
- Grammy Award – Best Female Country Vocal Performance (1977): Harris earned her first Grammy for her album Elite Hotel, which topped the Billboard country chart and included two number 1 country singles.3
- Country Music Hall of Fame – Induction (2008): She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, one of the highest honors in the genre, recognizing her lasting influence on country, folk, and Americana music.1
- Grammy Award – Lifetime Achievement Award (2018): The Recording Academy honored Harris with its Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing her decades of contributions to American music.5
Emmylou Harris’s Biggest Hits
Harris’s music catalog spans over 50 years, with more than 25 albums that seamlessly blend rock, country, folk, and Americana. Several of her albums achieved gold certification, and her solo and collaborative works remain key roots of these genres.
- Pieces of the Sky (1975): Harris's major-label debut earned gold certification and included her tribute to Gram Parsons, Boulder to Birmingham, as well as the hit If I Could Only Win Your Love, which reached No. 4 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart.3,1
- Trio (1987): This collaboration with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt produced the No. 1 country single To Know Him Is to Love Him and won the Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.7
- Wrecking Ball (1995): Produced by Daniel Lanois, this album moved Emmylou Harris away from her traditional acoustic sound, and Uncut called it the “most daring, inventive album of her career.” It won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album and earned her an induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2025.7,8
See Emmylou Harris Live
Emmylou Harris’s live shows are known for their emotional depth and intimacy, where she can draw on decades of songs spanning the Americana, country, rock, and folk genres. She has performed at major festivals and theaters with small acoustic ensembles, including the Grand Ole Opry and Ryman Auditorium.
Find Emmylou Harris tickets at AXS and see one of country music's most celebrated voices live.
Frequently Asked Questions
Information About Emmylou Harris Concerts
Sources
- Emmylou Harris - Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
- Emmylou Harris – Official Website
- Emmylou Harris – Grammy
- Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Inducts Class of 2025 – Billboard
- Lifetime Achievement Award - Grammy
- Trio - Dolly Parton Official Website
- Emmylou Harris's Wrecking Ball to Join Grammy Hall of Fame – Nonesuch Records
- Emmylou Harris Review - The Guardian