Pieces of the Sky
Her real debut: Louvin Brothers, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton and the Beatles, a new song from Rodney Crowell, and her own lament for Gram Parsons.
Emmylou Harris, 1975
- Released
- 7 February 1975
- Studio
- Enactron Truck, Los Angeles; Track Recorders, Silver Spring, Maryland
- Label
- Reprise
- Producer
- Brian Ahern
- Length
- 38:40
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Brian Ahern produced it and brought her the songs of the young Rodney Crowell. The players included Elvis's men James Burton, Glen D. Hardin and Ron Tutt, Ben Keith on pedal steel, Bernie Leadon, Byron Berline, Ricky Skaggs and Herb Pedersen, with Linda Ronstadt among the backing singers. The mix of material, honky-tonk standards beside For No One and Coat of Many Colors, set the pattern for her career.
It reached seven on the country album chart. If I Could Only Win Your Love, the Louvin Brothers song sung with Pedersen, went to four and earned a Grammy nomination. Boulder to Birmingham sits at the album's center. AllMusic gives it five stars and it is in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Track listing
- Bluebird Wine3:18
- Too Far Gone4:05
- If I Could Only Win Your Love2:36
- Boulder to Birmingham3:33
- Before Believing4:44
- The Bottle Let Me Down3:16
- Sleepless Nights3:25
- Coat of Many Colors3:42
- For No One3:40
- Queen of the Silver Dollar5:14
Personnel
- Emmylou Harris vocals, acoustic guitar
- James Burton electric guitar
- Glen D. Hardin piano, string arrangements
- Ron Tutt drums
- Ben Keith pedal steel
- Herb Pedersen guitar, vocals
- Linda Ronstadt backing vocals
- Brian Ahern producer, engineer
More from Emmylou Harris
Red Dirt Girl (2000), Real Live Roadrunning (2006)
Sources
- Pieces of the Sky, Wikipedia
- Emmylou Harris and the Hot Band interview, Country Music Hall of Fame (2019)