Maps of Music

Bluebird (1988)

Where the lyrics of Bluebird take you, and where it was really made.

An album built mostly from other writers' songs drew new attention in 2004, when one of its tracks played in the first episode of The Sopranos' fifth season.

Key places

Recorded in Nashville (1988)

Recording site Nashville — The album was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee in 1988. The map point marks the city-level location, not a studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Bluebird: fifteenth studio album by American country artist Emmylou Harris
• Released January 10, 1989 by Warner Records
• Mostly interpretations of work by other writers
• Writers include the McGarrigle Sisters, Tom Rush, and Rodney Crowell
• Includes Heartbreak Hill, her most recent top-ten country-charting single at the time
• Heartbreak Hill credited to Harris and Paul Kennerley
• Track list: Heaven Only Knows, You've Been on My Mind, Icy Blue Heart, Love Is, No Regrets, Lonely Street, Heartbreak Hill, I Still Miss Someone, A River for Him, If You Were a Bluebird

Background

• Released in the Warner family of labels, listed as Reprise/Warner Bros. in the discography
• Falls between Trio (1987) and Brand New Dance (1990) in Harris's album list
• Trio, made in 1987 with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt, came just before this record
• Most of Harris's following albums were recorded with the Hot Band, in its various lineups
• The Hot Band period ran until Brand New Dance in 1990
• Bonnie Raitt sang guest vocals on Icy Blue Heart

Recording

• Recorded at Digital Recorders
• Mixed at The Complex and at Digital Recorders
• Mastered at The Mastering Lab
• Produced by Emmylou Harris and Richard Bennett
• Mixing by George Massenburg, with assistants Paul Dieter, Eric Paul and Sharon Rice
• Engineers Donivan Cowart and Mark Richardson
• Strings arranged and conducted by Emory Gordy, Jr.

Cover

• Art direction and design by Janet Levinson
• Photography by Caroline Greyshock

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com · pt.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Born April 2, 1947 in Birmingham, Alabama; American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader and activist.
• Regarded as a leading artist of the country rock genre in the 1970s and of Americana in the 1990s.
• Began in the Greenwich Village folk scene in the late 1960s; first album Gliding Bird (1970) under the name "Emmy Lou Harris".
• Discovered by Gram Parsons in 1971; sang harmony on his GP (1973) and worked with him on Grievous Angel before his death in 1973.
• Breakthrough with Pieces of the Sky (1975); five US country number-one singles by 1980.
• Trio (1987) with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt became her best-selling album; At the Ryman (1992) renewed interest in the Ryman Auditorium.
• Wrecking Ball (1995), produced by Daniel Lanois, is seen as a turning point toward Americana.
• Estimated over 15 million records sold; 13 Grammy Awards; inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008.
• Founded the dog rescue Bonaparte's Retreat in Nashville; organizes the Concerts for a Landmine-Free World benefit tour since 1999.

Reception

At release

• Billboard said like most Emmylou Harris albums, Bluebird is an expertly performed album
• Billboard praised the record for featuring startling and affecting tours de force
• The only contemporary critical notice found is Billboard's review

Reappraisal

• The album enjoyed renewed interest in 2004
• Heaven Only Knows was used in the first episode of the fifth season of The Sopranos
• Heartbreak Hill was Harris's most recent top-ten country-charting single when the album came out
• The Heartbreak Hill single placed the album in the country mainstream of its day

Records

• Reached number 15 on the US country albums chart
• Released January 10, 1989 by Warner Records
• Bluebird's track listing includes ten songs, mostly by outside writers

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Heaven Only Knows was used in the first episode of the fifth season of The Sopranos in 2004, which brought the album renewed attention.
• Bonnie Raitt provided guest vocals on the track Icy Blue Heart.
• Heartbreak Hill was Harris's most recent top-ten country single when this album appeared.
• The Sopranos episode gave Bluebird a second wave of interest long after its 1989 release.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org

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