Maps of Music

Luxury Liner (1977)

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

Its best-known legacy is not a hit single: the album contains the first cover version of Townes Van Zandt's "Pancho and Lefty", which later became his best-known song.

Key places

Recorded and mixed at the Enactron Truck (1977)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — Discogs credits list the Enactron Truck as the place where the album was recorded and mixed. The point uses city-centre coordinates, so the exact building is not shown. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Luxury Liner: fourth studio album by American country artist Emmylou Harris
• Released in 1976 on Warner Bros.; Discogs lists the original issue as BS-2998, dated 12/28/76
• Second successive number one album on the Billboard country chart
• Contains the first cover version of Townes Van Zandt's 1972 song "Pancho and Lefty"

Background

• Predecessor Elite Hotel also reached number one on the Billboard country chart
• Pieces of the Sky (1975), Harris's first album for a major label, was produced by Brian Ahern
• Harris married Brian Ahern soon after Pieces of the Sky
• The Hot Band, in its various line-ups, recorded most of Harris's following albums

Recording

• Recorded and mixed at the Enactron Truck, according to Discogs credits
• Brian Ahern handled production and engineering
• Engineers: Donivan Cowart, Bradley Hartman, Stuart Taylor and Miles Wilkinson
• Session players include Rodney Crowell, Albert Lee, Ricky Skaggs, James Burton and Dolly Parton (backing vocals)
• Nicolette Larson sings a duet on "Hello Stranger"

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

• Second successive number one on the Billboard country chart, with no number one single
• Highest-charting singles: "(You Never Can Tell) C'est la Vie" at number six and "Making Believe" at number eight
• "Making Believe" was originally a hit for Kitty Wells
• Billboard country number one from 26 February to 16 April 1977, per the Spanish Wikipedia entry

Reappraisal

• The album may be better known for including the first cover of "Pancho and Lefty"
• The song later became Townes Van Zandt's best-known composition
• "Making Believe" was nominated at the 20th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Female Country Vocal Performance
• The award went to Crystal Gayle for "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue"

Records

• Billboard country chart: number one
• Discogs master notes: CW #1, Pop #21
• Original catalog numbers: Warner Bros. BS-2998 / BSK-3115
• Dated 12/28/76 in the Discogs master notes

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

Trivia

• The first cover of Townes Van Zandt's 1972 song "Pancho and Lefty" appears here; the song later became his best-known composition.
• "Hello Stranger" is a duet with Nicolette Larson.
• "Making Believe" was originally a hit for Kitty Wells before Harris recorded it.
• The Discogs notes for the Jacksonville pressing record a spine misspelling: "UNAUTHROIZED".

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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