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The Ballad of Sally Rose (1985)

Where the lyrics of The Ballad of Sally Rose take you, and where it was really made.

Emmylou Harris built this album around her past with Gram Parsons, yet she later recalled its release as a commercial disaster.

Key places

Recorded in Nashville (1985)

Recording site Nashville — The album is recorded at Treasure Isle Recorders in Nashville, Tennessee. The point marks the city centre, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Ballad of Sally Rose: eleventh studio album by American singer Emmylou Harris
• Released February 1985
• A concept album, loosely based on Harris' relationship with Gram Parsons
• Tells the story of Sally Rose, a singer whose lover and mentor, a hard-living, hard-drinking musician, is killed while on the road
• All songs written by Harris and her then-husband Paul Kennerley
• Harris has described the album as a "country opera"

Background

• Before this album, Harris' earlier records mostly used other writers' material
• Gliding Bird (1969) was the only earlier album with more than two of her own compositions
• Harris worked with Gram Parsons on G.P. (1972) and Grievous Angel (1973)
• Parsons died in 1973
• Harris cited Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska (1982) as a major influence on the album

Recording

• Produced by Emmylou Harris and Paul Kennerley
• Engineer Donivan Cowart; second engineers Tom Harding and Keith Odle
• Recorded at Treasure Isle Recorders in Nashville, Tennessee
• Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt sing harmony on several songs
• Gail Davies also sings backing vocals on several songs
• Session players include Albert Lee, Vince Gill, Russ Kunkel and Larrie Londin

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · 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

• In a 2006 BBC Radio 2 programme recounting her career, Harris said the album was a commercial disaster upon its release
• Its relative failure meant she would have to work for money again
• Two singles performed disappointingly by Harris' standards
• The single White Line was a reasonable success, reaching No. 14 on the country charts

Reappraisal

• AllMusic's Mark Deming praised Harris' songwriting, the production, and the backing vocals by Parton and Ronstadt
• Deming believed the lack of an obvious single led to its commercial failure on release
• Deming called it one of Harris' most heartfelt and personal works, one that anticipated Wrecking Ball (1995) and Red Dirt Girl (2000)

Records

• The Ballad of Sally Rose was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance
• White Line reached No. 14 on the country charts
• The album was reissued as an expanded edition in 2018 (edition facts not applied to this record)

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

Trivia

• Harris called the album a "country opera", a label she gave the whole record rather than any single song.
• Gail Davies sang on several songs alongside Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt.
• Waylon Jennings is credited on the record, playing guitar on the track Rhythm Guitar.
• The album's story centres on a fictional singer, while Harris' real relationship with Gram Parsons inspired it loosely.

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

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