Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris

Country of origin:

U.S.

Type of music generally:

Blend of contemporary folk, country, and pop

Status:

Most recent release, Trio II (1999)

See also:

Dolly Parton's website

Linda Ronstadt's site

Emmylou Harris' site

Wikipedia's entries on: Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris

Ectoguide entry for Linda Ronstadt, for Emmylou Harris

Comparisons:

Like their individual solo efforts

Covers/own material:

Mostly covers

General comments:

Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, and Linda Ronstadt have collaborated together, providing backing vocals on each other's albums, for years. The two Trio albums showcase the beauty of their voices together in harmony, a real treat for fans of any one of the three. (JoAnn Whetsell)

Recommended first album:

Either, though lesser country fans may want to start with Trio II

Recordings:

• Trio (1987)
• Trio II (1999)

Trio

Release info:

1987—Warner Bros.—075992549127

Availability:

Wide

Ecto priority:

Highly recommended

Group members:

Dolly Parton—vocals
Linda Ronstadt—vocals
Emmylou Harris—vocals, acoustic guitar (1, 5, 7)

Guest artists:

Ry Cooder—tremolo guitar (3)
Kenny Edwards—electric bass (6), acoustic bass (1-3, 5, 7, 8, 10)
Steve Fishell—dobro (4), pedal steel (1, 6), Hawaiian guitar (8)
Russ Kunkel—drums (1-3, 5, 6, 8)
Albert Lee—acoustic guitar (1-3, 6, 8, 10, 11), mandolin (5, 7) David Lindley—acoustic guitar (6), mandolin (1-3, 8), Autoharp (5, 7), Harpolek (5), Hawaiian guitar (3), dulcimer (10)
Mark O'Connor—acoustic guitar (5, 7), viola (1, 2, 5, 7), fiddle (2,8), mandolin (10)
Bill Payne—acoustic piano (6, 9, 11), electric piano (6), harmonium (11), Hammond organ (11)
Herb Pedersen—banjo (4), vocal arrangement (4, 6)
Leland Sklar—acoustic bass (4)
John Starling—acoustic guitar (4, 8)
David Campbell—orchestration & conducting (6, 9)
Charles Veal—concertmaster (6)
Dennis Karmazyn—cello soloist (9)
Jodi Burnett—cello (9)
Marty Krystall—clarinet (9)
Brice Martin—flute (9)
Ilene "Novi" Novog—viola (9)

Produced by:

George Massenburg

Comments:

A really beautiful album. All the tracks (country, with one gospel song at the end) are terrific, but the highlight has to be the Linda Ronstadt-led "Telling Me Lies." (JoAnn Whetsell)

Trio II

Release info:

1999—Asylum Records—62275-2

Availability:

Wide

Ecto priority:

Highly recommended

Group members:

Emmylou Harris
Linda Ronstadt—string arrangements (4)
Dolly Parton

Guest artists:

Jim Keltner—road case
Roy Huskey, Jr.—bass, acoustic bass
Carl Jackson—acoustic guitar
Mark Casstevens—acoustic guitar
David Lindley—autoharp
David Grisman—mandolin
Alison Krauss—fiddle
Larry Atamanuik—drums
Robby Buchanan—acoustic piano, Rhodes, B-3, synthesizers
Dennis James—glass armonica
Helen Voices—synthesizer
David Campbell—strings
Leland Skalr—bass
Dean Parks—electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin
Ben Keith—steel guitar
Edgar Meyer—acoustic bass
John Starling—acoustic guitar

Produced by:

George Massenburg

Comments:

Maybe not quite up to the level of the original Trio album, but it's still a great collection of songs and has more stylistic variation. My favorite is "You'll Never Be the Sun" with Emmylou Harris's heartbreaking lead vocals. (JoAnn Whetsell)

Thanks to JoAnn Whetsell for work on this entry.