Blue Kentucky Girl (Emmylou Harris album) explained

Blue Kentucky Girl
Type:	Album
Artist:	Emmylou Harris
Cover:	EmmylouHarrisBlueKentuckyGirl.jpg
Released:	April 13, 1979
Recorded:	Nashville, 1979
Genre:	Country
Label:	Warner Bros. Nashville
Producer:	Brian Ahern
Prev Title:	Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town
Prev Year:	1978
Next Title:	Light of the Stable
Next Year:	1979

Blue Kentucky Girl is the sixth studio album by American country music artist Emmylou Harris, released in 1979. The album features Harris delving into more traditional country than the country-rock sound of her previous releases. Songs include work by Willie Nelson and Gram Parsons. Rodney Crowell's "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" featured harmonies by Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt, and came out of the women's ill-fated 1978 recording sessions, where they first attempted to record a "trio" album (nearly a full decade before they actually succeeded in doing so).

The album won the 1980 Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. "Beneath Still Waters" became Harris' fourth No. 1 hit; covers of the Drifters' 1960 hit "Save the Last Dance for Me" and the album's title track (originally recorded by Loretta Lynn) were top ten hits on the US country charts.

In 2006, the album ranked No. 20 on CMT's "40 Greatest Albums in Country Music".

Personnel

• Brian Ahern – acoustic guitar, high-strung guitar, bass, percussion, 6-string banjo
• Duke Bardwell – bass
• Mike Bowden – bass
• Tony Brown – piano
• James Burton – electric guitar
• Rodney Crowell – acoustic guitar, high-strung guitar
• Lincoln Davis Jr. – accordion
• Hank DeVito – pedal steel
• Don Everly – duet vocals
• Emory Gordy Jr. – bass
• Glen Hardin – piano, string arrangements
• Emmylou Harris – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
• Ben Keith – pedal steel
• Albert Lee – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin
• Dolly Parton – backing vocals
• Bill Payne – piano
• Mickey Raphael – harmonica
• Linda Ronstadt – backing vocals
• Ricky Skaggs – fiddle, 5-string fiddle, mandolin, backing vocals
• Fayssoux Starling – backing vocals
• Tanya Tucker – duet vocals
• Ron Tutt – drums
• John Ware – drums
• Cheryl White – duet vocals, backing vocals
• Sharon White – duet vocals, backing vocals

Technical

• Brian Ahern – producer, engineer
• Donivan Cowart – engineer
• Bradley Hartman – engineer
• Stuart Taylor – engineer

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart (1979)	Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[1]	22
Chart (1980)	Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[2]	16

Release history

Region!scope="col"

Date	Format	Label	Ref.
North America	December 28, 1976		Warner Bros. Records	^[3]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Top Country Albums – Year-End 1979. Billboard. May 30, 2021.
2. Web site: Top Country Albums – Year-End 1980. Billboard. May 30, 2021.
3. Harris . Emmylou . Blue Kentucky Girl . . April 13, 1979 . BSK-3318 (LP); M5-3318 (Cassette).