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Blue Kentucky Girl (Emmylou Harris album)

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).

Blue Kentucky Girl

April 13, 1979

Nashville, 1979

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".

– acoustic guitar, high-strung guitar, bass, percussion, 6-string banjo

Brian Ahern

Duke Bardwell – bass

Mike Bowden – bass

– piano

Tony Brown

– electric guitar

James Burton

– acoustic guitar, high-strung guitar

Rodney Crowell

Lincoln Davis Jr. – accordion

– pedal steel

Hank DeVito

– duet vocals

Don Everly

– bass

Emory Gordy Jr.

– piano, string arrangements

Glen Hardin

Emmylou Harris – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar

– pedal steel

Ben Keith

– acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin

Albert Lee

– backing vocals

Dolly Parton

– piano

Bill Payne

– harmonica

Mickey Raphael

– backing vocals

Linda Ronstadt

– fiddle, 5-string fiddle, mandolin, backing vocals

Ricky Skaggs

– backing vocals

Fayssoux Starling

– duet vocals

Tanya Tucker

– drums

Ron Tutt

– drums

John Ware

Cheryl White – duet vocals, backing vocals

Sharon White – duet vocals, backing vocals

Technical