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Blue Kentucky Girl (Emmylou Harris album)

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Blue Kentucky Girl
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 13, 1979
RecordedNashville, 1979
GenreCountry
LabelWarner Bros. Nashville
ProducerBrian Ahern
Emmylou Harris chronology
Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town
(1978)
Blue Kentucky Girl
(1979)
Light of the Stable
(1979)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Guardian[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[3]

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".

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Sister's Coming Home" (with Tanya Tucker)Willie Nelson2:52
2."Beneath Still Waters"Dallas Frazier3:41
3."Rough and Rocky"Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs3:50
4."Hickory Wind"Gram Parsons, Bob Buchanan4:01
5."Save the Last Dance for Me"Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman3:30
6."Sorrow in the Wind" (with Sharon & Cheryl White)Jean Ritchie3:28
7."They'll Never Take His Love from Me"Leon Payne2:34
8."Everytime You Leave" (with Don Everly)Charlie Louvin, Ira Louvin2:58
9."Blue Kentucky Girl"Johnny Mullins3:17
10."Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" (harmony by Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton)Rodney Crowell3:56
11."Cheatin' Is" (with Glen Campbell) (bonus track for 2004 CD re-issue)Rafe Van Hoy2:28
12."I Know an Ending When It Comes" (bonus track for 2004 CD re-issue)Hank Cochran2:52

Personnel

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Technical

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

Charts

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Release history

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Release history and formats for Blue Kentucky Girl
Region Date Format Label Ref.
North America December 28, 1976
  • LP
  • cassette
Warner Bros. Records [8]

References

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  1. ^ Ankeny, Jason. Blue Kentucky Girl at AllMusic
  2. ^ Sweeting, Adam (April 9, 2004). "Emmylou Harris, Blue Kentucky Girl". The Guardian. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  3. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 307, 308.
  4. ^ "Emmylou Harris Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  5. ^ "Emmylou Harris Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  6. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1979". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  7. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1980". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  8. ^ Harris, Emmylou (April 13, 1979). Blue Kentucky Girl (Media notes). Warner Bros. Records. BSK-3318 (LP); M5-3318 (Cassette).