Q: And there has been, with "Stumble into Grace" and "Red Dirt Girl." You mentioned your producer. The five Warner Bros. reissues we're listening to today and the half dozen albums that followed were produced by Brian Ahern. You met him through the record company, I think. And did you have a hunch at the start that he would become a long-term collaborator?

A: Well, I had no idea. I mean, I was just a babe in the woods. And it was Mary Martin, who was head of A&R at Warner Bros. at the time and a fellow Canadian. Brian is Canadian. I'm not, who introduced me to Brian and brought Brian to my shows. And to take a step further back, Mary Martin knew Eddie Tickner, who was Gram's manager. To follow that line... Eddie Tickner had become my manager when I was working with Gram. And I just figured at some point I would probably do a solo album. But I was very happy to, you know, make records with Gram. Just be, you know, his singing partner. Unfortunately, he died, which kind of put a crimp in my plans of making records with him. So I was left to say, okay, well, I've got to figure out what I'm supposed to do.

So Mary Martin brought Brian down. At that point, I had a little country band that I'd put together from musicians in Washington D.C. Tom Guidera, who had played bass with me in my folk group, and some other good musicians around town. Really excellent pedal steel player named Danny Pendleton. There was Mark Cuff on drums. And I had a guitar player that I can't remember his last name. Oh, God, I hate this!

But anyway, we were doing -- instead of doing the six nights a week, four shows a night with my folk duo, I went back to a lot of those same places with the band. Now, I had never fronted a band. I had sung with Gram's band. I was from the folk school that thought that, you know, drummers were the anti-Christ and were -- they killed all the -- you know, the lyrics and they spoiled the deeper meaning of music and all that purist stuff. But of course, I had become so -- fallen so in love with playing with a country band and how the beauty of the perfect shuffle... which is a thing to behold. And so we just put a little band together. It was called Angel Band.

And so that's what Brian heard. And he taped all four shows at the Red Fox Inn that we played from 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 p.m. on one night of the week. I can't remember which night it was. It was our steady work night that we had, one night a week at the Red Fox Inn in Bethesda, Maryland. And we got $200 that we split five ways. And he really liked what he heard. So through Eddie, Mary Martin and bringing Brian Ahern in, who was very, very -- who had had a lot of success, to put it mildly, with Anne Murray, who was huge in the early '70s. So to have the credibility of a producer like that, had a track record like that, willing to, you know, work with me. That, I think, was the thing that enabled me to get a record contract with a pretty great record company, especially back then. Warner Bros... they sold a lot of records, but they also signed a lot of artists that they were going to stick with to kind of see what was going on. They kind of figured there was going to be at least a really small loyal audience.

And so I was real lucky. I ended up in a really good place, with a great record producer. I had a fantastic manager. And we brought Gram's recording band, which was basically Elvis Presley's band that had made those two solo records with (Gram), James Burton on guitar, Glen D. Hardin on piano. We had Emery Gordy was on bass. And we just had a fantastic band. We had Ben Keith that Brian knew from recording with -- on those Anne Murray records. We brought in Rodney Crowell because he was a new songwriter that Brian had signed, because he also liked to sign young writers. And we brought him in for the sessions.

I found myself in about the best place to make a first record. And also, I didn't exactly know what I was doing. But I felt I had sort of a barometer of -- I could kind of tell when something felt right to me and when it didn't. And I was encouraged by Brian and the musicians to voice my opinions so that I never felt overwhelmed or like I was being told to do a certain kind of record. It was a period of discovery. I was very, very fortunate.

On Rodney Crowell ... (mp3)

Q: What was it about Rodney's songs that connected with you?

A: You know, it's just hard to say. But let me just tell you a little anecdote about when I first heard Rodney. Brian and I had -- it had been decided that we were going to do an album together. So he brought me up to Toronto to listen to material in preparation for our going into the studio. And he would play me something. I would listen all the way through and then I would say, "You know, I don't think so." And after a good while of that, he would say, "You know, Emmy, it's okay for you to say you don't like a song, you know, earlier than -- you don't have to listen to the whole thing. You're not going to hurt anybody's feelings." So I got to where four bars and I knew. And we went through almost a whole day of this. I think -- he didn't really know what kind of record we were going to make and I guess I was trying to figure it out. But it was like testing that barometer, in a way, I suppose.

It got to be pretty funny after a while, because there was just nothing that I liked. And then he said, "Okay. I've got one more thing to play you." He said, I haven't really listened to this. I just signed this guy, so I'm not sure what's on this tape." And the first song was Bluebird Wine and the second song was Song For The Life. And I said, "Okay. Now we're talking. I just know this guy has listened to George Jones."

And who knows, from even those two songs. But for one thing, his voice. I mean, people always talk about what a great songwriter he is, and he is. But I love Rodney's voice. I've always loved his voice. And it was great to meet somebody who was as great as his voice. Do you know what I mean? So I just had an immediate gut reaction to him, to his songs and to his voice.

Q: A couple of the musicians you were working with on "Pieces of the Sky", as we said, James Burton, the guitarist, and Glen D. Hardin, the keyboard player and string arranger. They'd worked with Elvis Presley and then with Gram Parsons. When did they and some of the other players, like Rodney, begin to be thought of as The Hot Band?

A: After the record came out, a strange thing happened. It sold a lot more records than anybody, including me, thought that it would sell. Not everywhere, but like Washington D.C. So I guess those four shows a night, six nights a week, plus all my relatives, paid off. And so, you know, record companies, they sort of go, "now, what is this blip on the screen?" And they go, "you know, maybe there is something happening here." So they said, "Look, we will front you the money to pay for these musicians." Because obviously, I couldn't afford to pay them out of what I could make going out on the road as a relatively unknown artist. So they fronted me the money to pay for that first tour. And because James Burton's salary for a week was more than I was making (laughs) for the whole band -- but, you know what? It was the best money that I ever spent. I mean, it obviously went against my royalties, but I recouped. And I think it set a standard that I'm still enjoying.

There was an energy and an interest created. We went out to play in these tiny places and there was a buzz. It's the old-fashioned way of working a record. You go out and you create a buzz. People come to a show and they get excited and they tell the next person. And you don't book a huge theater, you book a small club so that it sells out. And people really want to come see you next time because they say "I missed that show that everybody's talking about." Because this band, they were incredible.

Q: Now, I understand you went to Europe around this time, because they were very interested in all things related to Gram Parsons. So they were interested in you. Did The Hot Band go with you overseas?

A: Yes. In fact, that was the brainchild of my manager, Eddie Tickner. In fact, before I ever did a show once the album came out -- before I ever did a show with The Hot Band in the States, he had us go over and play Amsterdam and London: two sold-out shows. And it created such a buzz, it went back to the United States, which helped to just fuel the flame. And so it was really a very, very exciting time.

Q: The second single from "Pieces of the Sky", If I Could Only Win Your Love, went to No. 4 on the country charts. Did that give you and Brian a greater confidence when you began to record the second album, "Elite Hotel"?

A: Oh, yeah. Any time you have attention like that or the sales or the charts or whatever... but it didn't ever affect the kind of record we were making. We never went in saying -- I mean, who could have ever imagined that If I Could Only Win Your Love was going to be a single? I mean, the reason we cut it was because I was so in love with the Louvin Brothers, discovering them through working with Gram. And Brian made this extraordinary record of it. I mean, it was old-timey, but it was modern. And it's the first time in many, many years that anybody had ever heard a mandolin on country radio. It just wasn't done. You didn't do the traditional stuff on country radio. It was more of pop-oriented stuff.

So who knew that that was going to be a hit single? I mean, surely, we didn't. So basically, we still just followed our hearts and followed our gut. I mean, we never calculated for the radio. Even now, I have no idea what makes a hit record.

Buddy Miller with Emmylou Harris and Spyboy

Q: Well, when you were talking about Rodney's songs, I heard your heart.

A: Yeah.

Q: I mean, your heart comes into play there. And you became noted for your ability to choose songs, If I Could Only Win Your Love, the Louvin Brothers' song you were talking about. And then your first No. 1 hit was Buck Owens' Together Again. Was this song-catching ability pretty much intuitive or was it combined with the fact that you were studying all this country music after Gram's mentorship?

A: Oh, I think it was a combination of both, because, you know, I just was immersed. I listened to just non-stop country music. Just discovering, listening to what George does with his voice on this. You know, "listen to that beautiful fiddle line that Johnny Gimble plays. Listen to this harmony that the Blue Sky boys are doing." It was just this amazing exhilaration of discovery. And I had an amazing partner in crime in Rodney, because he and I could just sit for hours and play -- and discover songs and sing harmony with each other. That's how the arrangement of Sweet Dreams came. I would write down words to songs that I liked. And I'd have a notebook and we'd just sit down and I'd say, "Let's try this one. Let's see what key."

One of my favorite things to come out of these reissues is our version of You're Running Wild that we actually just went into the comfort zone of the truck, which is where we -- the Enactron truck where we recorded all these records. And just to try to figure out whether it sounded best for him to sing the lead and me to sing the harmony. And we just went out there and laid down one pass at each version. With the thought that we would do a track with the band later on. And we never did. And that's just a live vocal. There's a wrong word in there. And it's just literally live off the floor.

Q: Emmylou, how do you go from choosing a great song to getting the band to get inside of it for the recording?

A: Oh, I never had a problem with that. I mean, these musicians were so amazing. We were so in tune with each other. And the thing about a great musician -- everyone is totally unique on their own. And then you have what happens when they all get in a room together and start playing off each other. I'm still fascinated by that to this day. I mean, I'm basically a rhythm guitar player who knows three chords. But I would usually work up the song with a certain feel and play it for the guys. And so they would get a sense of how I was phrasing it. And we would just feed off each other. And then, of course, I would get inspired by a line that James would play or a feel that the drummer was playing or a bass line that -- you know, it's just this incredible magical, mysterious process. It comes out of, obviously, having a lot of skill and talent. But then there's that thing that happens that's greater than the sum of the parts. And I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that we were recording in a house, that we didn't keep... you know, it's a three-hour session, we have to finish up. And then we might not see that player again. There was this wonderful kind of community, almost, that built up. And a lot of humor, the stories you'd tell in between the takes or -- no wonder I fell in love with making records, because it was just a lot of fun!

Q: But you were in a very unique situation. You mentioned this house. You're in a house on 36 acres in Beverly Hills with cables running to your producer Brian Ahern's 42-foot, lead-lined tractor trailer studio. I mean, that's a pretty unique setup.

A: Yeah, but you've got to understand that, except for the two albums with Gram and the three sessions that were required to make "Gliding Bird" back in the late '60s, I didn't have a lot of experience with recording. All I had to do was sit with a guitar and play and sing a song that I loved over and over and over again, which I can do till the cows come home, if I'm comfortable. And that is really, I think, the secret for me. If I'm comfortable singing a song, then I'm ready for somebody to say, "Okay. We're done now," which would mean, you go back and you listen to a multiple number of takes. And you'll say, "I think this is the take, or that's the take." So it never seemed to me that it was unusual.

I admit, when I first saw the house I thought, "I can't possibly create in this place that is so kitschy." It was very '50s. You know, it had the fountain, the swan with the swimming pool and the Parisian street scenes on the sliding closet doors and the huge white piano -- that you couldn't play. It was a terrible piano with gold pheasant peacocks or something. All this stuff you hate. Well, that I did. That I thought, this represents as far away from -- I don't know, Hank Williams and Woody Guthrie and all the things that -- so I just stuck a Dolly Parton album cover on the mantle and I said, "She's going to look down and she's going to... " -- because Coat of Many Colors was my favorite song at that point. And I said, "... she's going to make it all right."

Emmylou with The McGarrigles

Q: Well, something worked in your favor. I heard that you guys would cut a lot of songs. There's at least a couple of bonus tracks on each of these reissues, but that you would do maybe 20 songs for each album and then choose what would comprise the LP. Are there still some songs left? Would you ever consider maybe revamping the "Portraits" box set and expanding it?

A: I think at this point, I've put out everything that I want anybody to hear. Now, there might be a few exceptions. But we pretty much culled over everything. And we did cut extra songs, but I don't think it was that many. And over the years, between the box sets and now these reissues, I think they're probably -- anything that's worth listening to, we've probably heard.

Q: "Elite Hotel" is the second album of yours. It was your first gold record. It got you your first Grammy. Where did the title ""Elite Hotel"" come from?

A: Tom Wilkes was the photographer. He took me out to Mojave, California, to do the album cover. And actually, the working title was "Wheels," which is a song that's on that album. And the last shot we took was in front of this -- the "Elite Hotel". We didn't write that on there. That's actually the script on the door of the hotel. And it was the last picture we took. And when we saw the pictures, we just went, "well I guess that's our album." Because it just spoke to us.

Q: As steeped as you were in country music, one of the beautiful things about these records is you did not draw lines between styles and genres. And you recorded a Beatles song on each of the first two albums. And I understand you got to visit a little bit with Paul McCartney when he came to Nashville on his tour last year. Have you ever gotten any specific feedback from him about your version of Hear There and Everywhere?

A: When Paul McCartney was touring I actually was able to go backstage. And he -- he said he liked the version and then he -- he picked up the guitar and he started playing it. And I just completely blanked out. I mean, because obviously, I was supposed to start singing harmony with him. And I -- there was my big opportunity... and I kind of blew it.

Q: Emmylou, apart from Willie Nelson, I don't know if anyone has sung as many duets as you have. You did blow your chance with Paul McCartney though, we just heard...

A: Yes.

Q: But collaborating is what you like to do, whether it's with your producer or your musicians or a singer. When you sing someone else's song, like the McCartney cover, it's kind of an unwitting form of collaboration anyway, even if you're not singing with the artist?

A: I hadn't thought of that. I mean, that's an interesting point of view. I don't really think of it that way. I sing a song of someone else's because I relate to it so strongly that it becomes my story. I'm aware it's not my song, but I don't -- I become, I hate to say it, but I become one with it. And so I don't really think about it as a collaboration, except after the fact I'm very grateful, you know, that the song was written.

Q: Well, you covered three Gram Parson's songs on "Elite Hotel", Sin City, Ooh Las Vegas and Wheels. Was it a way of becoming one with Gram or at least with those songs?

A: I was trying to put forward Gram's music. And obviously, the closest I could get was something he had written. In other words, if I'm looking for continuing his vision and I have a limited supply of his material. And so I figured I'm pretty close to the bone with his own compositions. And they really suited were I seemed to be going as a singer and where I seemed to be going as a member of a band, The Hot Band. And you see, James had played on Gram's version of Ooh Las Vegas.

Q: James Burton.

A: James Burton. So it just seemed like a wonderful tip of the hat, you know, to be able to take that to a live version and have James expand on his original part.