As the story goes, Linda Ronstadt met Emmylou Harris in the early ’70s and immediately quizzed each other on their favorite singer. In unison, the women both said, “Dolly Parton.” Turns out, Parton was also a fan of both women. Together, the three women struck a formidable presence, releasing the platinum-selling Trio in 1987 and its counterpart, Trio II, a dozen years later.
Six months after Trio II, Ronstadt and Harris broke off to release a duet album of their own. On Aug. 24, 1999, Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions officially hit the airwaves.
This Linda Ronstadt-Emmylou Harris Collab Was a Long Time Coming
On Western Wall, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris departed from the traditional three-part harmonies they so excelled on with Dolly Parton. Sans Dolly, however, the two women were free to get a little weird with it — and the result was the more rock-oriented Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions
“When it’s just Linda and I, we can do weird and a little more left-field things,” Harris told Entertainment Weekly in 1999. The “Together Again” songstress added, “Linda and I, we live in left field, man. We set up camp there years ago, and we’re not moving. We’re squatters.”
The pair put their spin on works from an A-list roster of songwriters, including Jackson Browne (“For a Dancer”), Rosanne Cash (the title track), and Sinead O’Connor (“This Is to Mother You.”) One particular standout is a cover of Leonard Cohen’s 1967 song “Sisters of Mercy,” on which Ronstadt took the lead.
While Dolly is certainly Dolly, Western Wall showcased how Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris were musical forces in their own right. The record hit No. 6 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and snagged several Grammy nominations.
Linda Ronstadt Hated All Her Albums
Outside of her work with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt has done just fine on her own. Unfortunately, the 11-time Grammy winner can’t bear to listen to any of it.
“When I listen to all my old stuff, I tend to be horrified,” Ronstadt, now 79, said in a 2017 interview with The Guardian.
She added, “There are moments on some records that I like. The one with Nelson Riddle; the Trio records I did with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris… I feel as if I really started learning how to sing in around 1980.”
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