''The Ballad of Sally Rose'' is an

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

released in February 1985. It marked a significant departure for Harris for two reasons. First, all the songs were written by her and her then-husband

Paul Kennerley Paul Kennerley (born 1948) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer working in the American contemporary country music industry. Biography Paul Kennerley was born in Hoylake, Cheshire (now Merseyside), England in 1948. In 1 ...

, while her previous albums had consisted mostly of others' material. Secondly, it is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

, loosely based on Harris' relationship with

Gram Parsons Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973) who was known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist who recorded as a solo artist and with the International Submarine Band, ...

. The album tells the story of a character named Sally Rose, a singer whose lover and mentor, a hard-living, hard-drinking musician, is killed while on the road.

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

and Gail Davies sing harmony on several of the songs. Many of the songs flow into one another to create a continuous momentum. Prior to this album, only Harris' 1969 debut ''

Gliding Bird ''Gliding Bird'' is the debut studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Emmylou Harris, released in 1969 on Jubilee Records (JGS-8031.) Her first name was shown as two words ("Emmy Lou") on the jacket. Before she met mentor Gram ...

'' had more than two of her own compositions, a feat she would not repeat until ''

Red Dirt Girl ''Red Dirt Girl'' is the nineteenth studio album by American country artist Emmylou Harris, released on September 12, 2000 by Nonesuch Records. The album was a significant departure for Harris, as eleven of the twelve tracks were written or co-wr ...

'' in 2000. Harris has described the album as a "country opera".

Reception

In a BBC Radio 2 programme recounting her career in 2006, Harris related how the album was a commercial "disaster" upon its release, its relative failure meaning that she would have to work "for money" again. Two singles from the album performed disappointingly by Harris' standards, although the single "White Line" was a reasonable success, reaching No. 14 on the country charts. ''The Ballad of Sally Rose'' was nominated for the

Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance was first awarded in 1965, to Dottie West. The award has had several minor name changes: *From 1965 to 1967 the award was known as Best Country & Western Vocal Performance - Female *In 1 ...

Track listing

All tracks composed by Emmylou Harris and Paul Kennerley; except where indicatedEmmylou Harris ''The Ballad of Sally Rose'' liner notes

Personnel

* Steve Cash - Harmonica * Barbara Cowart - Backing Vocals * Gail Davies - Backing Vocals *

Hank DeVito Henry M. "Hank" DeVito is an American musician and photographer known primarily for his pedal steel guitar work and songwriting. Biography After high school, DeVito attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He studied graphic arts and ...

- Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Pedal Steel, Dobro * Philip Donnelly - Electric Slide Guitar * Bessyl Duhon - Accordion * Ray Flacke - Electric Guitar *

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist b ...

- Electric Guitar, Backing Vocals *

Emory Gordy Jr. Emory Lee Gordy Jr. (born December 25, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter and music producer. A former member of Emmylou Harris' backing band The Hot Band, he is best known for his association with country singer Patty Loveless, to whom ...

- Acoustic Guitar, Bass, String Arrangements * Emmylou Harris - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals * John Jarvis - Keyboards *

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

- Electric Guitar *

Shane Keister Shane Keister is an American musician. He is known for his work as a studio musician, writer, arranger and producer. He plays synthesizer, piano, Hammond B3, Synclavier, Fairlight CMI, Fender Rhodes, and others. History Keister was born in Hunti ...

- Keyboards *

- Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar *

Russ Kunkel Russell Kunkel (born September 27, 1948) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician with many popular artists, including Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Buffett, Harry Chapin, Rita Coolidge, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Da ...

- Drums *

Albert Lee Albert William Lee (born 21 December 1943) is an English guitarist known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. Lee has worked, both in the studio and on tour, with many famous musicians from a wide range of genres. He has also mai ...

- Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Mandolin *

Larrie Londin Ralph Gallant (October 15, 1943 − August 24, 1992), better known by the stage name Larrie Londin, was an American drummer and session musician. According to journalist James Byron Fox, "If not the best known, Larrie is one of the most listene ...

- Drums, Percussion *

- Backing Vocals * Tom Roady - Percussion *

- Backing Vocals * Gary Scruggs - Harmonica *

Buddy Spicher Buddy Spicher (born July 28, 1938 in DuBois, Pennsylvania; pronounced “Spiker”) is an American country music fiddle player. He is a member of The Nashville A-Team of session musicians, and is Grammy-nominated. He was nominated as Instrumental ...

- Fiddle * Barry Tashian - Acoustic Guitar * Bobby Thompson - Acoustic Guitar, Banjo

Technical personnel

* Donivan Cowart - Engineer * Tom Harding - Second Engineer * Emmylou Harris - Producer * Paul Kennerley - Producer * Keith Odle - Second Engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballad Of Sally Rose Ballad of Sally Rose, The Ballad of Sally Rose, The Warner Records albums Rock operas