The Ballad of Sally Rose is the eleventh studio album by American singer Emmylou Harris released in February 1985. It represented a significant departure for Harris, in that all the songs were written by her and her then-husband Paul Kennerley, whereas her previous albums had consisted mostly of others' material. Additionally, it is a concept album, loosely based on Harris' relationship with Gram Parsons. 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. Harris cited Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska (1982) as a major influence on the album. Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt sing harmony on several of the songs, while Waylon Jennings played lead guitar on "Rhythm Guitar".
Prior to this album, only Harris' 1969 debut Gliding Bird had more than two of her own compositions, a feat she would not repeat until Red Dirt Girl 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.Rock on the Net: 26th Annual Grammy Awards
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Mark Deming praised Harris' songwriting, the production, and the backing vocals by Parton and Ronstadt. He believed that "lack of an obvious single" led to its commercial failure on release, but it nevertheless remains one of Harris' "most heartfelt and personal works", one that anticipated her later acclaimed works Wrecking Ball (1995) and Red Dirt Girl (2000).
Reissue On June 1, 2018, the album was reissued as an expanded edition by Rhino Records, featuring previously unreleased demo recordings. It was released in 2-CD, 2-LP, and digital download editions, with physical editions having new liner notes written by Colin Escott.
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 – Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Pedal Steel, Dobro Philip Donnelly – Electric Slide Guitar Bessyl Duhon – Accordion Ray Flacke – Electric Guitar Vince Gill – Electric Guitar, Backing Vocals Emory Gordy Jr. – Acoustic Guitar, Bass, String Arrangements Emmylou Harris – Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals John Jarvis – Keyboards Waylon Jennings – Electric Guitar Shane Keister – Keyboards Paul Kennerley – Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar Russ Kunkel – Drums Albert Lee – Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Mandolin Larrie Londin – Drums, Percussion Dolly Parton – Backing Vocals Tom Roady – Percussion Linda Ronstadt – Backing Vocals Gary Scruggs – Harmonica Buddy Spicher – 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 Chart (1985) Peakposition
Year-end charts Chart (1985) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard) 24
Release history + Release history and formats for The Ballad of Sally Rose Region Date Format Label Ref. North America February 25, 1985 Warner Bros. Records
References
External links