1 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:09,000 Jolene, Jolene Jolene, Jolene... 2 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:12,000 In the mid-'70s, Dolly Parton, the Tennessee mountain girl, 3 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:14,000 was Nashville's leading female star. 4 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:18,000 Meanwhile, over in California, 5 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:20,000 baby boomers were discovering their own kind of country. 6 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:24,000 I don't want your lonely mansion 7 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:27,000 With a tear in every room... 8 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:30,000 Linda Ronstadt, the West Coast country rock chick, 9 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,000 was the biggest female pop star in America. 10 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:38,000 And former folkie Emmylou Harris had gone from student to band leader 11 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:41,000 and was taking country to the college crowd. 12 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,000 Oh, Amarillo 13 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:47,000 Now he won't come home no more... 14 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,000 Three women from different backgrounds, 15 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,000 with different audiences, but sisters in song. 16 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:56,000 Silver threads and golden needles 17 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:59,000 Cannot mend this heart of mine... 18 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:00,000 Come in here. 19 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,000 ALL: Silver threads and golden needles 20 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:06,000 Cannot mend... 21 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,000 All of a sudden, it was like, "Oh, my goodness, 22 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:11,000 "this is such a great sound!" 23 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:13,000 It was like, "Bam!" That sound was there, 24 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:16,000 and we just were all kind of shocked by it. 25 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:20,000 26 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:24,000 Then perhaps he'll wait for me... 27 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:27,000 Mainstream country had met West Coast cool 28 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:29,000 and formed an unlikely alliance. 29 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:34,000 'Emmy and Linda were both really shy and introverted girls.' 30 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:35,000 Not Dolly. HE LAUGHS 31 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:37,000 She was like shot out of a cannon. 32 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:40,000 Howdy, partners! 33 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:44,000 For Dolly, it was a reaching out into a different audience. 34 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:49,000 And for Linda and Emmylou, it was honouring the music of Dolly Parton. 35 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:51,000 They could have come from different countries, 36 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:53,000 but they all loved mountain music. 37 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:57,000 She had this authenticity, with that mountain music, that we both loved. 38 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,000 Until the day 39 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,000 They lay me 40 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:07,000 Down. 41 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:16,000 'They came from Scotland and Ireland mostly. 42 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:18,000 'Plainish people. 43 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:21,000 'With dry humour and gunpowder tempers. 44 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:23,000 'Sentimental, too. 45 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:28,000 'Lovers of song and respecters of God.' 46 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:31,000 Dolly Rebecca Parton was born and raised in East Tennessee, 47 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:34,000 the fourth of 12 children. Growing up dirt poor, 48 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,000 she had big ambitions and dreamt of becoming a star. 49 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:46,000 She wrote her first song aged seven, and music was her route to the top. 50 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:49,000 There's that mountain sound that those people sing. 51 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:52,000 And that's just built in my whole body. 52 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:55,000 Those old mountain twirls and twists and things, 53 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:58,000 it's just part of my Smoky Mountain DNA. 54 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:03,000 In 1964, the 18-year-old Dolly headed to Nashville 55 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:05,000 in the attempt to become a country star. 56 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:12,000 Everybody knew the Grand Ole Opry came from Nashville. 57 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:15,000 It's kind of all the people that want to be on Broadway, it's like, 58 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:17,000 "We want to go to New York." 59 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:20,000 So if you're a country singer, you want to go to Nashville. 60 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:23,000 To much of the rest of America, the South was stuck in the past. 61 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:26,000 The home of hillbillies, where girl singers were second-class citizens. 62 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:33,000 Now, ladies and gentlemen, we'd like you to meet our little lady singer. 63 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:36,000 She's an excellent songwriter, an outstanding artist. 64 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:40,000 A very devoted wife and mother. A wonderful cook. 65 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:44,000 She has a voice like an angel and a face to match. 66 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:48,000 Let's meet and greet our little lady singer, Loretta Lynn. Here she is. 67 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,000 I don't know your name 68 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:57,000 I wouldn't know your face 69 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:03,000 But you're out with the one I love 70 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:07,000 Out there someplace... 71 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:10,000 I loved Nashville because that's where I knew my dreams were 72 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:13,000 going to come true, if they were going to come true at all, 73 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:14,000 they were going to start there. 74 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:21,000 Dolly's combination of homespun songwriting and showbiz smarts 75 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:23,000 made her popular with the Nashville audience, 76 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:25,000 and she scooped a record deal. 77 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:28,000 Well, a good ways down the railroad track 78 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:30,000 There was this little old rundown shack 79 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,000 And in it lived a man I'd never seen 80 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,000 Folks said he was a mean and a vicious man 81 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:38,000 And you better not set foot on his land 82 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:41,000 But I didn't think nobody could be that mean... 83 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:43,000 I think Dolly always wanted to be a star, 84 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:47,000 which I found incredibly sweet and innocent. 85 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:50,000 You know, because she's done it. In an extraordinary way. 86 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:52,000 But it comes from a place that's... 87 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,000 When you're young and you have those dreams, 88 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:58,000 and she was able to keep hold of that. 89 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:02,000 'And now, in colour, it's The Porter Wagoner Show, 90 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:04,000 'starring Porter Wagoner and the Wagonmasters, 91 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:06,000 'with Speck Rhodes and Dolly Parton.' 92 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:09,000 We're so glad to see you Kinda wondered how you been... 93 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:12,000 And in 1967, Dolly became the girl singer 94 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:14,000 for one of Nashville's biggest stars. 95 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:21,000 Thank you, Dolly, and all the boys there, for helping me out. 96 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:23,000 Dolly Parton had cut her teeth 97 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:27,000 as the featured female artist in The Porter Wagoner Show. 98 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:31,000 It was a very traditional type of role for a female artist. 99 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:36,000 Often they weren't headliners. Even, you know, by the late 1960s, 100 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:39,000 only a handful of female artists had really headlined their own show. 101 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:45,000 It's a lesson too late for the learning 102 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:49,000 Made of sand, made of sand 103 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:53,000 In the wink of an eye my soul is turning 104 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:57,000 In your hand, in your hand... 105 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:00,000 Over on the East Coast, 19-year-old folk music lover 106 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:05,000 Emmylou Harris was getting switched on to the music of this country duo. 107 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:08,000 My brother was a big country music fan. 108 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:11,000 And he said, "I want to play you something." 109 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:13,000 And it was Dolly and Porter, 110 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:16,000 but they were doing a Tom Paxton song, The Last Thing On My Mind. 111 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,000 I could have loved you better 112 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:21,000 Didn't mean to be unkind 113 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:25,000 You know that was the last thing on my mind... 114 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:27,000 I loved those duets with Porter. 115 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:30,000 And of course Dolly's voice on that is so... 116 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:31,000 When she sang with Porter, 117 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:35,000 it was such a beautiful springboard for her voice. 118 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:37,000 My coat of many colours 119 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:40,000 That my papa made for me 120 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:43,000 Made only from rags 121 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:46,000 But I wore it so proudly... 122 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:49,000 When a young Linda Ronstadt visited Nashville, 123 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:52,000 she discovered Dolly was smarter than she chose to appear. 124 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:55,000 I was invited to the Grand Ole Opry when I was in Tennessee, 125 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:56,000 and Dolly was on stage 126 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:59,000 singing with about a million petticoats in her skirt, 127 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:03,000 just stacked out to there, her hair all up to there and her high heels. 128 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:05,000 And she just looked like a beautiful Christmas tree. 129 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:09,000 I mean, it was just a sight to behold, she was gorgeous. 130 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:11,000 I know we had no money 131 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:13,000 But I was rich as I could be 132 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:16,000 In my coat of many colours 133 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:20,000 My momma made for me 134 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:22,000 Made just for me. 135 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:25,000 She said, "Don't think I'm dumb just because I'm so country." 136 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:29,000 It had not occurred to me that she was dumb. Anything but, you know? 137 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:38,000 Dolly Parton was the Queen of Nashville, and now she had 138 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:42,000 her eyes on a bigger prize, and nothing was going to stop her. 139 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:45,000 She was definitely on the rise as a female country star. 140 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:49,000 But the wider pop world didn't really know about her so much then. 141 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:52,000 Up until this point in history, 142 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:55,000 country music is sort of by and for adults. 143 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:58,000 The music wasn't attractive to the vast youth market. 144 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:03,000 'One, two, three, four!' 145 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:04,000 FANS SCREAM 146 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,000 While Dolly was conquering Nashville, the Beatles were 147 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:11,000 igniting the rest of America, and a new generation was emerging. 148 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:15,000 'But the pandemonium created by the 3,000 teenagers on hand 149 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:18,000 'to greet the sortie of Britain's bristling Beatles 150 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:21,000 'is something one might expect from a collision of planets.' 151 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:25,000 Born in Arizona in 1946, the same year as Dolly Parton, 152 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:29,000 Linda Ronstadt was a classic '60s kid who'd grown up on '50s radio. 153 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:34,000 Across the border in Mexico were these huge transmitters, 154 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:37,000 they could transmit stations that came from Tennessee 155 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:39,000 or came from Chicago, came from New York. 156 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:43,000 They would have been illegal if they had been on this side of the line, but they were across in Mexico. 157 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:52,000 I listened to black gospel, white gospel, country music, rock'n'roll. 158 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:54,000 And then of course tons of Mexican music, 159 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:57,000 because we were right there on the border, my family is Mexican. 160 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:00,000 Everybody in my family played and sang, 161 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:02,000 including my grandmother and my great-aunts. 162 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:05,000 They'd all, you know, play anything from operatic arias 163 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:07,000 to Mexican love songs. 164 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:09,000 My sister would sing the latest Hank Williams songs, 165 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:11,000 or the latest rock'n'roll songs. 166 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:13,000 It was really great, I liked that. Very eclectic. 167 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:23,000 Linda left Tucson in 1964 after dropping out of college at 18, 168 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:26,000 and went west, like so many of her generation. 169 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:39,000 '60s kid Linda was drawn to Los Angeles and the Troubadour, 170 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:40,000 which might as well have been 171 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:43,000 a million miles away from the Grand Ole Opry. 172 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:47,000 It was just the place to be seen and to play. 173 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:50,000 And the main reason was that it had open mic night. 174 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:53,000 So you want to be a rock'n'roll star? 175 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:57,000 Then listen now to what I say 176 00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:59,000 Just get an electric guitar 177 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:01,000 And take some time... 178 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:05,000 You could go and sort of audition and sing and perform 179 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:07,000 on an open mic night, you know? 180 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:09,000 And get a job there opening for some bigger act. 181 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:11,000 Then it's time to go downtown... 182 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:14,000 Everyone assumes when there's any kind of musical movement 183 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:17,000 that the members of it all necessarily hang out together 184 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:19,000 and know each other, and sing together and play together, 185 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:21,000 and often it's not really the case, 186 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:24,000 but in LA it was the case. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE 187 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:25,000 Everybody was there - 188 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:31,000 Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Carole King, James Taylor, The Byrds... 189 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:34,000 There was this huge hodgepodge of great writers, 190 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:38,000 and everybody that came into LA would drift through the Troubadour. 191 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:41,000 It was at the Troubadour that Linda's band, the Stone Poneys, 192 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:44,000 were signed after being spotted performing at a hoot. 193 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:49,000 You and I travel to the beat of a different drum 194 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:53,000 Oh, can't you tell by the way I run 195 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:57,000 Every time you make eyes at me? 196 00:10:57,000 --> 00:10:58,000 It's true... 197 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:01,000 It was Linda that stood out. 198 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:04,000 Somebody had told me that there was this amazing girl singer 199 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:10,000 who was, like, had this voice of extraordinary power and beauty, 200 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:13,000 and also, you know, sang in bare feet and short shorts 201 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:16,000 and was incredibly hot, and it was all true. 202 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:18,000 That was the first time I heard her sing, 203 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:19,000 and I was completely blown away. 204 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:23,000 Saying I'm not ready for any person... 205 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:26,000 The main things that stand out about Linda's voice, 206 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:30,000 and I think it's one of the iconic voices in American music 207 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:32,000 of our time, is the power. 208 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:35,000 Oh, goodbye 209 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:39,000 I'll be leaving I see no sense... 210 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:42,000 For me, this is not a very large girl. 211 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:46,000 She's a small girl and yet her voice is beyond powerful. 212 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:49,000 That's what struck me about hearing her voice for the first time. 213 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:51,000 I was just drawn to it. 214 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:53,000 Ladies and gentlemen, the Troubadour 215 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:55,000 is proud to present Linda Ronstadt. 216 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:58,000 APPLAUSE 217 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:04,000 In 1968, Linda left the Stone Poneys and set about finding her niche. 218 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:07,000 The record company Capitol was a little confused about 219 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:10,000 should she go pure country or should she do rock? 220 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:16,000 So combining those two things helped Linda, I think, 221 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:20,000 fuse the elements of country and rock into her style, 222 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:23,000 and I think led to most of what she did later. 223 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:27,000 This is a song I learned from Patsy Cline, 224 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:29,000 and it's called I Fall To Pieces. 225 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:34,000 Linda embraced country, and she gave it a new kind of hipness, 226 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:37,000 which saw it reaching out to the West Coast kids. 227 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:44,000 I fall to pieces 228 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:52,000 Each time someone speaks your name... 229 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:54,000 I always turn back to what was in the living room 230 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:57,000 in my childhood home before I was aged ten. 231 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,000 If I didn't hear it by the time I was ten, 232 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:01,000 I really couldn't do it with any authenticity. 233 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:04,000 MUSIC: Don't Think Twice, It's All Right by Joan Baez 234 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:10,000 Born just a year after Linda and Dolly was a singer 235 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:13,000 who would go on to become one of their greatest collaborators. 236 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:16,000 Emmylou Harris was raised a middle-class child of 237 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:18,000 a military family in the suburbs of North Carolina. 238 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:24,000 Unlike Dolly and Linda, she didn't have a musical upbringing. 239 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:27,000 I didn't grow up in a family where people sang. I was the only one. 240 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:29,000 I was, kind of, the weirdo. 241 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:34,000 When the rooster crows at the break of dawn... 242 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:37,000 College student Emmylou was inspired by the music of John Baez 243 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:40,000 and Bob Dylan, and the protest songs rallying against the unrest 244 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:42,000 of mid-'60s America. 245 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:47,000 But don't think twice It's all right. 246 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:52,000 Aspiring folk singer Emmylou headed east 247 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:55,000 to the Greenwich Village folk scene of the late '60s. 248 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:58,000 Calliope calling 249 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:03,000 Children are falling in line to ride on the merry-go-round 250 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,000 People are passing 251 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:07,000 Children are laughing 252 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:11,000 They want to ride on the merry-go-round... 253 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:14,000 'Folk music drew me in through the storytelling.' 254 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:16,000 Every ride is just the same... 255 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:19,000 'I decided to try to go to New York and try to be a folk singer 256 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:21,000 'after dropping out of college.' 257 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:25,000 There is room for everyone... 258 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:30,000 There were so many of us at my age who had long hair and wanted 259 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:34,000 to be Joan Baez, but there'll only ever be one Joan Baez. 260 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:38,000 Sometimes right and sometimes wrong 261 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:43,000 You'll end up where you belong... 262 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:45,000 I dabbled in country, but mainly I... 263 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:47,000 To my shame, I kind of did it as a joke. 264 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:50,000 563, 30, 30... 265 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:53,000 At the dawn of a new decade, Nashville's country fell on 266 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:55,000 one side of a divided nation - 267 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:58,000 middle America versus the nation's youth. 268 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:03,000 We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee 269 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:09,000 We don't take our trips on LSD 270 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:17,000 We don't burn our draft cards down on Main Street 271 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:23,000 Cos we like livin' right and bein' free... 272 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:29,000 But Emmylou was about to discover the poetry of classic honky-tonk. 273 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:33,000 How I went from folk to country is Gram Parsons. 274 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:36,000 MUSIC: Christine's Tune by The Flying Burrito Brothers 275 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:39,000 Gram Parsons saw the soul in country 276 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:42,000 and championed it in his own unique rock'n'roll way. 277 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:46,000 She's a devil in disguise 278 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:50,000 You can see it in her eyes... 279 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:55,000 Gram had a kind of a cult audience, you know, he... 280 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:57,000 From The Byrds' Sweetheart Of The Rodeo, 281 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:00,000 and then The Flying Burrito Brothers, 282 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:03,000 there was definitely a, sort of, 283 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:05,000 a country audience of kids who, like myself, 284 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:10,000 hadn't really grown up with it, but Gram kind of made it cool. 285 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:12,000 The Southern California country rock scene, you know, 286 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:17,000 it was country music being played by longhairs for the first time, 287 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:20,000 because, you know, Nashville was more conservative. 288 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:25,000 We're gonna hold on... 289 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:29,000 Wild child Gram was one of the West Coast rockers 290 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:31,000 who took influence from Nashville's stars 291 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:34,000 and wanted to find his very own girl singer. 292 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:38,000 We're gonna ho-o-o-old on... 293 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:40,000 We talked and he said, "I'm going to make a record 294 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:42,000 "and I want to find someone to sing with." 295 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:44,000 I said, "There's a wonderful woman working out of 296 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:47,000 "Washington DC, Emmylou Harris. You need to call her up." 297 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:49,000 The mention of... 298 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:53,000 I was thinking to myself, "OK, well, let's see if she can cut it or not," 299 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:56,000 so I thought of one of the hardest country duets 300 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,000 I could think of to do, 301 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:01,000 which was That's All It Took. 302 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:05,000 I tried so hard 303 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:07,000 To let you go 304 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:09,000 But look... 305 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:15,000 And she just sang like a bird, and I said, "Well, that's it." 306 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:18,000 And I sang with her the rest of the night, 307 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,000 and then she just kept getting better and better. 308 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:26,000 BOTH: And when today I heard them say your name 309 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:31,000 That's all it took... 310 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:34,000 I just got into it, I mean, 311 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:37,000 and became a convert - 312 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:40,000 almost obnoxious convert. 313 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:45,000 He introduced her to the passion of... 314 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:48,000 the poetry involved in country music. 315 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:51,000 Ooh 316 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:53,000 Las Vegas 317 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:57,000 Ain't no place for a poor boy like me... 318 00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:01,000 Gram gave Emmylou country music. 319 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:05,000 Emmylou, in turn, gave Gram the most wonderful singer - 320 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:07,000 duet singer - he could find. 321 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:09,000 Every time I hit your crystal city 322 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:12,000 You know you're gonna make a wreck out of me... 323 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:16,000 When I was learning about country, 324 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:18,000 I felt, "This is something I'm really good at." 325 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:23,000 You know, I felt like I had found my place, somehow. 326 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:26,000 What she brought to him was a stability - 327 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:31,000 a stable factor in getting him focused, 328 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:33,000 cos I couldn't. I tried! 329 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:40,000 MUSIC: Six Days On The Road by The Flying Burrito Brothers 330 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:42,000 Well, I pulled out of Pittsburgh 331 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:44,000 Rollin' down the eastern seaboard... 332 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:49,000 Emmylou paid her dues on the road with Gram and the Fallen Angels, 333 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:52,000 and it was in a Texan honky-tonk 334 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:55,000 that her friendship with Linda began in 1973. 335 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:56,000 We were in Texas. 336 00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:59,000 We were in Houston with the Neil Young tour 337 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:01,000 and I heard that Gram and Emmy were in town. 338 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:04,000 We ran into their road manager in the lobby of the hotel, 339 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:06,000 and so we all decided that we'd go down 340 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,000 to see their show after our show. 341 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:15,000 It was 40 or 50 years ago 342 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:21,000 A big shot played with time... 343 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:23,000 And so we went to this biker bar where they were playing, 344 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:25,000 and I was worried I wouldn't be able to hear Emmy properly, 345 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:27,000 cos it was a really rowdy, noisy place, 346 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:30,000 but the minute she started singing, the place just went dead quiet 347 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:34,000 and everybody just had this worshipful attitude, you know? 348 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:42,000 When you saw him talk his way 349 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:46,000 Was when he showed his claws... 350 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:49,000 When the two of them were onstage, it was like a musical love affair. 351 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:51,000 They were just so focused. 352 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:53,000 They had their mics set so that they could look right at each other, 353 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:56,000 you know? And they would just follow each other exactly. 354 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:59,000 It was a lovely, lovely musical thing. 355 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:03,000 Ooh-ooh 356 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:06,000 The new soft shoe 357 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:16,000 Ooh, the new soft shoe 358 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:17,000 Yeah... 359 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:20,000 And I had a little fleeting moment when I thought, 360 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:22,000 "She's doing what I'm doing but she's doing it better." 361 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:25,000 And I thought, "I can feel jealous or I can just really love her 362 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:27,000 "like everybody else does." 363 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:30,000 The new soft shoe... 364 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:33,000 The admiration was mutual. 365 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:36,000 I had seen her in New York, 366 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:40,000 in my struggling Joan Baez wannabe days in the Village 367 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:42,000 and had seen her, actually, perform, 368 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:44,000 was incredibly jealous, 369 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:47,000 and did not actually meet her. 370 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:50,000 But Gram knew Linda, and I was introduced, 371 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:53,000 and that became a very important relationship for me, 372 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:54,000 as a friendship. 373 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:59,000 MUSIC: Boulder To Birmingham by Emmylou Harris 374 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:06,000 I don't want to hear a love song... 375 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:10,000 Their friendship deepened in September 1973, 376 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:14,000 when Emmylou's mentor Gram died from an overdose at just 26 years old. 377 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:18,000 And I know there's life below me... 378 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:23,000 When Gram died, Emmylou, along with everyone else, was shattered. 379 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:27,000 I'd thought I was going to spend quite a lot of my life 380 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:28,000 singing with Gram. 381 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:34,000 And I don't want to hear a sad story 382 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:41,000 Full of heartbreak and desire... 383 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:45,000 I was the beneficiary of the fact that he went before me 384 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:49,000 and, kind of, left me this, you know, 385 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,000 this place that he had vacated. 386 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:56,000 And I just had to figure out how to continue, 387 00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:58,000 and I had a lot of help. 388 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:00,000 It was very hard on Emmy, 389 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:04,000 and she came out to stay with me for a while in Los Angeles. 390 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,000 Emmylou confronted her grief in song, 391 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:10,000 and wrote the anthemic Boulder To Birmingham and played it to Linda. 392 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:13,000 I watched it burn... 393 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:16,000 She sat down in the living room and played me that song, 394 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:18,000 I almost fell over. 395 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:20,000 I mean, that's a really strong piece of material. 396 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:24,000 I would rock my soul 397 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:28,000 In the bosom of Abraham... 398 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:32,000 And it broke my heart that Emmy had to go through what she had to go through to write about it, 399 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:36,000 but it really established her as a serious songwriter. 400 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:40,000 I would walk all the way 401 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:43,000 From Boulder to Birmingham 402 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:47,000 If I thought I could see 403 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:51,000 I could see your face... 404 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:55,000 405 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:57,000 'Bringing me out to sing on her records, 406 00:22:57,000 --> 00:22:59,000 'having me come and sing at her shows - 407 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:01,000 'she did a lot for me, 408 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:05,000 'as the incredibly generous person that she is.' 409 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:08,000 This was right before everything broke through for Linda, 410 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:11,000 you know, who became the biggest rock star in the world. 411 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:14,000 Feelin' better 412 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:16,000 Now that we're through 413 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:21,000 Feelin' better cos I'm over you... 414 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:24,000 With the addition of Peter Asher as Linda's manager and record producer, 415 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:28,000 her retro song choices and polished sound saw her star ascend. 416 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:31,000 Oh, you're no good You're no good 417 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:32,000 You're no good 418 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:35,000 Baby, you're no good 419 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:37,000 I'm going to say it again 420 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:40,000 You're no good You're no good... 421 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:41,000 She was doing both styles at that time, 422 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:44,000 both the rockier stuff and the country stuff, 423 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:49,000 and so radio embraced that single and it was a big, big hit. 424 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:55,000 When will I be loved? 425 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:58,000 She had hit single after hit single, huge tours... 426 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:02,000 She was - no argument about it - 427 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:05,000 the biggest female artist in rock at the time. 428 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:11,000 429 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:16,000 Loved? 430 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:20,000 Meanwhile, Emmylou was forging a solo career out of California, 431 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:23,000 leading a hot band and an eclectic songbook that took in 432 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,000 classic country and rock'n'roll. 433 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:29,000 She brought to the country music audience, maybe, 434 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:33,000 a more younger take on, you know, what a country singer, 435 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:36,000 a young female country singer, could be. 436 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,000 Oh, Amarillo 437 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:41,000 What you want my baby for? 438 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:46,000 As far as country-slash- rock-and-roll fusion happening, 439 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:49,000 that was a really electrifying band. 440 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:51,000 They could really play, 441 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:54,000 and Emmylou was right out in front of that 442 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:57,000 just with an enormous amount of energy 443 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:00,000 and an enormous amount of focus. 444 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:03,000 The sisterhood was set to expand when Emmylou and Linda discovered 445 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:08,000 they shared a mutual appreciation of the girl from Tennessee. 446 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:11,000 There weren't that many girl singers out there, so, you know, 447 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:15,000 you'd think, "This is a like soul. I want to know who influences her. 448 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,000 "Who is the most important person?" 449 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:21,000 She wanted to know that about me and our answer was Dolly Parton. 451 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:28,000 Jolene, Jolene, Jolene 452 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:30,000 Jolene 453 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:35,000 I'm begging of you Please don't take my man 454 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:39,000 Jolene, Jolene, Jolene 455 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:42,000 456 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:45,000 Please don't take him just because you can... 457 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:47,000 Back in the South, as Linda and Emmylou were taking country to 458 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:51,000 a rock crowd, Dolly was about to take classic country to the world. 459 00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:54,000 We'd both heard Jolene on the radio and gone, 460 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:57,000 "Oh, my God, this girl can really sing." You know? 461 00:25:57,000 --> 00:25:59,000 She was singing like she was singing, I was just knocked out. 462 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:01,000 Your smile is like a breath of spring 463 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:04,000 Your voice is soft like summer rain 464 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:07,000 And I cannot compete with you, Jolene... 465 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:09,000 Sort of like that. 466 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:11,000 We loved her songwriting. 467 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:14,000 But we... Mainly we loved her voice. 468 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:16,000 Nothin' I can do to keep from cryin'... 469 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:19,000 Dolly's voice goes into that incredibly beautiful, 470 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:21,000 lovely, sparkly place. 471 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:23,000 Oh, and I can easily understand 472 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:25,000 How you could easily take my man 473 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:30,000 But you don't know what he means to me, Jolene... 474 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:33,000 In 1974, after seven years with Porter, 475 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:35,000 Dolly decided to go it alone. 476 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:37,000 Nashville's Music Row is buzzing today over 477 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:39,000 yesterday's bombshell announcement - 478 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:43,000 the $3 million lawsuit by Porter Wagoner against Dolly Parton. 479 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:46,000 The suit charges Dolly with breach of contract. 480 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:48,000 Dolly had a lot of faith in herself. 481 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:51,000 Dolly believed she could do it on her own. 482 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:53,000 It was very nervy, though, 483 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:56,000 for a woman in country music to do what she did, 484 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:59,000 which was to break out of her mentor's shadow, 485 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:01,000 which was Porter Wagoner, leave his show, 486 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:06,000 go out on her own as a solo artist and try to make it on her own. 487 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:08,000 Dolly got herself big-time LA management 488 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:11,000 and went Hollywood with her own country show. 489 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:15,000 Ladies and gentlemen, Dolly Parton. 490 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:18,000 The attitude in Nashville at the time was, 491 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,000 "Well, she's leaving country music and we don't like her," 492 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:23,000 and, you know, this and that. And Dolly famously said, 493 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:26,000 "I'm not leaving country - I'm taking it with me," 494 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:28,000 which is exactly what she did. 495 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:30,000 Jolene 496 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:31,000 Jolene... 497 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:34,000 Country was the blue-collar sound of the rural South, so it seemed 498 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:39,000 unlikely that a cool country curator would be captivated by Dolly. 499 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:43,000 This next song, um, is written by Dolly Parton. 500 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:49,000 She did Dolly's song Coat Of Many Colours every night, 501 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:52,000 and, you know, her eyes would sparkle. 502 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:55,000 You know, like, "I'm doing a Dolly Parton song." 503 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:57,000 Back through the years 504 00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:01,000 I go wanderin' once again 505 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:07,000 Back to the seasons of my youth I recall... 506 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:10,000 'Coat Of Many Colours was... It had become' 507 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:12,000 one of my favourite songs when I got into country. 508 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:16,000 And, of course, there was a certain folk element to Dolly, too, 509 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:19,000 because a lot of her writing was very storytelling. 510 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:22,000 Momma sewed the rags together 511 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:25,000 Sewin' every piece with love 512 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:29,000 She made my coat of many colours 513 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:32,000 That I was so proud of... 514 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:34,000 To her audience, you know, 515 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:37,000 which was counterculture audience, really, at the time, 516 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:40,000 it was like, "And I'm introducing you to this great artist 517 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:42,000 "that you may not know about." 518 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:45,000 Though we didn't have much money 519 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:47,000 I was rich as I could be... 520 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:50,000 I had no idea they knew me or liked me. 521 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:53,000 I just remembered loving their records. 522 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:55,000 Momma made for me... 523 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:59,000 A shared interest in harmony led to them becoming friends. 524 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:02,000 I first invited Dolly when she came out to California, 525 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:05,000 cos she was still living in Nashville, and when I knew 526 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:08,000 she was coming over, the first thing I did was call Linda. 527 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:09,000 I said, "I'll be right there," 528 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:12,000 so I got in my car and zoomed over as fast as I could. 529 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:14,000 And, you know, they were sitting on the sofa talking, 530 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:17,000 and I came in, and we talked for a second, then the guitar came out. 531 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:19,000 And they were all excited to meet me. 532 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:21,000 I was all excited to meet them. 533 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:23,000 And so we said, "Well, we have to sing something." 534 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:25,000 And we started singing the Carter Family song, 535 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:28,000 Bury Me Beneath The Willow. 536 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:33,000 Bury me beneath the willow 537 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:36,000 Under the weeping willow tree 538 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:41,000 Where he may know where I am sleeping 539 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:45,000 And perhaps he'll weep for me... 540 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:47,000 And all of a sudden, it was like, 541 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:52,000 "Oh, my goodness! This is such a great sound." 542 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:55,000 And it was like, bam! That sound was there, and we were just... 543 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:57,000 We were all kind of shocked by it. We just went, 544 00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:00,000 "Wow, that's really something that's different from what we usually do 545 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:03,000 "with other musicians that we jam and play and sing with." 546 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:04,000 Let's do it again. 547 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:10,000 Won't you bury me beneath the willow... 548 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:13,000 In 1976, the trio took their sound public 549 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:15,000 when Dolly invited them onto her show. 550 00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:17,000 That particular episode was different 551 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:19,000 than all of the other Dolly episodes. 552 00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:25,000 The other Dolly episodes had kind of fakey banter and jokes and junk 553 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:29,000 and this one, of all of the shows in that series, 554 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:31,000 was the most purely musical. 555 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:33,000 My momma used to sing a song called The Sweetest Gift, 556 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:35,000 when she was a little girl, 557 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:37,000 and she loved the record that you and Linda had on it and 558 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:40,000 she asked me if I'd have you sing it today, so would you do that? Sure. 559 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:44,000 Well, OK. This is for your momma. Right. And for mine. 560 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:50,000 One day a mother... 561 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:54,000 ..went to a prison 562 00:30:54,000 --> 00:31:00,000 To see an erring but precious son 563 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:03,000 She told the warden 564 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:06,000 How much she loved him... 565 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:09,000 Linda came from a singing family and you certainly came from 566 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:13,000 a singing family. I definitely did, yeah. So I was really loving it. 567 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:20,000 She did not bring to him a parole or pardon 568 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:23,000 She brought no silver Brought no... 569 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:25,000 As eager students of Dolly, 570 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:29,000 Emmylou and Linda were excited by what she added to the music. 571 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:34,000 The uniting thread is the mountain heritage. 572 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:37,000 The Appalachian sound that Dolly just brings naturally to the music, 573 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:39,000 because that's who she is. 574 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:41,000 ..a mother's smile 575 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:47,000 She left a smile you can remember 576 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:55,000 She's gone to heaven from heartache free... 577 00:31:55,000 --> 00:32:00,000 'She had this authenticity for that mountain music that we both loved, 578 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:02,000 'but didn't feel we had the right...' 579 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:05,000 Yes, we would sing it, but she was the real deal. 580 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:07,000 ..and e'er will be... 581 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:11,000 She came out of the foothills and mountains of eastern Tennessee, 582 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:19,000 with the real thing and I think, if you add that to the mix of... 583 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:25,000 Emmy and Linda's relationship, it's like there's the... 584 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:28,000 your gender's Mount Rushmore! 585 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:35,000 The sweetest gift A mother's smile 586 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:37,000 The sweetest gift 587 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:44,000 A mother's smile... 588 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:48,000 Ooh, I love that! 589 00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:50,000 'We really enjoyed each other's company. 590 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:52,000 'It just seemed fun at the time.' 591 00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:55,000 I don't remember there being any trauma 592 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:58,000 or worrying about the lighting or anything, because we were so young 593 00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:01,000 and we knew we looked good and we didn't have to worry about anything. 595 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:04,000 Where are you? 596 00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:07,000 What are you doing in the audience? 597 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:09,000 It's the only way we could get anything to eat. 598 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:12,000 Oh, ha-ha! And we wanted to see the show from here. 599 00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:14,000 'Dolly Parton is larger than life 600 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:17,000 'from the moment you lay eyes on her.' 601 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:21,000 She was exotic! 602 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:26,000 Er, taking nothing away from Linda or Emmylou, 603 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:29,000 they were kind of girl next door, 604 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:31,000 they were the really cute girls from down the street, you know, 605 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:33,000 who could sing like birds. 606 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:38,000 Play a song for me Applejack, Applejack 607 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:42,000 Play a song for me and I'll sing... 608 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:46,000 It wasn't only the viewers that were treated to this unlikely grouping. 609 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:50,000 Musically, it opened up a whole new audience for all involved. 610 00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:57,000 I'd go down to Applejack's just almost every day, we'd sit and... 611 00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:01,000 'Although we were mismatched, in the worlds we came from,' 612 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:04,000 once we opened our mouths to sing, you know, 613 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:08,000 even though we didn't look like we would fit together, 614 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:11,000 when you heard us, you felt it and you saw it. 615 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:16,000 Play a song for me Applejack, Applejack 616 00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:20,000 Play a song Let your banjo ring... 617 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:24,000 'The idea of Linda and Dolly and Emmylou 618 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:27,000 'appearing on television together was a big deal. 619 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:29,000 'It drew in three disparate audiences.' 620 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:32,000 Linda brought her audience, er, Emmy hers 621 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:34,000 and Dolly, of course, it was her show. 622 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:38,000 Clap your hands with us! 623 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:41,000 I think television did things like that for commercial reasons, 624 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:45,000 but artistically, it ended up being incredibly helpful 625 00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:47,000 to all three of them as well. 626 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:51,000 Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou, for Dolly, were street cred. 627 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:53,000 'Really intense street cred.' 628 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:56,000 Play a song for me... 629 00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:57,000 'For Linda and Emmylou, 630 00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:02,000 'it was honouring the authenticity of the music of Dolly Parton.' 631 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:04,000 Look, this is a brilliant artist, 632 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:06,000 you know, and I think the rest of the world 633 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:08,000 has come around to that point of view. 634 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:12,000 I think Emmy and Linda just saw it before the rest of the world did. 635 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:14,000 Aw! 637 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:21,000 That buzz, we just felt... 638 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:24,000 At that moment, we all said, "We have to make a record!" 639 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:26,000 We just wanted to do it for the music and we didn't know that 640 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:29,000 it would be successful, we didn't care, we just wanted to do it. 641 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:32,000 We figured we'd earned the right. 642 00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:37,000 In 1979, setting time aside from their solo careers, the trio began 643 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:41,000 laying down tracks with Emmylou's husband, producer Brian Ahern. 644 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:44,000 Mr Sandman 645 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:46,000 Bring me a dream 646 00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:50,000 Make him the cutest that I've ever seen... 647 00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:52,000 But it soon became obvious 648 00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:56,000 that, musically, the approach they took wasn't working out. 649 00:35:56,000 --> 00:35:59,000 We got above our raison a little bit, because, all of a sudden, 650 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:02,000 we thought, "Man, we could make a great pop record." 651 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:04,000 ..I'm so alone... 652 00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:06,000 But Brian just said, "This is a mistake. 653 00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:09,000 "This should almost be an acoustic record." 654 00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:12,000 It just wasn't how we had hoped to hear ourselves. 655 00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:14,000 It wasn't the right setting. 656 00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:17,000 We all kind of agreed. He's a very good producer, 657 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:20,000 but it just, you know, it was a swing and a miss. 658 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:23,000 So, we kind of retreated into our corners 659 00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:25,000 to figure out what to do next. 660 00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:28,000 In the early '80s, their careers continued on. 661 00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:31,000 Emmylou's passion still lay in roots country 662 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:34,000 and she relocated to Nashville. 663 00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:36,000 Well, it comes to he who waits, I'm told 664 00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:41,000 But I don't need it when I'm old and grey 665 00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:43,000 Yeah, I want it today... 666 00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:48,000 Linda, meanwhile, continued to prove she was a musical jukebox 667 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:51,000 with her versatility as she moved into the '80s... 668 00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:54,000 I know something about love 669 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:58,000 You gotta want it bad If that guy's got into... 670 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:01,000 ..adding New Wave and even the Great American Songbook 671 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:03,000 to her repertoire. 672 00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:07,000 I have got a crush 673 00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:12,000 My baby, on... 674 00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:17,000 You. 676 00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:28,000 In 1980, Dolly's ambition had paid off. 677 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:29,000 She'd topped the charts around the world 678 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:32,000 and was even a hit in Hollywood with her new pop sound. 679 00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:35,000 I tumble outta bed and I stumble to the kitchen 680 00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:37,000 Pour myself a cup of ambition 681 00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:40,000 Yawn and stretch and try to come to life... 682 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:44,000 I think of it as Dolly finally, like kicking the ball through the... 683 00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:46,000 through the field goal. It's like she... 684 00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:48,000 she had the touchdown with that one. 685 00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:50,000 ..from 9 to 5 686 00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:52,000 Workin' 9 to 5 687 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:54,000 What a way to make a livin' 688 00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:56,000 Barely gettin' by 689 00:37:56,000 --> 00:37:58,000 It's all takin' and no givin' 690 00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:01,000 They just use your mind 691 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:03,000 But they'll never give you credit 692 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:05,000 It's enough to drive you 693 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:08,000 Crazy if you let it... 694 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:12,000 Like Dolly, in the mid-'80s, 695 00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:15,000 country music was obsessed with crossover and Nashville's Music Row 696 00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:19,000 was accused of being too slick and pop orientated. 697 00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:23,000 I'm going to bop with you, baby all night long 698 00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:25,000 I'm going to bop the night away... 699 00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:27,000 Through the late '70s and into the '80s, 700 00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:31,000 country music went through a few boom and bust cycles. 701 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:34,000 Hello, Detroit auto workers 702 00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:38,000 Let me thank you for your time... 703 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:40,000 The more it becomes an entertainment type of commodity 704 00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:44,000 the less, you know, true to its kind of country music roots 705 00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:45,000 the music itself became. 706 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:48,000 Hello, Pittsburgh... 707 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:49,000 It was a time when, you know, 708 00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:51,000 country music had sort of lost its identity. 709 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:55,000 You work a 40-hour week for a livin'... 710 00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:59,000 By 1986, Dolly had acquired international stardom 711 00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:03,000 and, despite their crazy schedules, the trio decided it was time 712 00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:07,000 to reunite and finally make the album they wanted. 713 00:39:07,000 --> 00:39:09,000 Yeah! 714 00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:15,000 Well, look at us cowgirls! Howdy, pardners! Howdy, Dolly! 715 00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:19,000 You know... Thank you, folks. 717 00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:23,000 Now, this is a real big treat for me, 718 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:25,000 because everybody, since I started the show, 719 00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:28,000 has wanted to know where Linda and Emmy are, because everybody kind of 720 00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:30,000 thinks of us as sisters, and you finally made it. 721 00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:33,000 We were all on different labels, we all had different managers, 722 00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:37,000 we all were scattered to the wind, all had obligations and tours, 723 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:41,000 so we worked for years trying to pull off the first Trio album. 724 00:39:41,000 --> 00:39:45,000 This past year, Linda called Emmy and me up and said, 725 00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:49,000 "Let's do this album before we get so old we can't sing!" 726 00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:51,000 Or nobody's interested! Yeah! 727 00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:53,000 So we did the album... 728 00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:56,000 The friends wanted to bring back old-time mountain music just when 729 00:39:56,000 --> 00:40:00,000 it was slipping out of reach, but not everybody was on board. 730 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:02,000 I don't think anybody liked the idea of three women singers, 731 00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:05,000 I don't think anybody liked the idea of us being not in a niche. 732 00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:07,000 It wasn't rock and roll, it wasn't country, 733 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:10,000 it wasn't this, wasn't that, it was old-timey music. 735 00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:22,000 Oh, the pain of loving you... 736 00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:26,000 Trio was recorded in 1986 at Complex Studios in Los Angeles, 737 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:29,000 with George Massenburg chosen as the producer 738 00:40:29,000 --> 00:40:30,000 to focus on their harmonies. 739 00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:33,000 The inspiration was to, as much as possible, 740 00:40:33,000 --> 00:40:39,000 capture that thing that they felt in just singing together live 741 00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:44,000 and comfortable and happy and just thrilled 742 00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:48,000 with the sounds that came out in a very live, very small context. 743 00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:57,000 The artists hand-picked some of the very best session players 744 00:40:57,000 --> 00:40:59,000 to capture their stripped-back sound. 745 00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:03,000 Dolly Parton, Emmylou and Linda Ronstadt 746 00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:06,000 are going to sing three-part harmony and then, there's a bunch of people 747 00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:09,000 that they really like to play with and I said, "Ooh, that's good!" 748 00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:14,000 And you get paid too! "OK! Well, that's fine with me. 749 00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:17,000 "That's just fine with me. Sign me up, sign me on." 750 00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:28,000 I was a little nervous maybe. I mean, we're all kind of on edge 751 00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:31,000 when you're working with people like that, you know, 752 00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:33,000 you want to do it right and... HE LAUGHS 753 00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:37,000 ..you don't want to be the one who's going to mess up, you know. 754 00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:40,000 And especially when they have... when their ideas, 755 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:45,000 their musical ideas, are pretty much better than your own, you know. 756 00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:49,000 A poet once said that 757 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:55,000 something in a hill child dies when he goes down to level land. 758 00:41:58,000 --> 00:41:59,000 The trio wanted the album 759 00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:03,000 to evoke the old-timey songs of the mountains. 760 00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:07,000 We were chasing more agrarian music, you know, from the times that people 761 00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:10,000 really actually lived in the country and were more isolated. 763 00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:15,000 People sang together. The family sang together. 764 00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:18,000 They were, you know, stuck on these mountains, with valleys between 'em. 766 00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:26,000 Women in Appalachia were the song savers, 767 00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:29,000 were the song preservers, in the folk tradition. 768 00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:32,000 They're the ones that saved the old ballads, 769 00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:34,000 which are often from feminine points of view. 770 00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:40,000 I once did have a dear companion 771 00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:45,000 Indeed I called his love my own... 772 00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:49,000 I like to call it parlour music, the kind of thing that women might do 773 00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:52,000 in the 19th century - when their household chores are finished, 774 00:42:52,000 --> 00:42:55,000 they might have a few precious moments to sit down on the sofa 775 00:42:55,000 --> 00:42:59,000 and harmonise together and sort of share your sorrows and your joys. 776 00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:05,000 ..and dreaming in some soft repose... 777 00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:07,000 'It's such a mournful song.' 778 00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:10,000 The first Jean Ritchie rendition of that, 779 00:43:10,000 --> 00:43:12,000 that Alan Lomax got... It's so mournful! ..it's so sad! 780 00:43:12,000 --> 00:43:14,000 Yeah. And it's within that tradition of 781 00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:18,000 female Appalachian songs, where they're just longing for some lover 782 00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:21,000 that's never going to come back... Yeah. 783 00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:25,000 ..and the Trio took that and then they kind of raised it. 784 00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:32,000 Oh, have you seen my dear companion? 785 00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:38,000 For he was all this world to me... 786 00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:40,000 'There's a lot of light and hope in it. Mm-hm. 787 00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:43,000 'Even with this sad lyric, you feel like it's...' 788 00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:47,000 these women mourning a lover, but kind of they're together... Yeah! 789 00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:49,000 ..and they're going to hold each other up. 790 00:43:49,000 --> 00:43:55,000 I'd join the wild birds in their crying 791 00:43:55,000 --> 00:44:02,000 Thinking of you and your sweet face... 792 00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:05,000 'Preserving these songs... Yeah. ..and bringing them into' 793 00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:10,000 a new generation that might not listen to the old things, 794 00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:12,000 you know, I think that it's... 795 00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:15,000 and I don't know who's doing that today. 796 00:44:15,000 --> 00:44:22,000 Oh, have you seen my dear companion? 797 00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:30,000 He was all this world to me. 798 00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:34,000 I'm very sentimental about all those songs. 799 00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:36,000 Linda and Emmy had done research 800 00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:38,000 on those things to find a lot of that stuff, 801 00:44:38,000 --> 00:44:41,000 because they came from, like I say, a different world than I did. 802 00:44:41,000 --> 00:44:45,000 I came from that place and so those songs were embedded in my psyche, 803 00:44:45,000 --> 00:44:49,000 in my soul, in my heart, in my mouth, you know. 804 00:44:49,000 --> 00:44:54,000 There's a little rosewood casket 805 00:44:54,000 --> 00:45:00,000 Resting on a marble stand... 806 00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:04,000 'Of course, those are the songs that I can sing the best, I think,' 807 00:45:04,000 --> 00:45:07,000 even though I like thinking I can do all kinds of stuff, 808 00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:12,000 but the truth is my truest gift really is that... 809 00:45:12,000 --> 00:45:14,000 that sound that really comes from the mountains, 810 00:45:14,000 --> 00:45:17,000 that is so true to who I truly am and how I grew up. 811 00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:22,000 ..read them o'er for me tonight... 812 00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:25,000 We wanted to bring that part of her voice, 813 00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:29,000 that part of Dolly, back into Appalachia, 814 00:45:29,000 --> 00:45:34,000 and using it to our purposes too, having Dolly's voice there, 815 00:45:34,000 --> 00:45:38,000 and just Dolly's presence there, made us authentic. 816 00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:46,000 Last night as I lay on the boxcar 817 00:45:46,000 --> 00:45:53,000 Just waiting for a train to pass by... 818 00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:56,000 It became clear that the magic of the Trio was what they had 819 00:45:56,000 --> 00:45:59,000 discovered ten years previously - the blend of their voices. 820 00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:02,000 'Dolly, Linda and Emmy all had different voices - 821 00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:05,000 'decidedly different voices - but when they sang together,' 822 00:46:05,000 --> 00:46:09,000 their complexities dovetailed in ways that were 823 00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:12,000 at once idiosyncratic and incredibly beautiful. 824 00:46:12,000 --> 00:46:17,000 Will there be any freight trains in heaven? 825 00:46:19,000 --> 00:46:25,000 Any boxcars in which we might hide? 826 00:46:25,000 --> 00:46:29,000 They all had distinctive personalities 827 00:46:29,000 --> 00:46:32,000 in their voices, qualities, 828 00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:36,000 and I think that's what makes a really good, interesting blend. 829 00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:41,000 If you can blend, and have your own voice and put your own stamp on it, 830 00:46:41,000 --> 00:46:42,000 it's truly magical. 831 00:46:44,000 --> 00:46:49,000 Will we always have money to spare? 832 00:46:49,000 --> 00:46:53,000 There's a vibration that happens and, to me, it's very spiritual. 833 00:46:53,000 --> 00:46:56,000 It's like something else enters the room. Mm-hm. 834 00:46:56,000 --> 00:46:58,000 And that's like the overtone, but to me, it's just 835 00:46:58,000 --> 00:47:03,000 this vibration of otherness that lifts the whole thing. 836 00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:06,000 It's just an accident of nature. It's genes. 837 00:47:06,000 --> 00:47:07,000 You know, how our voices combined, 838 00:47:07,000 --> 00:47:10,000 they just happened to fill up parts of... 839 00:47:10,000 --> 00:47:13,000 Each person filled up a part that the other person didn't have. 840 00:47:13,000 --> 00:47:16,000 I think we sound like sisters. You never know. 841 00:47:16,000 --> 00:47:18,000 There are those groups that are not family, 842 00:47:18,000 --> 00:47:21,000 but they sound like they are, and when you can come across 843 00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:23,000 that combination, you've got something really good. 845 00:47:26,000 --> 00:47:30,000 As the Trio all approached their 40th birthday, they chose a song 846 00:47:30,000 --> 00:47:32,000 looking back to the girl groups of their teenage years 847 00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:35,000 as a song dedicated to the men in their lives, 848 00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:38,000 the Phil Spector song To Know Him Is To Love Him. 849 00:47:38,000 --> 00:47:42,000 To know, know, know him 850 00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:47,000 Is to love, love, love him 851 00:47:47,000 --> 00:47:51,000 Just to see him smile... 852 00:47:51,000 --> 00:47:55,000 A certain movie director was asked to direct the promo for the song. 853 00:47:55,000 --> 00:47:59,000 Well, you know, it was kind of like, "We should make a music video," 854 00:47:59,000 --> 00:48:02,000 and I was going out with this guy that made films, so he could do it. 855 00:48:02,000 --> 00:48:04,000 It was that way, it was very casual. 856 00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:09,000 You know, I was the boyfriend, 857 00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:12,000 so, you know, I was sort of like the fly on the wall, 858 00:48:12,000 --> 00:48:15,000 but, you know, they would sit around and, a lot of the times, 859 00:48:15,000 --> 00:48:19,000 they'd talk about the loves lost or the love for a new boyfriend, 860 00:48:19,000 --> 00:48:22,000 or the new this, and all that kind of stuff, so there was a lot of that 861 00:48:22,000 --> 00:48:26,000 that they actually were living and they're very romantic about it. 862 00:48:26,000 --> 00:48:29,000 You know, it's... It's sort of Jane Austen-ish, 863 00:48:29,000 --> 00:48:34,000 if I can, like, put that there. 864 00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:38,000 ..love, love, love him And I do... 865 00:48:38,000 --> 00:48:41,000 They are strong, brilliant women, 866 00:48:41,000 --> 00:48:46,000 who had had a variety of relationships with men 867 00:48:46,000 --> 00:48:52,000 and had emerged from all of these as, er, victorious. 868 00:48:52,000 --> 00:49:01,000 Why can't he see I...? 869 00:49:01,000 --> 00:49:05,000 LINDA: 'Emmy has a real heartbreak sound in her singing. It's like a... 870 00:49:05,000 --> 00:49:08,000 'Like I said, like she's pleading for her life and her sanity.' 871 00:49:08,000 --> 00:49:12,000 Someday, he will see... 872 00:49:12,000 --> 00:49:15,000 'Music has always had such an effect on me. 873 00:49:15,000 --> 00:49:19,000 'I think it opens up the vistas of our soul and our heart' 874 00:49:19,000 --> 00:49:24,000 and our humanness, it connects us to people and makes us feel that 875 00:49:24,000 --> 00:49:29,000 somehow we all, one way or another, share the same human experience. 876 00:49:29,000 --> 00:49:38,000 Those memories of you still haunt me, every night... 877 00:49:38,000 --> 00:49:42,000 Each singer has their own history and their own where they're from 878 00:49:42,000 --> 00:49:45,000 and what they do and, you know, it's not just the voices. 879 00:49:45,000 --> 00:49:51,000 'It's the culture behind the voices that blend and their struggles. 880 00:49:51,000 --> 00:49:54,000 'You know, they all had struggles.' 881 00:49:54,000 --> 00:49:57,000 ALL: ..they lay me down 882 00:49:57,000 --> 00:50:01,000 DOLLY: In dreams of you... 883 00:50:01,000 --> 00:50:03,000 LINDA: 'Dolly has a sound like a heartbroken child, you know, 884 00:50:03,000 --> 00:50:06,000 'like you've just absolutely smashed her hopes or something.' 885 00:50:06,000 --> 00:50:08,000 And she's strong, she's going to carry on, 886 00:50:08,000 --> 00:50:11,000 but she just has this heartbroken disappointment. 887 00:50:11,000 --> 00:50:14,000 But you're not there 888 00:50:14,000 --> 00:50:17,000 And I'm so lonesome... 889 00:50:17,000 --> 00:50:20,000 'We got very emotional ourselves many times 890 00:50:20,000 --> 00:50:24,000 'when we were singing certain songs. You know, we would feel it!' 891 00:50:24,000 --> 00:50:25,000 And when you get that much feeling, 892 00:50:25,000 --> 00:50:28,000 I mean, if you've got any feelings at all, 893 00:50:28,000 --> 00:50:32,000 it's going to kind of overflow, so that's what you hope to do. 894 00:50:32,000 --> 00:50:34,000 A decade after its conception, 895 00:50:34,000 --> 00:50:37,000 the acoustic country album was released and it flew in the face 896 00:50:37,000 --> 00:50:41,000 of the contemporary formulaic pop produced in Nashville at the time. 897 00:50:41,000 --> 00:50:45,000 There was some resistance to putting the record out at the beginning. 898 00:50:45,000 --> 00:50:49,000 It was not a slam dunk. You'd think it would be, but it wasn't. 899 00:50:49,000 --> 00:50:53,000 It hit Nashville like a bomb! They loathed it! 900 00:50:53,000 --> 00:50:57,000 For at least I could run They just died in the sun... 901 00:50:57,000 --> 00:50:59,000 They did play it on the radio. 902 00:50:59,000 --> 00:51:03,000 We didn't know, but we believed there was a market for this. 903 00:51:03,000 --> 00:51:07,000 Country was the way we pushed it. It got a lot of play, I think, 904 00:51:07,000 --> 00:51:11,000 also on adult contemporary and middle of the road stations 905 00:51:11,000 --> 00:51:13,000 and some, like, cool FM stations, you know. 906 00:51:13,000 --> 00:51:18,000 People were listening to country music that really weren't country. 907 00:51:18,000 --> 00:51:20,000 They really didn't like the twangy stuff. 908 00:51:20,000 --> 00:51:24,000 You know, they didn't like the steel guitars, and this was not that. 909 00:51:24,000 --> 00:51:29,000 This was real mountain music, so it was perfect, and I think we sold, 910 00:51:29,000 --> 00:51:32,000 like, four million records on the dang thing! 911 00:51:32,000 --> 00:51:37,000 When a flower grows wild it can always survive 912 00:51:37,000 --> 00:51:43,000 ALL: Wildflowers don't care where they grow... 913 00:51:43,000 --> 00:51:46,000 Trio went on to win Country Music Association awards, 914 00:51:46,000 --> 00:51:49,000 Academy of Country Music awards, Grammy Awards, 915 00:51:49,000 --> 00:51:51,000 gold record, platinum record! 916 00:51:51,000 --> 00:51:55,000 Four hit singles! It could not have been more successful. It was a... 917 00:51:55,000 --> 00:51:58,000 It was a masterpiece that was a commercial success. What a concept! 918 00:52:00,000 --> 00:52:03,000 After proving Nashville wrong with the success of Trio, 919 00:52:03,000 --> 00:52:06,000 the three tried to regroup, but it didn't run so smoothly 920 00:52:06,000 --> 00:52:08,000 and it took 13 years to release their next album. 921 00:52:10,000 --> 00:52:13,000 Naturally, none of the people that were in charge of us professionally 922 00:52:13,000 --> 00:52:15,000 were eager to do something that would take more time 923 00:52:15,000 --> 00:52:17,000 and make less money and be more trouble, 924 00:52:17,000 --> 00:52:20,000 so it was just really hard to get that happening, 925 00:52:20,000 --> 00:52:22,000 but we wanted to do it, cos we liked the music. 926 00:52:22,000 --> 00:52:24,000 ..that matters 927 00:52:25,000 --> 00:52:28,000 Is the love that we share 928 00:52:28,000 --> 00:52:32,000 And the way that we care 929 00:52:32,000 --> 00:52:34,000 When we're gone 930 00:52:34,000 --> 00:52:37,000 Long gone. 931 00:52:37,000 --> 00:52:40,000 The trio stuck to its successful formula 932 00:52:40,000 --> 00:52:44,000 and Trio II was eventually released in 1999, 933 00:52:44,000 --> 00:52:47,000 following rumours of unharmonious struggles between the artists. 934 00:52:47,000 --> 00:52:50,000 One of us may be having a single coming out, so they said, 935 00:52:50,000 --> 00:52:53,000 "No, we can't put a Trio out!" It was those kind of things. 936 00:52:53,000 --> 00:52:54,000 It was more things, aggravations, 937 00:52:54,000 --> 00:52:59,000 brought on by other people or just things that couldn't be helped. 938 00:52:59,000 --> 00:53:04,000 And when we're gone, gone... 939 00:53:04,000 --> 00:53:06,000 But we loved each other, 940 00:53:06,000 --> 00:53:10,000 and Linda and Emmy are very close, they've stayed very, very close. 941 00:53:10,000 --> 00:53:12,000 The only thing that will have mattered... 942 00:53:12,000 --> 00:53:14,000 'It didn't affect my friendship with Emmy. 943 00:53:14,000 --> 00:53:17,000 'I mean, it just was a hard business thing,' 944 00:53:17,000 --> 00:53:20,000 that's all, you know. There are reasons those things happen 945 00:53:20,000 --> 00:53:21,000 and you just have to accept them. 946 00:53:21,000 --> 00:53:24,000 Er, can we look forward to a Trio III? 947 00:53:24,000 --> 00:53:27,000 Well, we'd like to. You can look forward to it. 948 00:53:27,000 --> 00:53:28,000 We're looking forward to it. 949 00:53:28,000 --> 00:53:31,000 And if this one does well enough for the record label to afford us 950 00:53:31,000 --> 00:53:34,000 to do it, that'd make a difference too, so get out and buy this record! 951 00:53:34,000 --> 00:53:37,000 We need the money. It costs a lot to look this cheap! 953 00:53:39,000 --> 00:53:42,000 And, following Trio's release, there was a resurgence 954 00:53:42,000 --> 00:53:45,000 and a return to country roots and old-time music. 955 00:53:47,000 --> 00:53:54,000 I am a man of constant sorrow... 956 00:53:54,000 --> 00:53:57,000 It did have influence on things like O Brother, Where Art Thou?, 957 00:53:57,000 --> 00:54:00,000 which also was a breakthrough in country music. 958 00:54:00,000 --> 00:54:02,000 It was so wacky! 959 00:54:02,000 --> 00:54:05,000 But it was a similar kind of music that the Trio is. 960 00:54:05,000 --> 00:54:11,000 It was that back to roots, the real deal stuff, you know. 961 00:54:11,000 --> 00:54:12,000 And it exploded! 962 00:54:19,000 --> 00:54:22,000 After our album came out, then Ricky Skaggs had a huge hit 963 00:54:22,000 --> 00:54:24,000 with traditional stuff and then it became... 964 00:54:24,000 --> 00:54:27,000 I think that our album really paved the road for 965 00:54:27,000 --> 00:54:29,000 people like Alison Krauss later on, you know. 966 00:54:29,000 --> 00:54:34,000 Till I find my way back to my heart 967 00:54:34,000 --> 00:54:40,000 For there's no-one but me gonna take my part... 968 00:54:40,000 --> 00:54:47,000 Alison Krauss has popularised that particular traditional sound - 969 00:54:47,000 --> 00:54:52,000 really soulful-sounding music - that Linda and Dolly and Emmy 970 00:54:52,000 --> 00:54:55,000 were plugged into before these artists came along. 971 00:55:06,000 --> 00:55:09,000 Trio III was not to be, when, in 2012, the trio realised 972 00:55:09,000 --> 00:55:12,000 they could never sing together again. 973 00:55:12,000 --> 00:55:16,000 When I heard that Linda had Parkinson's and she wasn't going 974 00:55:16,000 --> 00:55:19,000 to be able to sing, I mean, it cut me like a knife. 975 00:55:19,000 --> 00:55:24,000 It just killed me, and I can only imagine how she must feel! 976 00:55:24,000 --> 00:55:30,000 White snow 977 00:55:30,000 --> 00:55:34,000 In a deep sleep... 978 00:55:34,000 --> 00:55:36,000 This is kind of bittersweet, 979 00:55:36,000 --> 00:55:39,000 because there will be some things that people have not heard before 980 00:55:39,000 --> 00:55:42,000 that were recorded when she was still in her prime 981 00:55:42,000 --> 00:55:47,000 and that gorgeous voice was there for all the world to share in. 982 00:55:47,000 --> 00:55:53,000 ..purple black sky... 983 00:55:55,000 --> 00:55:57,000 I think that showing Linda Ronstadt, 984 00:55:57,000 --> 00:56:00,000 you know, at the height of her powers as a singer, 985 00:56:00,000 --> 00:56:04,000 and in the company of these wonderful collaborators, 986 00:56:04,000 --> 00:56:07,000 will remind people what a force she was. 987 00:56:07,000 --> 00:56:11,000 Oh, that boy of mine 988 00:56:11,000 --> 00:56:13,000 By my side... 989 00:56:13,000 --> 00:56:16,000 'I did so many different kinds of music, you know.' 990 00:56:16,000 --> 00:56:19,000 It all came to me from the living room of the house that I grew up in, 991 00:56:19,000 --> 00:56:22,000 or it came from the radio or from my sister or brother, 992 00:56:22,000 --> 00:56:26,000 so it was just one of the other influences that I've absorbed. 993 00:56:26,000 --> 00:56:28,000 I'm just grateful I got a chance to do it. 994 00:56:28,000 --> 00:56:31,000 Well, I'll never be blue 995 00:56:31,000 --> 00:56:36,000 My dreams come true 996 00:56:36,000 --> 00:56:48,000 On Blue Bayou. 998 00:56:55,000 --> 00:56:57,000 Linda, Emmylou and Dolly were 999 00:56:57,000 --> 00:57:00,000 pioneers in bringing different cultures and music together 1000 00:57:00,000 --> 00:57:04,000 and raising the game for women in the country tradition. 1001 00:57:04,000 --> 00:57:07,000 The Trio now is, er...is legendary. 1002 00:57:07,000 --> 00:57:09,000 You meet these young women today 1003 00:57:09,000 --> 00:57:13,000 that, to them, they're formative musical figures. 1004 00:57:13,000 --> 00:57:16,000 Whether or not they'd describe themselves as feminists, 1005 00:57:16,000 --> 00:57:22,000 they so absolutely and clearly were, you know, way ahead of their time 1006 00:57:22,000 --> 00:57:24,000 in their determination to forge their own career, 1007 00:57:24,000 --> 00:57:28,000 regardless of what anybody else thought they should be. 1008 00:57:28,000 --> 00:57:31,000 People, I think, will look back when they're studying music... 1009 00:57:31,000 --> 00:57:33,000 Well, you like to think those kind of things, 1010 00:57:33,000 --> 00:57:36,000 like, when you're gone, how will you be remembered? 1011 00:57:36,000 --> 00:57:38,000 But I'd like to think, like, in school, in music school, 1012 00:57:38,000 --> 00:57:41,000 I think people will point to that Trio 1013 00:57:41,000 --> 00:57:44,000 and it'll have the best of all three of us. 1014 00:57:44,000 --> 00:57:46,000 I'll treasure it till the day I'm gone, 1015 00:57:46,000 --> 00:57:51,000 which we're old enough to be any day now, but... Any day now! 1016 00:57:51,000 --> 00:57:53,000 Knock on wood! 1017 00:57:53,000 --> 00:57:56,000 You don't knock You don't knock, you just walk on in 1018 00:57:56,000 --> 00:57:58,000 The door The door to Heaven's den 1019 00:57:58,000 --> 00:58:01,000 There's love There's love and joy for you 1020 00:58:01,000 --> 00:58:04,000 To share To share the whole day through 1021 00:58:04,000 --> 00:58:07,000 I know I know my friends are there 1022 00:58:07,000 --> 00:58:10,000 To rest To rest in the Heaven's nest 1023 00:58:10,000 --> 00:58:12,000 You don't knock... 1024 00:58:12,000 --> 00:58:19,000 You just walk on in. 1025 00:58:26,000 --> 00:58:28,000 'From the heights of the Scottish Highlands 1026 00:58:28,000 --> 00:58:32,000 'to the shores of East Anglia, I've travelled across Britain...' 1027 00:58:32,000 --> 00:58:33,000 We got a fish! 1028 00:58:33,000 --> 00:58:35,000 '..to learn about the food I cook for my family...' 1029 00:58:35,000 --> 00:58:38,000 Tell me, what is so good about these potatoes?