You don’t have to love country music to love Emmylou Harris.
Music fans of every sort tend to adore the trailblazing siren who found her roots singing backup for the revered Gram Parsons and has interpreted his country-rock spirit through her creative endeavors since his death nearly 35 years ago.
There are countless cliches about Harris, who co-headlines Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Friday with John Prine. The most often pronounced: She has the voice of an angel.
True as that is, Harris is more than just an extraordinary musician. She’s evolved into an icon and the member of an exclusive club of female country musicians — historic artists like Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline — whose voices spill out with honesty, beauty and truth.
When these women sing, we pay attention not because we want to, but because we have to. Listen to Harris backing up Parsons on “Hickory Wind” or “We’ll Sweep Out the Ashes in the Morning,” or check out her solo work, including the forthcoming “All I Intended to Be,” out June 10, and you’ll hear that spark.
And it adds new flame to a fire that smolders throughout a loosely knit collection of female singers the country crowd likes to call legends. They are bound together by something earnest in their voices, a sincere quality that defines the genre.
Harris’ visit inspires us to look back, and forward, at singers who blazed the trail and those who now keep it tended, and to listen again or anew.
The Trailblazers
KITTY WELLS
Got her start: 1936
Trivia: Where was Wells born? Nashville, of course — as Muriel Deason.
Why she’s important: She got her start singing on local radio with her sisters, but it wasn’t until 1952’s “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” that Wells was a hit on her own. She was in the Top 10 regularly throughout the ’50s and early ’60s, and all of her accomplishments — including her induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame — have come because of her groundbreaking presence in her hometown.
Recommended listening: You can’t go wrong with 1960’s “Kitty’s Choice.”
If you’re going to download only one song: “Heartbreak U.S.A.” reveals all her charms.
JUNE CARTER
Got her start: 1937.
Trivia: Who wrote Johnny Cash’s iconic rager “Ring of Fire”? June Carter and Merle Kilgore.
Why she’s important: She’s often called “the matriarch of country music,” and for good reason. Music was a family affair with Carter, who later became Carter Cash via her famous marriage to Johnny Cash. Her music is simple mountain folk music, and her voice was the voice of an Everywoman.
Recommended listening: Her recordings are spotty, so go with the best-of “Keep on the Sunny Side: Her Life in Music.”
If you’re going to download only one song: “Foggy Mountain Top” tells the story of a country girl marrying “the boy I love the best.”
PATSY CLINE
Got her start: 1955
Trivia: Cline famously died in a plane crash. How old was she, and when was it? It was March 1963, and she was 30.
Why she’s important: Cline had The Voice. She was the Etta James or Janis Joplin of country music. She quickly established herself as a confident singer and her crossover success broke ground for acts like Shania Twain and Dixie Chicks.
Recommended listening: She released only three records during her life, and “Patsy Cline Showcase” is a doozy.
If you’re going to download only one song: “Back in Baby’s Arms” is a whimsical and underrated Cline tune.
DOLLY PARTON
Got her start: 1958
Trivia: Name one Parton song covered by Whitney Houston, and name another covered by the White Stripes. Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” ruined the ’90s for some. The Stripes’ “Jolene” is a direct homage to Parton’s songwriting.
Why she’s important: Parton is all about putting on a show. On stage and screen, she’s the decked-out blond. In real life, she’s the savvy media maven behind records, films and the Dollywood amusement park. Her recent music has been hit or miss — steer clear of the new “Backwoods Barbie” — but her early output was gold.
Recommended listening: “Jolene” is a gorgeous and lush record. And eight of its 10 songs were written by Parton.
If you’re going to download only one song: The bittersweet “When Someone Wants to Leave.”
LORETTA LYNN
Got her start: 1960
Trivia: How old was she when she first married? She was 13, in January 1949, to Oliver “Moody” Lynn.
Why she’s important: She recorded at Decca Records with Patsy Cline and Owen Bradley, but her influence spans multiple mediums. “Coal Miner’s Daughter” was a hit song, and the title for her biography, then one of the best biopics ever. Plus Lynn hooked up with Jack White (of the White Stripes) for 2004’s “Van Lear Rose,” a rocking return for a singer who still knew how to throw down.
Recommended listening: “Coal Miner’s Daughter” is collection of originals and covers, and it’s a potent blast.
If you’re going to download only one song: “Portland Oregon” from her latest effort, is a timeless surprise.
The new legends
ALISON KRAUSS
Got her start: 1985
Trivia: How old was Krauss when she signed to prestigious Rounder Records? She was 14.
Why she’s important: Krauss is all over the place. Last year she recorded a record with rocker Robert Plant, and they’re touring this summer. Her voice is one of the most intoxicating in the game and her decades of work with Union Station remains fresh today.
Recommended listening: “So Long So Wrong” proves that she’s a star and a team player.
If you’re going to download only one song: “I’ll Fly Away,” Krauss’ duet with Gillian Welch, is a lovely example of both ladies’ an an homage to their country roots.
LEE ANN WOMACK
Got her start: 1990
Trivia: What did Womack study at South Plains Junior College in Levelland, Texas? She got a degree in country and bluegrass music, of course.
Why she’s important: Womack’s likable and crystalline vocals made even the sappy “I Hope You Dance” into a worthy listen. Of country music’s elite platinum sellers, Womack has the most diverse instrument of the bunch.
Recommended listening: “There’s more Where That Came from” is a delightful throwback to 1970s country aesthetics.
If you’re only going to download one song: “I Might Hate Myself in the Morning” showcases her ability to deliver a line with conviction.
GILLIAN WELCH
Got her start: 1992
Trivia: Who helped break Welch’s career? T-Bone Burnett, who saw her play in Nashville and produced her debut, “Revival.”
Why she’s important: Welch and her partner, David Rawlings, have created a catalog of music that defies classification, and she doesn’t always play by the rules. Her stark and ominous version of Radiohead’s “Black Star” is the kind of cover few could pull off.
Recommended listening: “Revival” was Welch’s first outing, and the paleness of “Orphan Girl” and “Annabelle” makes it a must-have.
If you’re going to download only one song: “Look at Miss Ohio” is Welch’s most-covered song. The writing is creative and it helped solidify Welch as a potent voice in the subgenres that litter the country, folk and bluegrass landscapes.
JOLIE HOLLAND
Got her start: 1995
Trivia: Holland was once nominated for the esteemed Shortlist music prize. Who nominated her? None other than Tom Waits.
Why she’s important: You hear the Billie Holiday in Holland’s voice, and it doesn’t hurt that the singer also employs a ’50s-era jazz feel in her quirky Americana music. After working with the Be Good Tanyas, Holland broke out to spread the gospel of her occasionally perverse songs like “Old Fashioned Morphine” and “Springtime Can Kill You.”
Recommended listening: “Springtime,” her 2006 release on Anti- Records — where she is a labelmate of Case, Waits and Denver’s own DeVotchKa — is a lovely listen for yeah, a spring afternoon.
If you’re only going to download one song: “Crush in the Ghetto” will give you an idea of Holland’s emotional range.
NEKO CASE
Got her start: 1997
Trivia: Case plays with Vancouver indie pop supergroup the New Pornographers, but is she American or Canadian? She’s American, born in Virginia in 1970 and raised (mostly) in Washington state.
Why she’s important: With any of these ladies, you could write entire essays on their voice. Case’s voice isn’t as fluttery as Krauss’ or as detached as Welch’s. But it’s bold and possessed, and meant to be heard on its own, accompanied by a guitar. Her skills as a songwriter, too, shouldn’t be discounted. She wrote every song on 2006’s “Fox Confessor Brings the Flood,” and one listen to that epic will let you in on a talent some consider America’s best-kept secret.
Recommended listening: “Canadian Amp” is an EP of mostly covers, but it’s Case’s strongest, most consistent outing.
If you’re going to download only one song: Case’s take on Lisa Marr’s “In California” drips with the desire to be somewhere you’re not.
Ricardo Baca: 303-954-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com
