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Sisters in Country: Dolly, Linda and Emmylou

How Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris's careers took off in the 1970s with distinct takes on country, but how they ended up uniting as close harmony singers on Trio.

Documentary which explores how Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris's careers took off in the 1970s with very distinct takes on country before they ended up uniting as close harmony singers and eventually collaborated on 1987's four-million-selling debut album, Trio.

In the 60s, country music was viewed by most of America as blue collar, and Dolly was country through and through. Linda Ronstadt's take on classic country helped make her the biggest female star in mid-70s America. Folkie Emmylou learned about country from mentor Gram Parsons and, after his death in 1973, she became a bandleader in her own right. It was Emmylou and Linda - the two west coast folk rockers - who voiced their mutual appreciation of Dolly, the mountain girl singer from Tennessee, when they became early students of her work.

The artists talk about uniting as harmony singers and eventually collaborating on their debut album, Trio. The album helped launch the mountain music revival that would peak with the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou? In 2012, Linda Ronstadt was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, which left her unable to sing, but 2016 saw unreleased songs from their sessions compiled to create a third Trio album. This is the story of how their alliance made them pioneers in bringing different music worlds together and raising the game for women in the country tradition.

Contributors: Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Rodney Crowell, George Lucas, Peter Asher, Chris Hillman, Laura Cantrell, Robert K Oermann, John Boylan, Phil Kaufman, David Lindley, Albert Lee, Herb Pedersen, George Massenberg and Applewood Road.

1 hour

Last on

Fri 17 Oct 2025 23:10

Music Played

  • Dolly Parton

    Jolene

  • Linda Ronstadt

    Silver Threads & Golden Needles

  • Emmylou Harris and The Hot Band

    Amarillo

  • Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris

    Silver Threads & Golden Needles

  • Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris

    Bury Me Beneath the Willow Tree

  • Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris

    Those Memories of You

  • Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs

    Nashville Skyline Rag

  • Loretta Lynn

    The Home You're Tearing Down

  • Dolly Parton

    Joshua

  • Porter Wagoner & The Wagonmasters

    Howdy Neighbor Howdy

  • Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton

    The Last Thing on my Mind

  • Dolly Parton

    Coat of Many Colours

  • Dolly Parton

    Dumb Blonde

  • The Beatles

    I Saw Her Standing There

  • Lola Beltr谩n

    Por un Amor

  • The Everly Brothers

    When Will I Be Loved

  • The Byrds

    So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star

  • The Stone Poneys

    A Different Drum

  • Linda Ronstadt

    I Fall To Pieces

  • Joan Baez

    Don't Think Twice It's All Right

  • Emmylou Harris

    Fugue for the Ox

  • Merle Haggard

    Oke from Muskogee

  • The Flying Burrito Brothers

    Christine's Tune

  • George Jones & Tammy Wynette

    We're Gonna Hold On

  • Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels

    That's All It Took

  • Gram Parsons

    Ooh Las Vegas

  • Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels

    Six Days on the Road

  • Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris

    The New Soft Shoe

  • Emmylou Harris

    Boulder to Birmingham

  • Linda Ronstadt

    You're No Good

  • Linda Ronstadt

    When Will I Be Loved

  • Emmylou Harris

    Coat of Many Colours

  • Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris

    The Sweetest Gift

  • Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris

    Applejack

  • Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris

    Mr Sandman

  • Emmylou Harris and The Hot Band

    Born to Run

  • Linda Ronstadt

    Tell Him

  • Linda Ronstadt

    I've Got A Crush On You

  • Dolly Parton

    9 to 5

  • Dan Seals

    Bop

  • Alabama

    A Forty Hour Week For A Living

  • Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris

    The Pain of Loving You

  • Jean Ritchie

    My Dear Companion

  • Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris

    My Dear Companion

  • Applewood Road

    My Dear Companion

  • Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris

    Rosewood Casket

  • Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris

    Hobo's Meditation

  • Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris

    To Know Him Is To Love Him

  • Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris

    Wildflowers

  • Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris

    After the Goldrush

  • The Soggy Bottom Boys

    I'm A Man of Constant Sorrow

  • Alison Krauss & Union Station

    Find My Way Back to My Heart

  • Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris

    White Snow

  • Linda Ronstadt

    Blue Bayou

  • David Grisman, Roy Huskey, Jr., Jackson, Jim Keltner, Alison Krauss, Starling, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris & Linda Ronstadt

    When We're Gone, Long Gone

  • Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris

    You Don't Knock

Credits

Role Contributor
Narrator KT Tunstall
Producer Dione Newton
Director Dione Newton
Executive Producer Mark Cooper
Participant Dolly Parton
Participant Linda Ronstadt
Participant Emmylou Harris

Broadcasts

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