Longtime friends and admirers of one another, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt first attempted to record an album together in the mid-1970s, but scheduling conflicts and other difficulties (including the fact that the three women all recorded for different record labels) prevented its release.
Some of the fruits of those aborted 1970s recording sessions did make it onto the women's respective solo albums. “Mr. Sandman” and “Evangeline” appeared on Harris’ album Evangeline and Parton’s “My Blue Tears” was included on Ronstadt’s 1982 album Get Closer. Rodney Crowell’s “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” was on Harris’ Blue Kentucky Girl album.
Trio was a dream album when it came out, back in 1987. Three of the biggest names, and voices, in country, country/rock, and americana all gathered together on one record and singing in perfect harmony.
The three women assembled a host of big name musicians for the album, that included Albert Lee, David Lindley, Ry Cooder, Herb Pedersen, Leland Sklar, Russ Kunkel, Mark O’Connor, and many more. Of the three main artists, only Emmylou Harris plays an instrument on the album, contributing her acoustic guitar playing to three of the album’s eleven tracks. Only Parton wrote for the album, contributing two songs, “Wildflowers” and the opening track, “The Pain of Loving You,” which she had co-written with Porter Wagoner. The remaining nine tracks include two traditional songs and a mix of contemporary songs from various writers, including Phil Spector, Kate McGarrigle, Jean Ritchie, and Linda Thompson (writing with Betsy Cook).
It’s an eclectic collection of songs designed to show off the three voices and it does the job perfectly. The Cashbox magazine review at the time said “The long-awaited collaboration of three of country/pop’s greatest voices is an unqualified success. The near-perfect song selection gives the three ample room to develop subtleties and nuance that in places is heart-rending. These three singular voices blend together in seamless harmony, floating over the sweetest country melodies and poignant understated lyrics.”
The album would also be a major commercial success, achieving platinum status in the USA alone and racking up worldwide sales in excess of 4 million units. The album itself topped the Billboard Country albums chart and would achieve top ten status in the Billboard Top 200 albums chart. They released four singles from the album and each of them achieved top ten status in the country charts. The awards inevitably followed. The album received three Grammy nominations and won in the Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal category. It also won the Academy of Country Music Award for Album of the Year for 1987 and the award for Vocal Event of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards 1988.
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