Dolly, Linda, and Emmylou's careers took off in the 1970s with very distinct takes on country music. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris ended up uniting 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 the mid-70s USA.

Folk singer Emmylou learned about country music from mentor Gram Parsons. 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 singing sisters and eventually collaborating on their debut country 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 sees unreleased songs from their sessions 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, Allison Krause, George Massenberg & Applewood Road.

Songs heard in the complete, hour-long music biography include After The Gold Rush, Silver Threads and Golden Needles, Those Memories Of You, 9 To 5, Jolene, Coat of Many Colors, Bury Me Beneath The Willow, Wildflowers, Boulder To Birmingham, I've Got A Crush On You, So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star, Blue Bayou, You're No Good, To Know Him Is To Love Him, I Fall To Pieces, Okie From Muskogee, and much more.

Watch more Trio' videos on Cal Vid:
Dolly Parton Here You Come Again https://youtu.be/lHA864f2b4o
Linda Ronstadt 2021 Interview https://youtu.be/QZpknXvuv5k
Linda Ronstadt Live in London 1976 https://youtu.be/vKXv0xf5mcc
First Trio collaboration on The Dolly Parton Show: https://youtu.be/Ng02J8L57Ps
Emmylou Harris pre-Trio songs live: https://youtu.be/pSWE2Qy5e1k
Dolly Parton Alive and Well Concert: https://youtu.be/nXG3nE-HG4o