Elite hotel

Several songs on the album were originally recorded for Pieces of the Sky , but were not included in it, for example, “ Here, There and Everywhere ” by The Beatles ^[1] . The disc became one of the largest tributes to the work of Graham Parsons in the career of a singer ^[2] . Here, his legacy was immediately represented by three compositions - “Sin City”, “Ooh Las Vegas” and “Wheels” ^[3] . In honor of the latter, it was even originally planned to name the album itself ^[1] . Among the classics of the country genre, there were ballads “ Together Again ” by Buck Owens and “Sweet Dreams” by Don Gibson ^[1] . The singer also made popular the previously little-known song "One of These Days" from the repertoire of George Jones ^[4] .

In general, Elite Hotel continued the trend towards heterogeneity of material laid down at Pieces of the Sky ^[5] . However, at the same time, the album sounded coarser and sharper than its predecessor ^[1] . In particular, the record had more fun and fast tracks, like “Feelin 'Single, Seein' Double” by Wayne Kemp , “Jambalaya” by Hank Williams or “Amarillo” ^[1] . The latter Harris helped compose Rodney Crowell , whose song "Till I Gain Control Again" is also present on the album ^[1] . Vocally, the singer moved away from the image of the “wounded bird” that she successfully used on Pieces of the Sky and this time sounded more motherly and instructive, especially in such songs as “Amarillo” and “Ooh Las Vegas” ^[1] .

On this disc, Harris first recorded with her new band The Hot Band, which included, among others, Crowell, as well as James Burton and Glen Hardin from the ensemble of Elvis Presley ^[6] . Among the guests on the album were Linda Ronstadt , pianist Bill Payne from the group Little Feat and songwriter Jonathan Edwards ^[7] . The site for the record sessions was again the mansion in Beverly Hills and the mobile studio trailer Enactron Truck producer Brian Ahern ^[1] . Some of the songs were recorded at a concert in the Hollywood club Roxy Theater with the imposition of individual parts in the studio ^[8] . Among them was the hit song “Sweet Dreams”, for which Bernie Ladon from the Eagles group ^[1] prescribed a guitar in the trailer.

According to Herb Pedersen , who performed vocal harmonies on most tracks with Elite Hotel , the general focus and approach on the album was similar to Pieces of the Sky , but now the participants of the record sessions were extremely enthusiastic, and their work was driven by a certain ideological motivation. The progressiveness of the Enactron Truck studio and the quality of the recordings made at that time attracted the attention of the country scene and the Nashville music industry. Although the people involved in the creation of the album did not have contempt for the “country capital,” they sought to demonstrate that Los Angeles also has great musicians and Nashville is by no means the only place to do country ^[1] . In 2004, the restored Elite Hotel was released with two bonus tracks: “You're Running Wild” (a duet of Harris and Crowell) and “Cajun Born” with accordion parts performed by Joe El Saunier and a fiddle from Ricky Skaggs ^[9] .

The album topped the Top Country Albums chart and hit No. 25 on the Billboard 200 ^[10] . The singles “ Together Again ” and “Sweet Dreams” reached the top of the Hot Country Songs chart ^[11] . The song “One of These Days” reached No. 3 in the same place, and “ Here, There and Everywhere ” reached No. 65 on the Hot 100 chart ^[12] . The album also brought Harris the first Grammy Award - in the category " Best Female Vocal Country Performance " ^[13] . In sales, Elite Hotel received gold status ^[14] .

Bonus Tracks for 2004 Reissue:

1. “You're Running Wild” (with Rodney Crowell) ( Ray Edenton , Don Winters) - 1:44
2. “Cajun Born” (with Joe El Saunier ) (Joe El Sauniere, Kermit Goell ) - 3:19

• Brian Ahern - Producer, Sound Engineer
• Bradley Hartman - Sound Engineer
• Rudy Hill - Sound Engineer
• Stuart Taylor - Sound Engineer
• Miles Wilkinson - Sound Engineer

• Cooper, Daniel. Emmylou Harris: Out of the Past (English) // The Journal of Country Music: Journal. - Country Music Foundation, 1996. - Vol. 18 , no. 2 . - P. 9-19 .
• DeYoung, Bill. Emmylou Harris: The Sweetheart of the Rodeo (Eng.) // Goldmine: Journal. - 1996 .-- 2 August ( vol. 22 , iss. 418 , no. 16 ). Archived July 21, 2018.
• Dicaire, David. Emmylou Harris. Cosmic American Female // The New Generation of Country Music Stars: Biographies of 50 Artists Born After 1940 . - McFarland & Company, Inc, Publishers, 2008. - P. 61-68. - 275 p. - ISBN 9780786485598 .
• George-Warren, Holly . Notes on Elite Hotel by Emmylou Harris, pp. 2-19 [CD]. Warner bros Records, 1975, 2004 (8122-78109-2).
• Schneider, Jason. Whispering Pines: The Northern Roots of American Music ... from Hank Snow to the Band . - ECW Press, 2010 .-- S. 228-231. - 318 p. - ISBN 9781554905522 .
• Watts, Derek. From a Deeper Well // Country Boy: A Biography of Albert Lee . - McFarland & Company, Inc, Publishers, 2008 .-- P. 137-152. - 279 p. - ISBN 9780786436583 .
• Wolff, Kurt. Emmylou Harris // Country Music: The Rough Guide / Orla Duane. - Rough Guides, 2000 .-- P. 406–408. - 596 p. - ISBN 9781858285344 .