An Influential Album

Some bluegrass purists scoff at Emmylou Harris’s groundbreaking 1979 album, “Roses In the Snow”, but like The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Will the Circle Be Unbroken”, it introduced bluegrass musicians, singing style, instrumentation, songs, and songwriters to an uninitiated audience — through mainstream country radio at that.

“Roses In the Snow” remains one of my favorite albums. I have owned it on vinyl, cassette, and CD. I still remember trying to nail down Ricky Skaggs’s Stanley-style melismatic vocals. I learned how because of this record.

Here are Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, and Ricky Skaggs from a 1979 tribute to Mother Maybelle Carter, with the final track from “Roses In the Snow”. This is “Gold Watch and Chain”.