White Shoes

This article is about the country album. For other uses, see White Shoes (disambiguation).
White Shoes
Studio album by
Emmylou Harris
ReleasedOctober 1983
GenreCountry
Length34:47
LabelWarner Bros.[1]
ProducerBrian Ahern
Emmylou Harris chronology
Last Date
(1982) 		White Shoes
(1983) 		Profile II: The Best of Emmylou Harris
(1984)
Singles from White Shoes
  1. "Drivin' Wheel"
    Released: August 1983
  2. "In My Dreams"
    Released: March 24, 1984
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide[1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]

White Shoes is the tenth studio album by Emmylou Harris, released in 1983.[5][6] The album includes a rockish version of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend", a country remake of the Donna Summer hit "On the Radio", and a version of Sandy Denny's "Like an Old Fashioned Waltz". Both "In My Dreams" and "Pledging My Love" hit the #9 position on the Billboard country music singles chart in 1984.

"In My Dreams" won for Emmylou Harris her third Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards. The song was written by Paul Kennerley, who would become Emmylou Harris' third husband in 1985.

Production

White Shoes was produced by Brian Ahern, and would be the last album that Harris would record with him until her Grammy-nominated album All I Intended to Be in 2008.[3] They would divorce the year after this album was released.

Critical reception

The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that "there's a hoarse, quavery quality in Harris' voice that's a welcome relief from the crisp, crystalline warbling that's long been her trademark."[7]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Drivin' Wheel"T-Bone Burnett, Billy Swan3:10
2."Pledging My Love"Don Robey, Fats Washington3:00
3."In My Dreams"Paul Kennerley3:15
4."White Shoes"Jack Tempchin3:30
5."On the Radio"Giorgio Moroder, Donna Summer5:11
6."It's Only Rock 'n' Roll"Rodney Crowell2:55
7."Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend"Leo Robin, Jule Styne3:39
8."Good News"Shirley Eikhard3:52
9."Baby, Better Start Turnin' 'Em Down"Crowell3:04
10."Like an Old Fashioned Waltz"Sandy Denny3:11

Personnel

  • Emmylou Harris – vocals, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
  • Brian Ahern – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, 6-string bass, percussion, tambourine
  • Barbara Bennett – backing vocals
  • Mike Bowden – bass
  • Bonnie Bramlett – backing vocals
  • Tony Brown – piano, electric piano
  • T Bone Burnett – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, percussion, backing vocals
  • Rodney Crowell – acoustic guitar
  • Hank DeVito – steel guitar
  • Shirley Eikhard – backing vocals
  • Steve Fishell – steel guitar, Melobar
  • Wayne Goodwin – baritone saxophone
  • Glen D. Hardin – electric piano, string arrangements
  • Don Heffington – drums
  • Jim Horn – recorders
  • Don Johnson – piano, electric piano, backing vocals
  • Keith Knudsen – drums
  • John McFee – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
  • Bill Payne – piano, electric piano, keyboards, synthesizer
  • Mickey Raphael – harmonica
  • Frank Reckard – electric guitar
  • Barry Tashian – acoustic guitar, backing vocals
  • John Ware – drums

Technical personnel

  • Brian Ahern – producer, engineer
  • Donivan Cowart – engineer
  • Stuart Taylor – engineer
  • Alan Vachon – engineer

Charts

Release history

Release history and formats for White Shoes
Region Date Format Label Ref.
North America October 1983
  • LP
  • cassette
 Warner Bros. Records [11]

References

  1. ^ a b MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 350.
  2. ^ Ankeny, Jason. White Shoes at AllMusic
  3. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4. MUZE. pp. 149–150.
  4. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 307–308.
  5. ^ "Emmylou Harris | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  6. ^ "The Rough Guide to Rock". Rough Guides. May 3, 2003 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ Rea, Steven X. (13 Nov 1983). "EMMYLOU HARRIS' LATEST". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. H5.
  8. ^ "Emmylou Harris Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  9. ^ "Emmylou Harris Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  10. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1984". Billboard. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  11. ^ Harris, Emmylou (October 1982). "White Shoes (Liner Notes)". Warner Bros. Records. 1-23961 (LP); W4-23961 (Cassette).



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