Trio: How Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt Became the Ultimate Supergroup

Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt were three of the most gifted singers of the '60s and '70s, and in the '80s, these three women combined their powers when they formed a supergroup, simply called Trio.

Trio released their self-titled album in 1987, and it topped the Billboard Country chart and won a Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. In 1999, they released their second and final album, Trio II.

Here's a look back at how Trio came to be and why they remain one of the greatest supergroups.

How the Trio band was formed

The Trio band album was long in the making. Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt were all successful artists with music that bridged country, folk, rock and pop.

As women in a music scene that was still largely dominated by men, Parton, Harris and Ronstadt had long expressed mutual admiration for each other, and there wasn't any competition among the singers as one might expect.

The three women first sang together in 1975, and as Harris recalled, "The sound that we made together surprised and astonished the three of us." As soon as their voices came together in gorgeous harmony, they knew they had something special, and they began working on an album in 1979. This first effort ultimately fizzled out, but in the '80s, as their schedules and creative interests aligned, they finally got back into the studio and made magic happen.

The music of Trio

The 1987 Trio album features two Parton songs, "The Pain of Loving You" and "Wildflowers," as well as pop classics like "To Know Him Is to Love Him," traditional songs and songs by contemporary female folk singer-songwriters like Linda Thompson and Kate McGarrigle.

The songs are all carried by the singers' dreamy harmonies, and while they made it sound effortless, collaborating wasn't always easy. As Parton amusingly said, "Linda is such a perfectionist. She’s a pain in the ass sometimes because she is such a perfectionist. She will not have it unless it’s perfect. She used to make me sing those harmonies over and over and over."

Rondstadt may have been a perfectionist, but she didn't have an ego, and part of what makes Trio stand out is how it was a true collaboration, with no one singer dominating the songs. Each woman brought her own distinct vibe, while also being game to be part of a whole, with three voices singing as one. Parton described the experience of singing with Harris and Ronstadt as being "like a high like you’ve never felt."

Trio was a hit, and it had crossover appeal thanks to its A-list performers and eclectic song selection. The album's low-key, vocal-centric production set it apart from much of the music that was popular in the '80s, and Ronstadt felt that many listeners misunderstand the album, saying, "I don’t think anybody liked the idea of three women singers. I don’t think anybody liked the idea of us not being in a niche. It wasn’t rock’n’roll, it wasn’t country, it wasn’t this, it wasn’t that. It was old-timey music."

The musical sisterhood of Trio still endures over 35 years later, and Parton, Harris and Ronstadt remain friends to this day. The fact that the group couldn't be put into a box made their combined talents all the more potent. After all, when you have three women who sing that beautifully, the harmonies truly speak for themselves.