Happy 40th: Emmylou Harris, Elite Hotel

40 years ago today, Emmylou Harris released her second album of 1975. This is an impressive enough feat when you consider how long most artists take between albums nowadays, but what's even more impressive is the fact that Elite Hotel managed to surpass the success of its predecessor, Pieces of the Sky, and climb all the way to the top of the Billboard Country Albums chart.

By 1975, Harris was one of the most acclaimed country and western singers in the business as well she should've been, given the material she was putting out at the time, but Elite Hotel was particularly strong even by her standards. It was also an album that spotlighted the diversity of Harris's musical tastes by featuring her interpretations of songs by the Beatles, Buck Owens, and Hank Williams, not to mention peers like Rodney Crowell, Chris Hillman, and Gram Parsons.

Elite Hotel is probably best remembered for its two #1 country singles: “Together Again,” an Owens composition, and “Sweet Dreams,” the Don Gibson song that ultimately became Patsy Cline's theme song. Rest assured, however, that there's no song on the album that won't stick with you for the long haul.