Emmylou Harris Is So Unintentionally Hilarious That She Could Have Been A Comedian

I believe Emmylou Harris could have taken on an entirely different profession.

When most people think of country legend Emmylou Harris, they picture just that: a country music icon. With her fourteen Grammy awards and three Country Music Association (CMA) awards, she makes her influence undeniable in the country music space. However, I think she deserves to be recognized for something else as well— her impeccable comedic timing and dry wit.

If you aren’t familiar with Emmylou Harris…I must ask— have you been living on a different planet? Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008, she is widely known for her country hits like “Boulder to Birmingham” and “Red Dirt Girl”. She’s also largely credited for shaking up the country genre in the 1970s, being appraised as one of the driving forces behind the popularity of the country-rock fusion genre.

Of course, I can’t forget to mention the many iconic collaborations she has been a part of in her career. Some of my favorites being her Trio album with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt and her contribution in the live rendition of “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die” with Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffett, Sheryl Crow, Eric Church, George Strait, Dave Matthews, Chris Stapleton, Derek Trucks, Kris Kristofferson, and The Avett Brothers.

While going down an Emmylou rabbit hole, rewatching her interviews and live performances, I couldn’t help but notice how unintentionally hilarious she truly was.

I was surprised more people weren’t pointing out her quick wit. Being an artist comes with the ability to think outside the box and come up with quick creative responses to new situations, so it doesn’t surprise me that she would be a natural at comedic timing, but I do think it’s an interesting thing to point out.

Emmylou has even stated in an interview that before seriously considering a career in music, she wanted to be an actress. She even went to school for it on a drama scholarship. Perhaps this is the explanation for her outstanding moments of improvisation.

One clip I found was from one of her live performances with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt featured on the Dolly show. She is pictured sitting in the front row of the audience shoveling popcorn into her mouth. When Dolly Parton spots Emmylou and Linda in the audience she playfully prompts them with the question, 

“What are you doing in the audience?” 

Emmylou responds quickly with, 

“It’s the only way we can get anything to eat”. 

Dolly erupts with laughter, and I can’t deny I had a chuckle as well.

Another clip I found was from a live performance in 2023 at the Earl Scruggs Fest. While in the middle of playing “Here I Am”, she forgets the first lyric of the second verse but recovers quickly with a witty remark. She says:

“Okay I’m gonna… I forgot that line, but I wrote the song so I’m gonna do it again”.

This cues some giggles and cheers from the crowd. What an iconic comeback.

Lastly, my favorite moments I found were from a 2019 panel interview with Emmylou and The Hot Band for the County Music Hall of Fame. In the interview she talks about her experiences with her band and recounts moments in her music career. While a fantastic panel, there are some hilarious moments that are hard to ignore, like when she starts talking about her bandmates and their time recording and performing music together. She zeros in on the obvious chemistry the group had: 

“I just have to say that we had so much fun… it should have been illegal, and maybe some of it was…” 

Whatever they were doing on those tour buses and in those recording studios, I’m sure they had a blast. I’m also glad no one got arrested so the world got to hear the “Pieces In The Sky” album. I don’t think I could live without it.  

Another great moment from this panel was when Emmylou talked about the recording process. She explains that occasionally the band could record a song in one take, while other times there needed to be some post-production manipulation. She acknowledges how that is okay, and oftentimes is the case. Not everything comes easy, but as long as there is some solid foundation to work with, something good can be made from it. She then quotes her musician friend John Sterling with perfect comedic timing, stating, 

“You can’t make chicken salad out of chicken sh*t.”

May I just say, what a quote to live by. The tone in which she says this makes me roll over laughing, she is just too funny.

While always finding ways to sneak in bits of her humor in interviews and performances, I can definitively say I’m grateful she chose to prioritize her career in music over one in acting or comedy— even though it’s clear she has the chops and wit for it.

Next time you come across a video of Emmylou, pay closer attention, and you may be able to catch new moments where her comedic charm shines.The post Emmylou Harris Is So Unintentionally Hilarious That She Could Have Been A Comedian first appeared on Whiskey Riff.