Harris' spiritual progeny

Emmylou Harris first gained notice as duet partner of the late great Gram Parsons, who died in 1973. She has continued to carry Parsons' stylistic flame since then, serving as inspiration to generations of singers straddling rock, folk and country:

Alison Krauss -- Fittingly, Krauss' voice played the role of siren in the 2000 movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," singing a bewitching seduction song in harmony with Harris and Gillian Welch.

Patty Griffin -- Superlative singer/songwriter Harris has long championed, and covered. Harris, Griffin and Shawn Colvin played Chapel Hill last January on a tour dubbed "Three Girls and Their Buddy" (with guitarist Buddy Miller, another Harris associate, currently playing on the Krauss/Robert Plant tour).

Beth Orton -- Dusky-voiced English singer whose electronic-influenced folk bears some resemblance to the ambient albums Harris has been making since the mid-1990s.

Tres Chicas -- The local trio of Lynn Blakey, Caitlin Cary and Tonya Lamm would be a perfect backup choir for Harris (hint, hint). Harris has also sung with Cary's former Whiskeytown bandmate Ryan Adams.

Tift Merritt -- When Harris played on CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman" on June 12, Triangle expatriate Merritt was there as one of her backup singers.

Kelly Clarkson -- Seriously. Like Harris, seemingly everyone loves the season-one "American Idol" winner, even people you wouldn't expect (including uber-hip indie-rocker Ted Leo). Clarkson has even moved in a country direction of late, touring with Reba McEntire.

David Menconi