WAUKEGAN -- While she is a musician who defies easy categorization, Emmylou Harris can be defined in part by looking at a roster of singers she's collaborated with over the last four decades:
Johnny Cash, Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, John Denver, the Dixie Chicks, Bob Dylan, Mark Knopfler, Lyle Lovett, Dave Matthews, Sarah McLachlan, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Bruce Springsteen. For starters.
Tom Cruze Where: Genesee Theatre, Waukegan
When: 8 p.m. March 30
Tickets: $37.
50, $42.50, $47.50 and $65
Details: Genesee Theatre Box Office, noon to 5:30 p.
m. Monday through Friday.
Ticketmaster: (312) 559-1212.
In other words, though she is best known as a country artist -- nine of her 12 Grammy Awards have come in country categories -- Harris is better known for having a voice with no boundaries.
For those planning to catch her on March 30 at the Genesee Theatre, here is a look at her life in and out of music:
*Born: April 2, 1947, in Birmingham, Ala., the daughter of a career military man who moved his family to Virginia and North Carolina, where she attended both high school and college (University of North Carolina at Greensboro).
*Early years: Harris began dabbling in folk music in the late 1960s, hanging around the Greenwich Village folk scene. She married songwriter Tom Slocum and issued a debut album called "Gliding Rose" on now-defunct Jubilee Records in 1970.
*Discovery: Singing with her band one night in 1971, Harris captured the ear of Chris Hillman, former bass player for The Byrds who had moved on to the Flying Burrito Brothers.
He recommended the young singer to former Burrito Brother Gram Parsons, who would become Harris' musical mentor until his death in 1973.
*Stardom: In 1975, Harris released her first major-label record, "Pieces of the Sky," and the single "If I Could Only Win Your Love" reached No. 4 on Billboard's country charts.
The following year, she won her first Grammy for the album "Elite Hotel," which included the hits "Together Again," "Sweet Dreams" and "One of These Days."
*Grammy-winning partnerships: In 1980, she helped Roy Orbison re-launch his career with "That Lovin' You Feelin' Again." In 1987, she teamed with Parton and Ronstadt for the album "Trio," which charted four singles.
In 2001, she was among the artists who gathered for the "O, Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack, which was named Album of the Year at the Grammys.
*Today: With 33 albums to her credit, Harris has toured in recent years as a solo artist and with her collaborative partners, including a 2006 tour with former Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler in support of their album "All the Roadrunning.
" Harris and Knopfler were featured earlier this year on the PBS series "Soundstage."
Quote: "I lucked into this whole thing. One little millimeter would have made the difference.
If my babysitter hadn't been at that Flying Burrito Brothers concert and given Gram my phone number, if Gram hadn't come into my life, who knows what would have become of me?
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