I was fortunate enough to stumble across Emmylou Harris on Regis and Kelly this morning. She performed "Strong Hand," her tribute to June Carter Cash and I feel like I've just been blessed. Now, we can talk all day about the "kings" and "queens" of rock and roll - sure, Mick Jagger is rock and roll royalty, so is Michael Jackson, ditto for Neil Young - yadda, yadda, yadda. But when Emmylou comes on to the stage, or the television screen there is a reverence that comes out in me that no one else demands. She is so graceful and her voice is so pure that the atmosphere becomes more like a church service than a concert - even doing just one song on Regis and Kelly! This may be a stretch, but she makes me feel like I'm in the presence of Christ - she is completely compelling, but at the same time you just know that she'd sit down at the bar next to you and have a cold one. She's just as likely to hang out with the riff-raff (she's done duets with everybody on the planet - including Beck and Ryan Adams, to name a couple) as she is with Johnny and June. When I hear someone talk about rock and roll royalty, it's her that takes the spotlight in my mind.

Plus, there's something unbelievably beautiful about her behind that guitar.