Known for her airy, silky-sweet voice and talents on the fiddle, Alison Krauss has been captivating listeners since first emerging onto the scene in the late 1980s. Whether alone, with her bandmates in Union Station, or alongside Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant, Krauss knows how to captivate a room with her gifts as an artist and musician.
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Aside from her talents as a singer, fiddle, and mandolinist, the 52-year-old International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame member has also taken on the role of producer. Over the years, she’s been tapped to help shape the sound of multiple records for other artists, with magical results.
Here are three incredible country and bluegrass albums produced by Alison Krauss that you need to hear:
1. Like Red on a Rose, Alan Jackson
In a rare pivot away from his traditionalist country roots, Alan Jackson recruited Krauss as the eyes and ears behind his surprising 2006 record, Like Red on a Rose. Along with her work as a producer, Krauss also hand-selected each of the 13 songs included in the project, leading to Jackson’s most soft rock-centered release to date.
2. Gone Like the Cotton, The Cox Family
Krauss and Louisiana-based roots outfit The Cox Family won a Grammy Award for their collaborative 1994 album I Know Who Holds Tomorrow—an achievement that would mark only the beginning of their creative friendship. More than a decade later, Krauss served as producer on The Cox Family’s 2015 record, helping to craft a more modernized, rock-infused sound.
3. This Side, Nickel Creek
Beloved bluegrass trio Nickel Creek struck gold with their 2002 Krauss-produced album, This Side. The genre-bending project, which includes a folky take on influential indie rock band Pavement’s trademark song “Spit on a Stranger,” climbed to No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Bluegrass Albums chart and No. 2 on the Top Country Albums chart upon its release.
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