Emmylou Harris has seen highs and lows throughout her musical career, but the singer says that says that it's been her audience that has kept her from having to chase No. 1 singles.

"I was lucky enough to get into the country charts, but I didn't have to live and die by them," she tells the Miami New Times. "I was always able to do whatever I wanted because, luckily enough, I always had an extraordinary audience. They were loyal. They came out to shows. They bought enough records to make it respectable, where the record company would say, 'Yeah, she should do another record.'"

Her fan base helped give Harris the freedom to experiment with her music, sometimes going against the grain of what record execs thought would be marketable and successful.

"There were times where I thought the records might not even be respectable. At one point, with 'Roses in the Snow,' I was told that might be the end of my career," she says. "They put it out anyway, and it did very, very well."

But 1985's 'The Ballad of Sally Rose' was a different story. The concept album about her relationship with Gram Parsons didn't do well, but Harris has no regrets.

"It really was kind of a bomb in terms of record sales, but I'm glad I did it, and I survived it. I was lucky enough to survive a commercial failure," she says. "If you don't follow your heart, what is speaking to you at the moment and inspiring you, then I think you're going to pay."

Harris, who is working on a duets album with Rodney Crowell, will be honored with a star-studded tribute concert in January.

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