Dolly Parton and Trio Revived This Surprising Old Pop Hit
Long before Phil Spector became one of the most infamous figures in music history, he wrote a love song that would eventually become a Grammy-winning country hit for three of the genre's biggest stars.
On May 16, 1987, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris hit No. 1 on the country charts with "To Know Him Is to Love Him," the standout single from their landmark collaborative album Trio.
The song itself had an unexpected origin story.
Written in 1958 by legendary producer Spector, the title was inspired by an inscription on his father's tombstone that read, "To know him was to love him." Spector later recorded the song with his group The Teddy Bears, taking it to No. 1 on the pop charts while still a teenager.
Decades later, Parton, 80, Ronstadt, 79 and Harris, 79, transformed the tune into something entirely different.
Their lush country harmonies and stripped-back arrangement helped introduce the classic to a new generation of listeners during the height of all three women's careers. Released as part of Trio, an album that had been years in the making due to scheduling conflicts and label complications, the track quickly became one of country music's biggest crossover moments of the 1980s.
The collaboration itself was considered historic at the time.
All three singers were already major stars individually, but fans had long dreamed of hearing them record a full project together. When Trio finally arrived in 1987, it debuted to enormous acclaim, blending traditional country, folk and bluegrass influences with the trio's instantly recognizable vocal chemistry.
The album became both a commercial and critical success, eventually winning the Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
"To Know Him Is to Love Him" helped lead the charge, spending time atop the country charts and becoming one of the defining songs from the album.
Today, the track remains one of the most beloved collaborations in country music history-and one of the more surprising chart-toppers connected to Spector's complicated legacy.
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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 9:00 PM.