Gram Parsons
Encyclopedia
Gram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist
and pianist
. Parsons is best known for his work within the country
genre; he also mixed blues
, folk
, and rock
to create what he called "Cosmic American Music". Besides recording as a solo artist, he also worked in several notable bands, including the International Submarine Band
, The Byrds
, and The Flying Burrito Brothers
. His career, though short, is described by Allmusic as "enormously influential" for both country and rock, "blending the two genres to the point that they became indistinguishable from each other."
Born in 1946, Parsons emerged from a wealthy but troubled childhood to attend Harvard University
. He founded the International Submarine Band in 1966, and after several months of delay their debut, Safe at Home
, was released in 1968, by which time the group had disbanded. Parsons joined The Byrds in early 1968, and played a pivotal role in the making of the seminal Sweetheart of the Rodeo
album. After leaving the group in late 1968, Parsons and fellow Byrd Chris Hillman
formed The Flying Burrito Brothers in 1969, releasing their debut, The Gilded Palace of Sin
, the same year. The album was well received but failed commercially; after a sloppy cross-country tour, they hastily recorded Burrito Deluxe
. Parsons was fired from the band before its release in early 1970. He soon signed with A&M Records
, but after several unproductive sessions he canceled his intended solo debut in early 1971. Parsons moved to France, where he lived for a short period at Villa Nellcôte with his friend Keith Richards
of The Rolling Stones
. Returning to America, Parsons befriended Emmylou Harris
, who assisted him on vocals for his first solo record, GP
, released in 1973. Although it received enthusiastic reviews, the release failed to chart; his next album, Grievous Angel
(released posthumously in 1974) met with a similar reception, and peaked at number 195 on Billboard
. Parsons died of a drug overdose
on September 19, 1973 in a hotel room in Joshua Tree, California
, at the age of 26.
Since his death, Parsons has been recognized as an extremely influential artist, credited with helping to found both country rock
and alt-country. His posthumous honors include the Americana Music Association
"President's Award" for 2003, and a ranking at #87 on Rolling Stone
s list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time."
, to Ingram Cecil ("Coon Dog") and Avis (née Snively) Connor. The Connors normally resided at their main residence in Waycross
, Georgia
, but Avis traveled to her hometown in Florida to give birth. She was the daughter of citrus
fruit magnate John A. Snively
, who held extensive properties both in Winter Haven
and in Waycross; Parsons' father was a famous World War II
flying ace
, decorated with the Air Medal
, who was present at the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor
. Biographer David Meyer characterized Coon Dog and Avis as loving parents: he writes in Twenty Thousand Roads that they are "remembered as affectionate parents and a loving couple". He also notes, however, that "unhappiness was eating away at the Connor family": Avis suffered from depression, and both parents were alcoholics. Coon Dog committed suicide
two days before Christmas Day, 1958, devastating the young Gram and the rest of the Connor family. Avis subsequently married Robert Parsons, whose surname
was adopted by Ingram (henceforth he would be known as Gram Parsons). Gram attended the prestigious Bolles School
in Jacksonville, Florida
. For a time, the family found a stability of sorts. They were soon torn apart in early 1965, when Robert became embroiled in an extramarital affair
and Avis' heavy drinking led to her death from cirrhosis
on July 5, 1965, the day of Gram's graduation from Bolles.
As his family disintegrated around him, Parsons developed strong musical interests, particularly after seeing Elvis Presley
perform in concert in 1957. Five years later, while barely in his teens, he played in rock and roll
cover bands such as the Pacers and the Legends, headlining in clubs owned by his stepfather in the Winter Haven/Polk County area. By the age of 16 he graduated to folk music
, and in 1963 he teamed with his first professional outfit, the Shilos. Heavily influenced by the Kingston Trio and the Journeymen, the band played hootenannies
, coffee houses and high school
auditoriums. Forays into New York City's Greenwich Village
included appearances at The Bitter End
.
After The Shilos broke up, Parsons attended Harvard University
, where he studied theology
but departed after a single semester. Despite being from the South, he did not become seriously interested in country music
until his time at Harvard, where he heard Merle Haggard
for the first time. In 1966, he and other musicians from the Boston folk scene formed a group called the International Submarine Band
. They relocated to Los Angeles
the following year, and after several lineup changes signed to Lee Hazlewood
's LHI Records
, where they spent late 1967 recording Safe at Home
. The album contains one of Parsons' best-known songs, "Luxury Liner", as well as an early version of "Do You Know How It Feels", which he revisited later on in his career. Safe at Home would remain unreleased until mid 1968, by which time the International Submarine Band had broken up.
' bassist
, Chris Hillman
, via Larry Spector (The Byrds' business manager), as a possible replacement band member following the departures of David Crosby
and Michael Clarke
from the group in late 1967. Parsons had been acquainted with Hillman since the pair had met in a bank during 1967 and in February 1968 he passed an audition for the band, being initially recruited as a jazz pianist
but soon switching to rhythm guitar
and vocals.
Although Parsons was an equal contributor to the band, he was not regarded as a full member of The Byrds by the band's record label
, Columbia Records
. Consequently, when The Byrds' Columbia recording contract was renewed on February 29, 1968, it was only original members Roger McGuinn
and Chris Hillman who signed it. Parsons, like fellow new recruit Kevin Kelley
, was hired as a sideman
and received a salary from McGuinn and Hillman. In later years, this led Hillman to state "Gram was hired. He was not a member of The Byrds, ever — he was on salary, that was the only way we could get him to turn up." However, these comments overlook the fact that Parsons, like Kelley, was considered a bona fide member of the band during 1968 and as such, was given equal billing alongside McGuinn, Hillman, and Kelley on the Sweetheart of the Rodeo
album and in contemporary press
coverage of the band.
Sweetheart of the Rodeo was originally conceived by band leader Roger McGuinn as a sprawling, double album
history of American popular music
. It was to begin with bluegrass music
, then move through country and western
, jazz
, rhythm and blues
, and rock music
, before finally ending with the most advanced (for the time) form of electronic music
. However, as recording plans were made, Parsons exerted a controlling influence over the group, persuading the other members to leave Los Angeles and record the album in Nashville, Tennessee. Along the way, McGuinn's original album concept was jettisoned in favor of a fully fledged country project, which included Parsons' songs such as "One Hundred Years from Now" and "Hickory Wind
", along with compositions by Bob Dylan
, Woody Guthrie
, and Merle Haggard, among others.
Recording sessions for Sweetheart of the Rodeo commenced at Columbia Records' recording studio
s in the Music Row
area of Nashville on March 9, 1968. Mid-way through, the sessions moved to Columbia Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, finally coming to a close on May 27, 1968. However, Parsons was still under contract to LHI Records and consequently, Hazlewood contested Parsons' appearance on the album and threatened legal action. As a result, McGuinn ended up replacing three of Parsons' lead vocals
with his own singing on the finished album, a move that was still rankling Parsons as late as 1973, when he told Cameron Crowe
in an interview that McGuinn "erased it and did the vocals himself and fucked it up." However, Parsons is still featured as lead vocalist on the songs "You're Still on My Mind", "Life in Prison", and "Hickory Wind".
While in England
with The Byrds in the summer of 1968, Parsons left the band due to his concerns over a planned concert tour of South Africa, citing opposition to that country's apartheid policies. There has been some doubt expressed by Hillman over the sincerity of Parsons' protest. It appears that Parsons was mostly apolitical, although he did refer to one of the younger African-American butlers in the Connor household as being "like a brother" to him in an interview. During this period, Parsons became acquainted with Mick Jagger
and Keith Richards
of The Rolling Stones
. Prior to Parsons' departure from The Byrds, he had accompanied the two Rolling Stones to Stonehenge
(along with McGuinn and Hillman) in the English county
of Wiltshire
, where Richards had a house near the ancient site. Immediately after leaving the band, Parsons stayed at Richards' house and the pair developed a close friendship over the next few years, with Parsons reintroducing the guitarist
to country music. According to Stones' confidant and close friend of Parsons, Phil Kaufman, the twosome would sit around for hours, playing obscure country records and trading off on various songs with their guitars.
and pedal steel player Sneaky Pete Kleinow
. Their 1969 album The Gilded Palace Of Sin
was a modernized version of the Bakersfield
style of country music made popular by Buck Owens
, and the band appeared on the album cover wearing Nudie
suits emblazoned with all sorts of hippie accoutrements. Along with the Parsons-Hillman originals "Christine's Tune" and "Sin City" were versions of the soul music
classics "The Dark End of the Street
" and "Do Right Woman", the latter featuring David Crosby on high harmony. The album's original songs were the result of a very productive songwriting partnership between Parsons and Hillman, who were sharing a bachelor pad in LA during this period. The atypically pronounced (for Parsons) gospel soul influence on this album likely comes from his frequent jamming with Delaney and Bonnie and Richards.
Though not a commercial success, Gilded was measured by rock critic Robert Christgau
as "an ominous, obsessive, tongue-in-cheek country-rock synthesis, absorbing rural and urban, traditional and contemporary, at point of impact." The album was recorded without a permanent drummer, but the group soon added original Byrd Michael Clarke
on drums. Embarking on a cross-country tour via train, as Parsons suffered from periodic bouts of fear of flying
, the group squandered most of their money in a perpetual poker game and received bewildered reactions in most cities. Parsons was frequently indulging in massive quantities of psilocybin
and cocaine
, so his performances were erratic at best, while much of the band's repertoire consisted of vintage honky tonk and soul standards with few originals. Perhaps the most successful appearance occurred in Philadelphia, where the group opened for the reconstituted Byrds. Midway through their set, Parsons joined the headline act and fronted his former group on renditions of "Hickory Wind" and "You Don't Miss Your Water". The other Burritos surfaced with the exception of Clarke, and the joint aggregation played several songs, including "Long Black Veil" and "Goin' Back".
After returning to Los Angeles the group recorded "The Train Song", written during an increasingly infrequent songwriting session on the train and produced by 1950s R&B legends Larry Williams
and Johnny "Guitar" Watson. Despite a request from the Burritos that the remnants of their publicity budget be diverted to promotion of the single, it also flopped. Ethridge departed shortly thereafter. He was replaced by lead guitarist Bernie Leadon
, while Hillman reverted to bass.
By this time, Parsons's own use of drugs
had increased to the extent that new songs were rare and much of his time was diverted to partying with the Stones, who briefly relocated to America in the summer of 1969 to finish their forthcoming Let It Bleed
album and prepare for an autumn cross-country tour, their first series of regular live engagements since 1967. As they prepared to play the nation's largest sports arenas, the Burritos played to dwindling nightclub audiences; one night Jagger had to literally order Parsons to fulfill an obligation to his group.
The singer's dedication to the Rolling Stones was rewarded when the Burrito Brothers were booked as the opening act of the infamous Altamont Music Festival
. Playing a short set including "Six Days on the Road" and "Bony Moronie", Parsons left on one of the final helicopters and attempted to pick up Michelle Phillips
. "Six Days..." was included in Gimme Shelter
, a documentary of the event.
With mounting debt incurred, A&M hoped to recoup some of their losses by marketing the Burritos as a straight country group. To this end, manager Jim Dickson instigated a loose session where the band recorded several honky tonk staples from their live act, contemporary pop covers in a countrified vein ("To Love Somebody", "Lodi", "I Shall Be Released", "Honky Tonk Women"), and Larry Williams' "Bony Moronie". This was soon scrapped in favor of a second album of originals on an extremely reduced budget. Faced with a dearth of new material, most of the material was hastily written in the studio by Leadon, Hillman, and Parsons, with two Gilded Palace of Sin outtakes thrown into the mix. The resulting album, entitled Burrito Deluxe
, was released in April 1970.
The album is considered less inspired than its predecessor, but it is notable for the Parsons-Hillman-Leadon song "Older Guys" and for its take on Jagger and Richards' "Wild Horses"—the first recording released of this famous song. Parsons was inspired to cover the song after hearing an advance tape of the Sticky Fingers
album sent to Kleinow, who was scheduled to overdub a part on the song (Kleinow's part was not included on the released Rolling Stones version, though it is available on bootlegs). Jagger consented to the cover version
, so long as the Flying Burrito Brothers did not issue it as a single.
Burrito Deluxe, like its predecessor, underperformed commercially but faced the double whammy of being lambasted by critics. Disenchanted with the band, Parsons left the Burritos in mutual agreement with Hillman, who was at his wits end after two years of babysitting Gram. Under Hillman's direction, the group recorded a further two LPs.
in early 1970. Melcher (who had worked with The Byrds and The Beach Boys
and had rejected producing an unknown singer/songwriter by the name of Charles Manson
) was a member of the successful duo Bruce & Terry
, also known as The Rip Chords. The two shared a mutual penchant for cocaine and heroin, and as a result, the sessions were largely unproductive, with Parsons eventually losing interest in the project. "Terry loved Gram and wanted to produce him ... But neither of them could get anything done," recalled Eve Babitz. "Long lost, the tapes from this session have gathered a legendary patina," writes David Meyer. The recording stalled, and the master tapes were checked out, but there is conflict as to whether "Gram ... or Melcher took them". He accompanied the Rolling Stones on their 1971 U.K. tour in the hope of being signed to the newly formed Rolling Stones Records
, intending to record a duo album with Richards. Moving into Villa Nellcôte with the guitarist during the sessions for Exile on Main Street
, Parsons remained in a consistently incapacitated state and frequently quarreled with his much younger girlfriend, aspiring actress Gretchen Burrell. Eventually, Parsons was asked to leave by Anita Pallenberg
, Richards' longtime domestic partner. Rumors have persisted that he appears somewhere on the legendary album, and while Richards concedes that it is very likely he is among the chorus of singers on "Sweet Virginia", to this day nothing has been substantiated. Parsons attempted to rekindle his relationship with the band on their 1972 tour to no avail.
After leaving the Stones' camp, Parsons married Burrell in 1971 at his stepfather's New Orleans estate. Allegedly, the relationship was far from stable, with Burrell cutting a needy and jealous figure while Parsons quashed her burgeoning film career. Many of the singer's closest associates and friends claim that Parsons was preparing to commence divorce proceedings at the time of his death; the couple had already separated by this point.
/Blind Faith
/Traffic
member Ric Grech
in England. With the assistance of Grech and one of the bassist's friends, a doctor who also dabbled in country music and is now known as Hank Wangford
, Parsons managed to kick his heroin habit once and for all (a treatment suggested by William Burroughs proved unsuccessful).
He returned to the US for a one-off concert with the Burritos, and at Hillman's instigation went to hear Emmylou Harris
sing in a small club in Washington, D.C.
They became friends and, within a year, he asked her to join him in Los Angeles for another attempt to record his first solo album.
Having gained thirty pounds since his Burrito days from Southern food and excessive alcohol consumption, it came as a surprise to many when Parsons was enthusiastically signed to Reprise Records
by Mo Ostin
in mid-1972. GP
, released in 1973, used the guitar-playing of James Burton
(sideman to Elvis Presley
and Ricky Nelson
), and featured new songs from a creatively revitalized Parsons such as "Big Mouth Blues" and "Kiss the Children," as well as a cover of Tompall Glaser
's "Streets of Baltimore
".
Parsons, by now featuring Harris as his duet partner, played dates across the United States as Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels. Unable to afford the services of the Elvis band for a month, the band featured the talents of obscure Colorado-based rock guitarist Jock Bartley
(soon to skyrocket to fame with Firefall
), veteran Nashville sideman Neil Flanz
on pedal steel, Kyle Tullis on bass and former Mountain
drummer N.D. Smart (once described by Canadian folksinger Ian Tyson as "a psychotic redneck"). The touring party also included Gretchen Parsons—by this point extremely envious of Harris—and Harris' young daughter. Coordinating the spectacle as road manager was Phil Kaufman, who had served time with Charles Manson
on Terminal Island
in the mid-sixties and first met Parsons while working for the Stones in 1968. Kaufman ensured that the performer stayed away from substance abuse, limiting his alcohol intake during shows and throwing out any drugs smuggled into hotel rooms. At first, the band was under-rehearsed and played poorly, but improved markedly with steady gigging and received rapturous responses at the Armadillo World Headquarters
in Austin
, Texas
and at a filmed concert at Liberty Hall in Houston (with Neil Young
and Linda Ronstadt
sitting in) and Max's Kansas City
in New York City. According to a number of sources, it was Emmylou who forced the band to practice and work up an actual set list. Nevertheless, the tour did absolutely nothing for record sales. While he had been in the vanguard with The Byrds and the Burrito Brothers, Parsons was now perceived as being too authentic and traditional in an era dominated by the stylings of the Eagles, whose sound Parsons disdained (although he did maintain cordial relations with Bernie Leadon
, now a member of the Eagles).
For his next and final album, 1974's Grievous Angel
, he again used Harris and Burton. The record, which was released after his death, received even more enthusiastic reviews than had GP, and has since attained classic status. Among its most celebrated songs is "$1000 Wedding", a holdover from the Burrito Brothers era, and "Brass Buttons", a 1965 opus which addresses his mother's alcoholism. Also included was a new version of "Hickory Wind" and "Ooh Las Vegas", co-written with Grech and dating from the G.P. sessions. Despite the fact that Parsons only contributed two new songs to the album ("In My Hour of Darkness", "Return of the Grievous Angel"), Parsons was highly enthused with his new sound and seemed to have finally adopted a serious, diligent mindset to his musical career, eschewing most drugs and alcohol during the sessions.
Before recording, Parsons and Harris played a preliminary three show mini-tour as the headline act in a Warner Brothers country-rock package. The backing band included Clarence White
, Pete Kleinow, and Chris Etheridge. On July 14, 1973, the legendary White was killed by a drunk driver while loading equipment in his car for a concert with the New Kentucky Colonels. At White's funeral, Parsons and Bernie Leadon launched into an impromptu touching rendition of "Farther Along"; that night, the distraught and drunken musician reportedly informed Phil Kaufman of his final wish: to be cremated in Joshua Tree. Despite the almost insurmountable setback, Parsons, Harris, and the other musicians decided to continue with plans for a fall tour.
In the summer of 1973, Parsons' Topanga Canyon home burned to the ground, the result of a stray cigarette. Nearly all of his possessions were destroyed with the exception of a guitar and a prized Jaguar automobile. The fire proved to be the last straw in the relationship between Burrell and Parsons, who moved into a spare room in Kaufman's house. While not recording, he frequently hung out and jammed with members of New Jersey–based country rockers Quacky Duck and His Barnyard Friends
(whose members included Tony Bennett
's sons, Danny and Dae Bennett as well as future Dylan
sideman and member of the Alpha Band
, multi-instrumentalist David Mansfield
) and the proto-punk Jonathan Richman
& the Modern Lovers, who were being managed by Kaufman. Richman credits Parsons with introducing him to acoustic-based music. Parsons is credited as producer on Quacky Duck's only album, Media Push, released by Warner Bros. in 1974. According to the road manager of Quacky Duck, Parsons was, despite being frequently drunk, a kind soul who provided business and musical guidance to the younger band.
Before formally breaking up with Burrell, Parsons already had a woman waiting in the wings. While recording, he saw a photo of a beautiful woman at a friend's home and was instantly smitten. The woman turned out to be Margaret Fisher, a high school sweetheart of the singer from his Waycross, Georgia days. Like Parsons, Fisher had drifted west and became established in the Bay Area rock scene. A meeting was arranged and the two instantly rekindled their relationship, with Fisher dividing her weeks between Los Angeles and San Francisco at Parsons' expense.
in southeastern California
. Alone or with friends, he would disappear in the desert for days searching for UFOs while under the influence of psilocybin
or LSD
. After splitting from Burrell, Parsons would frequently spend his weekends in the area with Margaret Fisher and Phil Kaufman. Before his tour was scheduled to commence in October 1973, Parsons decided to go on one more excursion. Accompanying him were Fisher, personal assistant Michael Martin, and Dale McElory, Martin's girlfriend.
Less than two days after arriving, Parsons died on September 19, 1973, in Joshua Tree, California
, at the age of 26 from an overdose of morphine
and alcohol
. According to Fisher in the 2005 biography Grievous Angel: An Intimate Biography of Gram Parsons, the amount of morphine consumed by Parsons would be lethal to three regular users and thus he had likely overestimated his tolerance considering his experience with opiates. Fisher and McElroy were returned to Los Angeles by Kaufman, who dispersed the remnants of Parsons' stash in the desert.
Parsons' body disappeared from the Los Angeles International Airport
where it was being readied to be shipped to Louisiana
for burial. Prior to his death, Parsons stated that he wanted his body cremated at Joshua Tree and his ashes spread over Cap Rock, a prominent natural feature there; however, Parsons' stepfather arranged for a private ceremony back in New Orleans and neglected to invite any of his friends from the music industry. Two accounts claim that Bob Parsons stood to inherit Gram's share of his grandfather's estate if he could prove that Gram was a resident of Louisiana, explaining his eagerness to have him buried there.
To fulfill Parsons' funeral wishes, Kaufman and a friend stole his body from the airport and in a borrowed hearse drove it to Joshua Tree where they attempted to cremate
it by pouring five gallons of gasoline into the open coffin and throwing a lit match inside. What resulted was an enormous fireball. Police chased them, but according to one account they "were unencumbered by sobriety" and the pair got away. The two were arrested several days later. Since there was no law against stealing a dead body, they were only fined $750 for stealing the coffin and were not prosecuted for leaving 35 lbs of his charred remains in the desert.
The site of Parsons' cremation was marked by a small concrete slab and was presided over by a large rock flake known to rock climbers
as The Gram Parsons Memorial Hand Traverse. The slab has since been removed by the U.S. National Park Service and was relocated to the Joshua Tree Inn which was where he was staying at the time of his death. At the site of the original memorial now are simple rock structures and writings on the rock which the park service sand blasts to remove from time to time.
of Allmusic describes Parsons as "enormously influential" for both country and rock, "blending the two genres to the point that they became indistinguishable from each other. ... His influence could still be heard well into the next millennium." In his essay on Parsons for Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Greatest Artist" list, Keith Richards
notes that Parsons' recorded music output was "pretty minimal." But nevertheless, Richards claims that Parsons "effect on country music is enormous[, t]his is why we're talking about him now."
The 2003 film Grand Theft Parsons
stars Johnny Knoxville
as Phil Kaufman and chronicles a farcical version of the theft of Parsons' corpse.
Emmylou Harris
has continued to champion Parsons' work throughout her career, covering a number of his songs over the years, including "Hickory Wind", "Wheels", "Sin City", "Luxury Liner", and "Hot Burrito #2". Harris' songs "Boulder To Birmingham", from her 1975 album Pieces of the Sky
, and "The Road", from her 2011 album Hard Bargain
, are tributes to Parsons. In addition, her 1985 album The Ballad of Sally Rose
is an original concept album that includes many allusions to Parsons in its narrative. The song "My Man", written by Bernie Leadon
and performed by the Eagles on their album On the Border
, is a tribute to Gram Parsons. Both Leadon and Parsons were members of the Flying Burrito Brothers during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
A music festival called Gram Fest or the Cosmic American Music Festival was held annually in honor of Parsons in Joshua Tree, California, between 1996 and 2006. The show featured tunes written by Gram Parsons and Gene Clark as well as influential songs and musical styles from other artists that were part of that era. Performers were also encouraged to showcase their own material. The underlying theme of the event is to inspire the performers to take these musical styles to the next level of the creative process. Past concerts have featured such notable artists as Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Chris Ethridge, Spooner Oldham, John Molo, Jack Royerton, Gib Guilbeau, Counting Crows
, Bob Warford, Rosie Flores, David Lowery, Barry & Holly Tashian, George Tomsco, Jann Browne, Lucinda Williams
, Polly Parsons, The "Road Mangler"- Phil Kaufman, Ben Fong-Torres, Victoria Williams & Mark Olson, Sid Griffin, as well as a variety of many other bands that had played over the 2 or 3 day event. In addition, the Gram Parsons Tribute, in Waycross, Georgia, is a music festival remembering Parsons in the town in which he grew up.
In February 2008, Gram's protégée, Emmylou Harris
, was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Despite his influence, however, Parsons has yet to be inducted. Radley Balko
has written that "Parsons may be the most influential artist yet to be inducted to either the Rock and Roll Country Music Hall(s) of Fame. And it's a damned shame." The Gram Parsons Petition Project (G3P) was begun in May 2008 in support of an ongoing drive to induct Parsons into the Country Music Hall of Fame. On September 19, 2008, the 35th anniversary of Parsons' death, it was first presented to the Country Music Association
(CMA) and Hall as a "List of Supporters" together with the official Nomination Proposal. The online List of Supporters reached 5,500 on what would have been Parsons' 65th birthday and continues to gather signatures, as well as at G3P's annual Gram InterNational concerts and other tribute events each year.
In November 2009, the musical theatre
production Grievous Angel: The Legend of Gram Parsons premiered, starring Anders Drerup as Gram Parsons and Kelly Prescott as Emmylou Harris. Directed by Micheal Bate and co-written by Bate and David McDonald, the production was inspired by a March 1973 interview that Bate conducted with Parsons, which became Parsons' last recorded conversation.
In 2006, a Gandulf Hennig directed documentary film titled Gram Parsons: Fallen Angel was released.
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
. Parsons is best known for his work within the country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
genre; he also mixed blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
to create what he called "Cosmic American Music". Besides recording as a solo artist, he also worked in several notable bands, including the International Submarine Band
International submarine band
The International Submarine Band was formed by country rock pioneer Gram Parsons while a theology student at Harvard University and John Nuese, a guitar player for local rock group, The Trolls. Nuese is largely credited with having persuaded Parsons to pursue the country-rock sound he would later...
, The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
, and The Flying Burrito Brothers
The Flying Burrito Brothers
The Flying Burrito Brothers was an early country rock band, best known for its influential debut album,The Gilded Palace of Sin . Although the group is most often mentioned in connection with country rock legends Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, the group underwent many personnel changes.-Original...
. His career, though short, is described by Allmusic as "enormously influential" for both country and rock, "blending the two genres to the point that they became indistinguishable from each other."
Born in 1946, Parsons emerged from a wealthy but troubled childhood to attend Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He founded the International Submarine Band in 1966, and after several months of delay their debut, Safe at Home
Safe at Home
Safe at Home was the 1968 album by The International Submarine Band, led by the 21-year-old Gram Parsons. Featuring four of Parsons' originals surrounded by six covers of classic country and rock and roll music, it helped to forge the country rock movement of the late 1960s and early...
, was released in 1968, by which time the group had disbanded. Parsons joined The Byrds in early 1968, and played a pivotal role in the making of the seminal Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Sweetheart of the Rodeo is the sixth album by American rock band The Byrds and was released on August 30, 1968 on Columbia Records...
album. After leaving the group in late 1968, Parsons and fellow Byrd Chris Hillman
Chris Hillman
Christopher Hillman was one of the original members of The Byrds which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, and Michael Clarke....
formed The Flying Burrito Brothers in 1969, releasing their debut, The Gilded Palace of Sin
The Gilded Palace of Sin
The Gilded Palace of Sin is an album by the country rock group The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1969. It continued Gram Parsons' and Chris Hillman's pioneering work in modern country music, fusing traditional sources like folk and country with other forms of popular music like gospel, soul,...
, the same year. The album was well received but failed commercially; after a sloppy cross-country tour, they hastily recorded Burrito Deluxe
Burrito Deluxe
Burrito Deluxe is the second album by the country rock group The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1970. In between The Gilded Palace of Sin and Burrito Deluxe, the band underwent some personnel changes. Bassist Chris Ethridge left the band out of frustration at the band's lack of success...
. Parsons was fired from the band before its release in early 1970. He soon signed with A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
, but after several unproductive sessions he canceled his intended solo debut in early 1971. Parsons moved to France, where he lived for a short period at Villa Nellcôte with his friend Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
of The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
. Returning to America, Parsons befriended Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
, who assisted him on vocals for his first solo record, GP
GP (album)
GP is American singer-songwriter Gram Parsons' debut solo album. It was originally released in a gatefold sleeve in 1973. GP received critical acclaim upon release, but failed to reach the Billboard charts...
, released in 1973. Although it received enthusiastic reviews, the release failed to chart; his next album, Grievous Angel
Grievous Angel
Grievous Angel was the second solo album by Gram Parsons, compiled from 1973 sessions and released four months after his death. It received great critical acclaim upon release, but failed to find commercial success, a fate shared with his previous efforts solo and with The Flying Burrito Brothers....
(released posthumously in 1974) met with a similar reception, and peaked at number 195 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
. Parsons died of a drug overdose
Drug overdose
The term drug overdose describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced...
on September 19, 1973 in a hotel room in Joshua Tree, California
Joshua Tree, California
Joshua Tree is a census-designated place in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 7,414 at the 2010 census, up from 4,207 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Joshua Tree is located in the Mojave Desert at ....
, at the age of 26.
Since his death, Parsons has been recognized as an extremely influential artist, credited with helping to found both country rock
Country rock
Country rock is sub-genre of popular music, formed from the fusion of rock with country. The term is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with Bob Dylan and The Byrds; reaching its greatest...
and alt-country. His posthumous honors include the Americana Music Association
Americana Music Association
The Americana Music Association is a trade organization developed to provide professional support and to promote awareness of Americana music. Toward these ends the organization works with artists, radio stations, record labels, publishers, and others to create networking opportunities and to...
"President's Award" for 2003, and a ranking at #87 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
s list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time."
Early life and career (1946–1968)
Parsons was born Ingram Cecil Connor III on November 5, 1946 in Winter Haven, FloridaWinter Haven, Florida
Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 26,487 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2007 estimates, the city had a population of 32,577, making it the second most populated city in Polk County...
, to Ingram Cecil ("Coon Dog") and Avis (née Snively) Connor. The Connors normally resided at their main residence in Waycross
Waycross, Georgia
Waycross is the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Ware County in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population was 14,725 at the 2010 Census. A small portion of the city extends into Pierce County. According the U.S...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, but Avis traveled to her hometown in Florida to give birth. She was the daughter of citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
fruit magnate John A. Snively
John A. Snively
John Andrew Snively was a pioneering citrus grower in Florida and Georgia, USA. At one point his companies were responsible for one-third of the Florida citrus crop....
, who held extensive properties both in Winter Haven
Winter Haven, Florida
Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 26,487 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2007 estimates, the city had a population of 32,577, making it the second most populated city in Polk County...
and in Waycross; Parsons' father was a famous World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
flying ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
, decorated with the Air Medal
Air Medal
The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
, who was present at the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
. Biographer David Meyer characterized Coon Dog and Avis as loving parents: he writes in Twenty Thousand Roads that they are "remembered as affectionate parents and a loving couple". He also notes, however, that "unhappiness was eating away at the Connor family": Avis suffered from depression, and both parents were alcoholics. Coon Dog committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
two days before Christmas Day, 1958, devastating the young Gram and the rest of the Connor family. Avis subsequently married Robert Parsons, whose surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
was adopted by Ingram (henceforth he would be known as Gram Parsons). Gram attended the prestigious Bolles School
Bolles School
The Bolles School is a private college preparatory day and boarding school in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. It has a lower school , a middle school, and a high school, spread across four campuses around the Jacksonville area, and enrolls about 1,800 students a year. The school was founded in 1933 as...
in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
. For a time, the family found a stability of sorts. They were soon torn apart in early 1965, when Robert became embroiled in an extramarital affair
Extramarital sex
Extramarital sex occurs when a married person engages in sexual activity with someone other than his or her marriage partner.Where extramarital sexual relations breach a sexual norm it may also be referred to as adultery, fornication, philandery, or infidelity...
and Avis' heavy drinking led to her death from cirrhosis
Cirrhosis
Cirrhosis is a consequence of chronic liver disease characterized by replacement of liver tissue by fibrosis, scar tissue and regenerative nodules , leading to loss of liver function...
on July 5, 1965, the day of Gram's graduation from Bolles.
As his family disintegrated around him, Parsons developed strong musical interests, particularly after seeing Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
perform in concert in 1957. Five years later, while barely in his teens, he played in rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
cover bands such as the Pacers and the Legends, headlining in clubs owned by his stepfather in the Winter Haven/Polk County area. By the age of 16 he graduated to folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, and in 1963 he teamed with his first professional outfit, the Shilos. Heavily influenced by the Kingston Trio and the Journeymen, the band played hootenannies
Hootenanny
Hootenanny is an Appalachian colloquialism that was used in early twentieth century America to refer to things whose names were forgotten or unknown. In this usage it was synonymous with thingamajig or whatchamacallit, as in "hand me that hootenanny." Hootenanny was also an old country word for...
, coffee houses and high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
auditoriums. Forays into New York City's Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
included appearances at The Bitter End
The Bitter End
The Bitter End is a nightclub in New York City's Greenwich Village. It opened its doors in 1961 at 147 Bleecker Street under the auspices of owner Fred Weintraub. The club changed its name to The Other End during the 1970s...
.
After The Shilos broke up, Parsons attended Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he studied theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
but departed after a single semester. Despite being from the South, he did not become seriously interested in country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
until his time at Harvard, where he heard Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
for the first time. In 1966, he and other musicians from the Boston folk scene formed a group called the International Submarine Band
International submarine band
The International Submarine Band was formed by country rock pioneer Gram Parsons while a theology student at Harvard University and John Nuese, a guitar player for local rock group, The Trolls. Nuese is largely credited with having persuaded Parsons to pursue the country-rock sound he would later...
. They relocated to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
the following year, and after several lineup changes signed to Lee Hazlewood
Lee Hazlewood
Lee Hazlewood , born Barton Lee Hazlewood was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s.Hazlewood had a distinctive baritone voice that added an ominous...
's LHI Records
LHI Records
LHI Records was an American record label founded by Lee Hazlewood. LHI stood for 'Lee Hazlewood Industries'. The label was first distributed by Decca Records then by ABC Records...
, where they spent late 1967 recording Safe at Home
Safe at Home
Safe at Home was the 1968 album by The International Submarine Band, led by the 21-year-old Gram Parsons. Featuring four of Parsons' originals surrounded by six covers of classic country and rock and roll music, it helped to forge the country rock movement of the late 1960s and early...
. The album contains one of Parsons' best-known songs, "Luxury Liner", as well as an early version of "Do You Know How It Feels", which he revisited later on in his career. Safe at Home would remain unreleased until mid 1968, by which time the International Submarine Band had broken up.
Membership in The Byrds (1968)
By 1968 Parsons had come to the attention of The ByrdsThe Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
' bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
, Chris Hillman
Chris Hillman
Christopher Hillman was one of the original members of The Byrds which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, and Michael Clarke....
, via Larry Spector (The Byrds' business manager), as a possible replacement band member following the departures of David Crosby
David Crosby
David Van Cortlandt Crosby is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of three bands: The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash , and CPR...
and Michael Clarke
Michael Clarke (musician)
Michael Clarke , was an American musician, best known as the drummer for the 1960s rock group The Byrds from 1964 to 1967. He died in 1993, at age 47, from liver failure, a direct result of more than three decades of heavy alcohol consumption.-Biography:Clarke was born Michael James Dick in...
from the group in late 1967. Parsons had been acquainted with Hillman since the pair had met in a bank during 1967 and in February 1968 he passed an audition for the band, being initially recruited as a jazz pianist
Jazz piano
Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instrument's combined melodic and harmonic capabilities...
but soon switching to rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
and vocals.
Although Parsons was an equal contributor to the band, he was not regarded as a full member of The Byrds by the band's record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. Consequently, when The Byrds' Columbia recording contract was renewed on February 29, 1968, it was only original members Roger McGuinn
Roger McGuinn
James Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
and Chris Hillman who signed it. Parsons, like fellow new recruit Kevin Kelley
Kevin Kelley (musician)
Kevin Daniel Kelley was an American drummer, best known for his work with the rock bands The Byrds and the Rising Sons. Kelley also played drums for Fever Tree, although it is unknown whether he was an official member of the group or not...
, was hired as a sideman
Sideman
A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform or record with a group of which he or she is not a regular member. They often tour with solo acts as well as bands and jazz ensembles. Sidemen are generally required to be adaptable to many different styles of music, and so able to fit...
and received a salary from McGuinn and Hillman. In later years, this led Hillman to state "Gram was hired. He was not a member of The Byrds, ever — he was on salary, that was the only way we could get him to turn up." However, these comments overlook the fact that Parsons, like Kelley, was considered a bona fide member of the band during 1968 and as such, was given equal billing alongside McGuinn, Hillman, and Kelley on the Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Sweetheart of the Rodeo is the sixth album by American rock band The Byrds and was released on August 30, 1968 on Columbia Records...
album and in contemporary press
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
coverage of the band.
Sweetheart of the Rodeo was originally conceived by band leader Roger McGuinn as a sprawling, double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
history of American popular music
American popular music
American popular music had a profound effect on music across the world. The country has seen the rise of popular styles that have had a significant influence on global culture, including ragtime, blues, jazz, swing, rock, R&B, doo wop, gospel, soul, funk, heavy metal, punk, disco, house, techno,...
. It was to begin with bluegrass music
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
, then move through country and western
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
, and rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, before finally ending with the most advanced (for the time) form of electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
. However, as recording plans were made, Parsons exerted a controlling influence over the group, persuading the other members to leave Los Angeles and record the album in Nashville, Tennessee. Along the way, McGuinn's original album concept was jettisoned in favor of a fully fledged country project, which included Parsons' songs such as "One Hundred Years from Now" and "Hickory Wind
Hickory Wind
"Hickory Wind" is a song written by country rock pioneer Gram Parsons and former International Submarine Band member Bob Buchanan. The song was written on a train ride the pair took from Florida to Los Angeles in early 1968, and first appeared on The Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo album. Despite...
", along with compositions by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
, and Merle Haggard, among others.
Recording sessions for Sweetheart of the Rodeo commenced at Columbia Records' recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
s in the Music Row
Music Row
Music Row is an area just to the southwest of Downtown Nashville, Tennessee that is home to hundreds of businesses related to the country music, gospel music, and Contemporary Christian music industries...
area of Nashville on March 9, 1968. Mid-way through, the sessions moved to Columbia Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, finally coming to a close on May 27, 1968. However, Parsons was still under contract to LHI Records and consequently, Hazlewood contested Parsons' appearance on the album and threatened legal action. As a result, McGuinn ended up replacing three of Parsons' lead vocals
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
with his own singing on the finished album, a move that was still rankling Parsons as late as 1973, when he told Cameron Crowe
Cameron Crowe
Cameron Bruce Crowe is an American screenwriter and film director. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes....
in an interview that McGuinn "erased it and did the vocals himself and fucked it up." However, Parsons is still featured as lead vocalist on the songs "You're Still on My Mind", "Life in Prison", and "Hickory Wind".
While in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
with The Byrds in the summer of 1968, Parsons left the band due to his concerns over a planned concert tour of South Africa, citing opposition to that country's apartheid policies. There has been some doubt expressed by Hillman over the sincerity of Parsons' protest. It appears that Parsons was mostly apolitical, although he did refer to one of the younger African-American butlers in the Connor household as being "like a brother" to him in an interview. During this period, Parsons became acquainted with Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
and Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
of The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
. Prior to Parsons' departure from The Byrds, he had accompanied the two Rolling Stones to Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
(along with McGuinn and Hillman) in the English county
Counties of the United Kingdom
The counties of the United Kingdom are subnational divisions of the United Kingdom, used for the purposes of administrative, geographical and political demarcation. By the Middle Ages counties had become established as a unit of local government, at least in England. By the early 17th century all...
of Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, where Richards had a house near the ancient site. Immediately after leaving the band, Parsons stayed at Richards' house and the pair developed a close friendship over the next few years, with Parsons reintroducing the guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
to country music. According to Stones' confidant and close friend of Parsons, Phil Kaufman, the twosome would sit around for hours, playing obscure country records and trading off on various songs with their guitars.
The Flying Burrito Brothers (1969–1970)
Returning to Los Angeles, Parsons sought out Hillman, and the two formed the Flying Burrito Brothers with bassist Chris EthridgeChris Ethridge
Chris Ethridge is an American country rock bass guitarist. He was a member of the International Submarine Band and The Flying Burrito Brothers, and co-wrote several songs with Gram Parsons.-Career:...
and pedal steel player Sneaky Pete Kleinow
Sneaky Pete Kleinow
Peter E. "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow was an American country-rock musician, songwriter, and a motion picture special effects artist...
. Their 1969 album The Gilded Palace Of Sin
The Gilded Palace of Sin
The Gilded Palace of Sin is an album by the country rock group The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1969. It continued Gram Parsons' and Chris Hillman's pioneering work in modern country music, fusing traditional sources like folk and country with other forms of popular music like gospel, soul,...
was a modernized version of the Bakersfield
Bakersfield sound
The Bakersfield sound was a genre of country music developed in the mid- to late 1950s in and around Bakersfield, California. The many hit singles were largely produced by Capitol Records country music head, Ken Nelson. Bakersfield country was a reaction against the slickly produced, string...
style of country music made popular by Buck Owens
Buck Owens
Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...
, and the band appeared on the album cover wearing Nudie
Nudie Cohn
Nudie Cohn was a Russian-born American tailor who designed decorative rhinestone-covered suits, known popularly as "Nudie Suits", and other elaborate outfits for some of the most famous celebrities of his era. He also became famous for his outrageous customized automobiles.-Early life:Cohn was...
suits emblazoned with all sorts of hippie accoutrements. Along with the Parsons-Hillman originals "Christine's Tune" and "Sin City" were versions of the soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
classics "The Dark End of the Street
The Dark End of the Street
"The Dark End of the Street" is a 1967 soul song written by Muscle Shoals songwriters Dan Penn and Chips Moman and first performed by James Carr...
" and "Do Right Woman", the latter featuring David Crosby on high harmony. The album's original songs were the result of a very productive songwriting partnership between Parsons and Hillman, who were sharing a bachelor pad in LA during this period. The atypically pronounced (for Parsons) gospel soul influence on this album likely comes from his frequent jamming with Delaney and Bonnie and Richards.
Though not a commercial success, Gilded was measured by rock critic Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
as "an ominous, obsessive, tongue-in-cheek country-rock synthesis, absorbing rural and urban, traditional and contemporary, at point of impact." The album was recorded without a permanent drummer, but the group soon added original Byrd Michael Clarke
Michael Clarke (musician)
Michael Clarke , was an American musician, best known as the drummer for the 1960s rock group The Byrds from 1964 to 1967. He died in 1993, at age 47, from liver failure, a direct result of more than three decades of heavy alcohol consumption.-Biography:Clarke was born Michael James Dick in...
on drums. Embarking on a cross-country tour via train, as Parsons suffered from periodic bouts of fear of flying
Fear of flying
A fear of flying is a fear of being on an airplane , or other flying vehicle, such as a helicopter, while in flight. It is also sometimes referred to as aerophobia, aviatophobia, aviophobia or pteromerhanophobia....
, the group squandered most of their money in a perpetual poker game and received bewildered reactions in most cities. Parsons was frequently indulging in massive quantities of psilocybin
Psilocybin
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic prodrug, with mind-altering effects similar to those of LSD and mescaline, after it is converted to psilocin. The effects can include altered thinking processes, perceptual distortions, an altered sense of time, and spiritual experiences, as well as...
and cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
, so his performances were erratic at best, while much of the band's repertoire consisted of vintage honky tonk and soul standards with few originals. Perhaps the most successful appearance occurred in Philadelphia, where the group opened for the reconstituted Byrds. Midway through their set, Parsons joined the headline act and fronted his former group on renditions of "Hickory Wind" and "You Don't Miss Your Water". The other Burritos surfaced with the exception of Clarke, and the joint aggregation played several songs, including "Long Black Veil" and "Goin' Back".
After returning to Los Angeles the group recorded "The Train Song", written during an increasingly infrequent songwriting session on the train and produced by 1950s R&B legends Larry Williams
Larry Williams
Larry Williams was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana...
and Johnny "Guitar" Watson. Despite a request from the Burritos that the remnants of their publicity budget be diverted to promotion of the single, it also flopped. Ethridge departed shortly thereafter. He was replaced by lead guitarist Bernie Leadon
Bernie Leadon
Bernard Mathew "Bernie" Leadon, III is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the Eagles. Prior to the Eagles, he was a member of two pioneering and highly influential country rock bands, Dillard & Clark and the Flying Burrito Brothers...
, while Hillman reverted to bass.
By this time, Parsons's own use of drugs
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
had increased to the extent that new songs were rare and much of his time was diverted to partying with the Stones, who briefly relocated to America in the summer of 1969 to finish their forthcoming Let It Bleed
Let It Bleed
Let It Bleed is the eighth British and tenth American album by English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in December 1969 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States...
album and prepare for an autumn cross-country tour, their first series of regular live engagements since 1967. As they prepared to play the nation's largest sports arenas, the Burritos played to dwindling nightclub audiences; one night Jagger had to literally order Parsons to fulfill an obligation to his group.
The singer's dedication to the Rolling Stones was rewarded when the Burrito Brothers were booked as the opening act of the infamous Altamont Music Festival
Altamont Music Festival
The Altamont Speedway Free Festival was an infamous rock concert held on Saturday, December 6, 1969, at the Altamont Speedway in northern California, between Tracy and Livermore...
. Playing a short set including "Six Days on the Road" and "Bony Moronie", Parsons left on one of the final helicopters and attempted to pick up Michelle Phillips
Michelle Phillips
Michelle Phillips is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She gained fame as a member of the 1960s group The Mamas & the Papas, and is the last surviving original member of the group.-Early life:...
. "Six Days..." was included in Gimme Shelter
Gimme Shelter (documentary)
Gimme Shelter is a 1970 documentary film directed by Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin, chronicling the last weeks of The Rolling Stones' 1969 US tour, which culminated in the disastrous Altamont Free Concert. The film is named after "Gimme Shelter", the lead track from The Rolling...
, a documentary of the event.
With mounting debt incurred, A&M hoped to recoup some of their losses by marketing the Burritos as a straight country group. To this end, manager Jim Dickson instigated a loose session where the band recorded several honky tonk staples from their live act, contemporary pop covers in a countrified vein ("To Love Somebody", "Lodi", "I Shall Be Released", "Honky Tonk Women"), and Larry Williams' "Bony Moronie". This was soon scrapped in favor of a second album of originals on an extremely reduced budget. Faced with a dearth of new material, most of the material was hastily written in the studio by Leadon, Hillman, and Parsons, with two Gilded Palace of Sin outtakes thrown into the mix. The resulting album, entitled Burrito Deluxe
Burrito Deluxe
Burrito Deluxe is the second album by the country rock group The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1970. In between The Gilded Palace of Sin and Burrito Deluxe, the band underwent some personnel changes. Bassist Chris Ethridge left the band out of frustration at the band's lack of success...
, was released in April 1970.
The album is considered less inspired than its predecessor, but it is notable for the Parsons-Hillman-Leadon song "Older Guys" and for its take on Jagger and Richards' "Wild Horses"—the first recording released of this famous song. Parsons was inspired to cover the song after hearing an advance tape of the Sticky Fingers
Sticky Fingers
-Personnel:The Rolling Stones*Mick Jagger – lead vocals, acoustic guitar on "Dead Flowers", electric guitar on "Sway", percussion*Keith Richards – electric guitar, six & twelve string acoustic guitar, backing vocals...
album sent to Kleinow, who was scheduled to overdub a part on the song (Kleinow's part was not included on the released Rolling Stones version, though it is available on bootlegs). Jagger consented to the cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
, so long as the Flying Burrito Brothers did not issue it as a single.
Burrito Deluxe, like its predecessor, underperformed commercially but faced the double whammy of being lambasted by critics. Disenchanted with the band, Parsons left the Burritos in mutual agreement with Hillman, who was at his wits end after two years of babysitting Gram. Under Hillman's direction, the group recorded a further two LPs.
Aborted solo effort and residency at Villa Nellcôte (1970–1972)
Parsons signed a solo deal with A&M Records and moved in with producer Terry MelcherTerry Melcher
Terrence P. Melcher was an American musician and record producer, who was instrumental in shaping the sound of American West Coast rock music. His greatest contribution to the culture of the time was producing The Byrds' innovative hits "Mr Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and his...
in early 1970. Melcher (who had worked with The Byrds and The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
and had rejected producing an unknown singer/songwriter by the name of Charles Manson
Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
) was a member of the successful duo Bruce & Terry
Bruce & Terry
Bruce & Terry were Bruce Johnston and Terry Melcher. The pair were instrumental in the development of surf rock, recording under a variety of names and created the band The Rip Chords....
, also known as The Rip Chords. The two shared a mutual penchant for cocaine and heroin, and as a result, the sessions were largely unproductive, with Parsons eventually losing interest in the project. "Terry loved Gram and wanted to produce him ... But neither of them could get anything done," recalled Eve Babitz. "Long lost, the tapes from this session have gathered a legendary patina," writes David Meyer. The recording stalled, and the master tapes were checked out, but there is conflict as to whether "Gram ... or Melcher took them". He accompanied the Rolling Stones on their 1971 U.K. tour in the hope of being signed to the newly formed Rolling Stones Records
Rolling Stones Records
Rolling Stones Records is the record label formed by The Rolling Stones members Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman in 1970, after their recording contract with Decca Records expired. They were first distributed in the United States by Atlantic Records subsidiary...
, intending to record a duo album with Richards. Moving into Villa Nellcôte with the guitarist during the sessions for Exile on Main Street
Exile on Main St.
Exile on Main St. is the tenth British and 12th American studio album by English rock band The Rolling Stones. Released as a double LP in May 1972, it draws on many genres including rock and roll, blues, soul, R&B, gospel and country. The release of Exile on Main St. met with mixed reviews, but is...
, Parsons remained in a consistently incapacitated state and frequently quarreled with his much younger girlfriend, aspiring actress Gretchen Burrell. Eventually, Parsons was asked to leave by Anita Pallenberg
Anita Pallenberg
Anita Pallenberg is an Italian-born actress, model, and fashion designer. She was the romantic partner of Rolling Stones multi-instrumentalist and guitarist Brian Jones and later the partner of the guitarist of the same band Keith Richards, from 1967 to 1979, by whom she has two surviving...
, Richards' longtime domestic partner. Rumors have persisted that he appears somewhere on the legendary album, and while Richards concedes that it is very likely he is among the chorus of singers on "Sweet Virginia", to this day nothing has been substantiated. Parsons attempted to rekindle his relationship with the band on their 1972 tour to no avail.
After leaving the Stones' camp, Parsons married Burrell in 1971 at his stepfather's New Orleans estate. Allegedly, the relationship was far from stable, with Burrell cutting a needy and jealous figure while Parsons quashed her burgeoning film career. Many of the singer's closest associates and friends claim that Parsons was preparing to commence divorce proceedings at the time of his death; the couple had already separated by this point.
Solo career and touring with Emmylou Harris (1972–1973)
Parsons and Burrell enjoyed the most idyllic time of their relationship, visiting old cohorts like Ian Dunlop and FamilyFamily (band)
Family were an English rock band that formed in late 1966 and disbanded in October 1973. Their style has been characterised as progressive rock, although their sound often explored other genres, incorporating elements of styles like as folk, psychedelia, acid, jazz fusion and rock and roll...
/Blind Faith
Blind Faith
Blind Faith were an English blues-rock band that consisted of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood and Ric Grech. The band, which was one of the first "super-groups", released their only album, Blind Faith, in August 1969...
/Traffic
Traffic (band)
Traffic were an English rock band whose members came from the West Midlands. The group formed in April 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason...
member Ric Grech
Ric Grech
Richard Roman Grech was a British rock musician.-Career:Grech originally gained notice in the United Kingdom as the bass guitar player for the progressive rock group Family. He joined the band when it was a largely blues-based live act in Leicester known as the Farinas; he became their bassist in...
in England. With the assistance of Grech and one of the bassist's friends, a doctor who also dabbled in country music and is now known as Hank Wangford
Hank Wangford
Hank Wangford is a distinguished English country and western songwriter. Hank Wangford is the stage name of Dr. Samuel Hutt, . His music is notable for its humour and cheerful irony, and occasional excursions into biting political undercurrent....
, Parsons managed to kick his heroin habit once and for all (a treatment suggested by William Burroughs proved unsuccessful).
He returned to the US for a one-off concert with the Burritos, and at Hillman's instigation went to hear Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
sing in a small club in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
They became friends and, within a year, he asked her to join him in Los Angeles for another attempt to record his first solo album.
Having gained thirty pounds since his Burrito days from Southern food and excessive alcohol consumption, it came as a surprise to many when Parsons was enthusiastically signed to Reprise Records
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
by Mo Ostin
Mo Ostin
Mo Ostin is a record executive who has worked for several companies, including Verve, Reprise Records, Warner Bros. Records, and DreamWorks. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 by Paul Simon, Neil Young, and Lorne Michaels...
in mid-1972. GP
GP (album)
GP is American singer-songwriter Gram Parsons' debut solo album. It was originally released in a gatefold sleeve in 1973. GP received critical acclaim upon release, but failed to reach the Billboard charts...
, released in 1973, used the guitar-playing of James Burton
James Burton
James Burton is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 , Burton has also been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame...
(sideman to Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
and Ricky Nelson
Ricky Nelson
Eric Hilliard Nelson , better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor...
), and featured new songs from a creatively revitalized Parsons such as "Big Mouth Blues" and "Kiss the Children," as well as a cover of Tompall Glaser
Tompall Glaser
Tompall Glaser is an American country music artist. Active since the 1950s, he has recorded both as a solo artist and with his brothers Chuck and Jim in the trio Tompall & the Glaser Brothers...
's "Streets of Baltimore
Streets of Baltimore
"Streets of Baltimore" is a heavily covered country song written by Tompall Glaser and Harlan Howard in 1966.Although Glaser co-wrote the song, his group, Tompall Glaser & The Glaser Brothers, were not the first to record the song...
".
Parsons, by now featuring Harris as his duet partner, played dates across the United States as Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels. Unable to afford the services of the Elvis band for a month, the band featured the talents of obscure Colorado-based rock guitarist Jock Bartley
Jock Bartley
Jock Bartley is an American Musician. He is a member of the band Firefall.He studied at University of Colorado in Boulder as an art major.He played guitar in Zephyr, and released a pair of albums with Tommy Bolin on Warner Bros...
(soon to skyrocket to fame with Firefall
Firefall
Firefall is a rock band that formed in Boulder, Colorado in 1974. It was founded by Rick Roberts, who had been in the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Jock Bartley, who had been Tommy Bolin's replacement in Zephyr. The band's biggest hit single, "You Are the Woman", peaked at #9 on the Billboard charts...
), veteran Nashville sideman Neil Flanz
Neil Flanz
Neil Flanz is a pedal steel guitar player living in Austin, TX. He has played and toured for over 30 years with artists including Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Charlie Louvin and Joe Sun.- Biography :...
on pedal steel, Kyle Tullis on bass and former Mountain
Mountain (band)
Mountain is an American hard rock band that formed in Long Island, New York in 1969. Originally comprising vocalist and guitarist Leslie West, bassist Felix Pappalardi and drummer N. D. Smart, the band broke up in 1972 before reuniting in 1974 and remaining active until today...
drummer N.D. Smart (once described by Canadian folksinger Ian Tyson as "a psychotic redneck"). The touring party also included Gretchen Parsons—by this point extremely envious of Harris—and Harris' young daughter. Coordinating the spectacle as road manager was Phil Kaufman, who had served time with Charles Manson
Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
on Terminal Island
Terminal Island
Terminal Island is an island located in Los Angeles County, California between Los Angeles Harbor and Long Beach Harbor. Originally a mudflat known to the Spanish as Isla Raza de Buena Gente, and later called Rattlesnake Island, it has officially been Terminal Island since 1918...
in the mid-sixties and first met Parsons while working for the Stones in 1968. Kaufman ensured that the performer stayed away from substance abuse, limiting his alcohol intake during shows and throwing out any drugs smuggled into hotel rooms. At first, the band was under-rehearsed and played poorly, but improved markedly with steady gigging and received rapturous responses at the Armadillo World Headquarters
Armadillo World Headquarters
The Armadillo World Headquarters was the premier music hall and entertainment center in Austin, Texas, United States from 1970 to 1980.-History:...
in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and at a filmed concert at Liberty Hall in Houston (with Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
and Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
sitting in) and Max's Kansas City
Max's Kansas City
Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South, in New York City, which was a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s.-Origin of name:...
in New York City. According to a number of sources, it was Emmylou who forced the band to practice and work up an actual set list. Nevertheless, the tour did absolutely nothing for record sales. While he had been in the vanguard with The Byrds and the Burrito Brothers, Parsons was now perceived as being too authentic and traditional in an era dominated by the stylings of the Eagles, whose sound Parsons disdained (although he did maintain cordial relations with Bernie Leadon
Bernie Leadon
Bernard Mathew "Bernie" Leadon, III is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the Eagles. Prior to the Eagles, he was a member of two pioneering and highly influential country rock bands, Dillard & Clark and the Flying Burrito Brothers...
, now a member of the Eagles).
For his next and final album, 1974's Grievous Angel
Grievous Angel
Grievous Angel was the second solo album by Gram Parsons, compiled from 1973 sessions and released four months after his death. It received great critical acclaim upon release, but failed to find commercial success, a fate shared with his previous efforts solo and with The Flying Burrito Brothers....
, he again used Harris and Burton. The record, which was released after his death, received even more enthusiastic reviews than had GP, and has since attained classic status. Among its most celebrated songs is "$1000 Wedding", a holdover from the Burrito Brothers era, and "Brass Buttons", a 1965 opus which addresses his mother's alcoholism. Also included was a new version of "Hickory Wind" and "Ooh Las Vegas", co-written with Grech and dating from the G.P. sessions. Despite the fact that Parsons only contributed two new songs to the album ("In My Hour of Darkness", "Return of the Grievous Angel"), Parsons was highly enthused with his new sound and seemed to have finally adopted a serious, diligent mindset to his musical career, eschewing most drugs and alcohol during the sessions.
Before recording, Parsons and Harris played a preliminary three show mini-tour as the headline act in a Warner Brothers country-rock package. The backing band included Clarence White
Clarence White
Clarence White was a guitar player for Nashville West, The Byrds, Muleskinner, and the Kentucky Colonels. His parents were Acadians from New Brunswick, Canada...
, Pete Kleinow, and Chris Etheridge. On July 14, 1973, the legendary White was killed by a drunk driver while loading equipment in his car for a concert with the New Kentucky Colonels. At White's funeral, Parsons and Bernie Leadon launched into an impromptu touching rendition of "Farther Along"; that night, the distraught and drunken musician reportedly informed Phil Kaufman of his final wish: to be cremated in Joshua Tree. Despite the almost insurmountable setback, Parsons, Harris, and the other musicians decided to continue with plans for a fall tour.
In the summer of 1973, Parsons' Topanga Canyon home burned to the ground, the result of a stray cigarette. Nearly all of his possessions were destroyed with the exception of a guitar and a prized Jaguar automobile. The fire proved to be the last straw in the relationship between Burrell and Parsons, who moved into a spare room in Kaufman's house. While not recording, he frequently hung out and jammed with members of New Jersey–based country rockers Quacky Duck and His Barnyard Friends
Quacky Duck and His Barnyard Friends
Quacky Duck and His Barnyard Friends was an American country rock band of the early 1970s.It was founded by D'Andrea Bennett and Daegal Bennett, both sons of legendary singer Tony Bennett; they comprised the rhythm section. Other members included Curtis Fried, Gordon Javna, Jon Yaffee, and...
(whose members included Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
's sons, Danny and Dae Bennett as well as future Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
sideman and member of the Alpha Band
The Alpha Band
The Alpha Band was a rock band formed in July 1976 from the remnants of Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue. Band members were T-Bone Burnett, Steven Soles, and David Mansfield, plus sidemen who differed from record to record and included: David Kemper ; gospel great Andrae Crouch; and former Beatle...
, multi-instrumentalist David Mansfield
David Mansfield
David Mansfield is an American violinist, mandolin player, guitarist, pedal steel guitar player, and composer....
) and the proto-punk Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Michael Richman is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970 he founded The Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key, generally acoustic backing...
& the Modern Lovers, who were being managed by Kaufman. Richman credits Parsons with introducing him to acoustic-based music. Parsons is credited as producer on Quacky Duck's only album, Media Push, released by Warner Bros. in 1974. According to the road manager of Quacky Duck, Parsons was, despite being frequently drunk, a kind soul who provided business and musical guidance to the younger band.
Before formally breaking up with Burrell, Parsons already had a woman waiting in the wings. While recording, he saw a photo of a beautiful woman at a friend's home and was instantly smitten. The woman turned out to be Margaret Fisher, a high school sweetheart of the singer from his Waycross, Georgia days. Like Parsons, Fisher had drifted west and became established in the Bay Area rock scene. A meeting was arranged and the two instantly rekindled their relationship, with Fisher dividing her weeks between Los Angeles and San Francisco at Parsons' expense.
Death
In the late 1960s, Parsons became enamored of Joshua Tree National MonumentJoshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park is located in southeastern California. Declared a U.S. National Park in 1994 when the U.S. Congress passed the California Desert Protection Act , it had previously been a U.S. National Monument since 1936. It is named for the Joshua tree forests native to the park...
in southeastern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Alone or with friends, he would disappear in the desert for days searching for UFOs while under the influence of psilocybin
Psilocybin
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic prodrug, with mind-altering effects similar to those of LSD and mescaline, after it is converted to psilocin. The effects can include altered thinking processes, perceptual distortions, an altered sense of time, and spiritual experiences, as well as...
or LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
. After splitting from Burrell, Parsons would frequently spend his weekends in the area with Margaret Fisher and Phil Kaufman. Before his tour was scheduled to commence in October 1973, Parsons decided to go on one more excursion. Accompanying him were Fisher, personal assistant Michael Martin, and Dale McElory, Martin's girlfriend.
Less than two days after arriving, Parsons died on September 19, 1973, in Joshua Tree, California
Joshua Tree, California
Joshua Tree is a census-designated place in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 7,414 at the 2010 census, up from 4,207 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Joshua Tree is located in the Mojave Desert at ....
, at the age of 26 from an overdose of morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
and alcohol
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
. According to Fisher in the 2005 biography Grievous Angel: An Intimate Biography of Gram Parsons, the amount of morphine consumed by Parsons would be lethal to three regular users and thus he had likely overestimated his tolerance considering his experience with opiates. Fisher and McElroy were returned to Los Angeles by Kaufman, who dispersed the remnants of Parsons' stash in the desert.
Parsons' body disappeared from the Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
where it was being readied to be shipped to Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
for burial. Prior to his death, Parsons stated that he wanted his body cremated at Joshua Tree and his ashes spread over Cap Rock, a prominent natural feature there; however, Parsons' stepfather arranged for a private ceremony back in New Orleans and neglected to invite any of his friends from the music industry. Two accounts claim that Bob Parsons stood to inherit Gram's share of his grandfather's estate if he could prove that Gram was a resident of Louisiana, explaining his eagerness to have him buried there.
To fulfill Parsons' funeral wishes, Kaufman and a friend stole his body from the airport and in a borrowed hearse drove it to Joshua Tree where they attempted to cremate
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
it by pouring five gallons of gasoline into the open coffin and throwing a lit match inside. What resulted was an enormous fireball. Police chased them, but according to one account they "were unencumbered by sobriety" and the pair got away. The two were arrested several days later. Since there was no law against stealing a dead body, they were only fined $750 for stealing the coffin and were not prosecuted for leaving 35 lbs of his charred remains in the desert.
The site of Parsons' cremation was marked by a small concrete slab and was presided over by a large rock flake known to rock climbers
Rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
as The Gram Parsons Memorial Hand Traverse. The slab has since been removed by the U.S. National Park Service and was relocated to the Joshua Tree Inn which was where he was staying at the time of his death. At the site of the original memorial now are simple rock structures and writings on the rock which the park service sand blasts to remove from time to time.
Legacy
Stephen Thomas ErlewineStephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
of Allmusic describes Parsons as "enormously influential" for both country and rock, "blending the two genres to the point that they became indistinguishable from each other. ... His influence could still be heard well into the next millennium." In his essay on Parsons for Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Greatest Artist" list, Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
notes that Parsons' recorded music output was "pretty minimal." But nevertheless, Richards claims that Parsons "effect on country music is enormous[, t]his is why we're talking about him now."
The 2003 film Grand Theft Parsons
Grand Theft Parsons
Grand Theft Parsons is a 2003 film based on the true story of the country musician Gram Parsons , who died of an overdose in 1973...
stars Johnny Knoxville
Johnny Knoxville
Philip John Clapp , better known by his stage name Johnny Knoxville, is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, stunt performer, best known for being the co-creator and principal star of the MTV reality series Jackass, with the catchphrase "I'm Johnny Knoxville, and welcome to Jackass."-Early...
as Phil Kaufman and chronicles a farcical version of the theft of Parsons' corpse.
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
has continued to champion Parsons' work throughout her career, covering a number of his songs over the years, including "Hickory Wind", "Wheels", "Sin City", "Luxury Liner", and "Hot Burrito #2". Harris' songs "Boulder To Birmingham", from her 1975 album Pieces of the Sky
Pieces of the Sky
Pieces of the Sky is an album by Emmylou Harris, released in February 1975. It was effectively her debut.Although she had released the obscure folk-styled Gliding Bird five years earlier, Pieces of the Sky was the album that really launched the career of Emmylou Harris, and is widely considered to...
, and "The Road", from her 2011 album Hard Bargain
Hard Bargain
Hard Bargain is a Blues album by Albert King, released in 1996 withouttakes and previously unreleased material recorded between 1966 and 1972...
, are tributes to Parsons. In addition, her 1985 album The Ballad of Sally Rose
The Ballad of Sally Rose
The Ballad of Sally Rose is an album by Emmylou Harris released in May 1985. It marked a significant departure for Harris, as all the songs were written by her and her husband Paul Kennerley. Additionally, it is a concept album, loosely based on Harris's relationship with the late Gram Parsons...
is an original concept album that includes many allusions to Parsons in its narrative. The song "My Man", written by Bernie Leadon
Bernie Leadon
Bernard Mathew "Bernie" Leadon, III is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the Eagles. Prior to the Eagles, he was a member of two pioneering and highly influential country rock bands, Dillard & Clark and the Flying Burrito Brothers...
and performed by the Eagles on their album On the Border
On the Border
On the Border is the third studio album by the Eagles, released in 1974. During the making of the album, the band experienced significant changes. As the band tried to lean towards a more hard rock sound, they felt that producer Glyn Johns emphasized too much on their country sound. After recording...
, is a tribute to Gram Parsons. Both Leadon and Parsons were members of the Flying Burrito Brothers during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
A music festival called Gram Fest or the Cosmic American Music Festival was held annually in honor of Parsons in Joshua Tree, California, between 1996 and 2006. The show featured tunes written by Gram Parsons and Gene Clark as well as influential songs and musical styles from other artists that were part of that era. Performers were also encouraged to showcase their own material. The underlying theme of the event is to inspire the performers to take these musical styles to the next level of the creative process. Past concerts have featured such notable artists as Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Chris Ethridge, Spooner Oldham, John Molo, Jack Royerton, Gib Guilbeau, Counting Crows
Counting Crows
Counting Crows is an American rock band originating from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the group gained popularity following the release of its debut album in 1993, August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr. Jones"...
, Bob Warford, Rosie Flores, David Lowery, Barry & Holly Tashian, George Tomsco, Jann Browne, Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams is an American rock, folk, blues and country music singer and songwriter. She recorded her first albums in 1978 and 1980 in a traditional country and blues style and received very little attention from radio, the media, or the public. In 1988, she released her self-titled album,...
, Polly Parsons, The "Road Mangler"- Phil Kaufman, Ben Fong-Torres, Victoria Williams & Mark Olson, Sid Griffin, as well as a variety of many other bands that had played over the 2 or 3 day event. In addition, the Gram Parsons Tribute, in Waycross, Georgia, is a music festival remembering Parsons in the town in which he grew up.
In February 2008, Gram's protégée, Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
, was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Despite his influence, however, Parsons has yet to be inducted. Radley Balko
Radley Balko
Radley Balko is an American libertarian journalist, blogger, and speaker.- Education :Balko earned a B.A. in journalism and political science in 1997 from Indiana University.- Employment and publications :...
has written that "Parsons may be the most influential artist yet to be inducted to either the Rock and Roll Country Music Hall(s) of Fame. And it's a damned shame." The Gram Parsons Petition Project (G3P) was begun in May 2008 in support of an ongoing drive to induct Parsons into the Country Music Hall of Fame. On September 19, 2008, the 35th anniversary of Parsons' death, it was first presented to the Country Music Association
Country Music Association
The Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre...
(CMA) and Hall as a "List of Supporters" together with the official Nomination Proposal. The online List of Supporters reached 5,500 on what would have been Parsons' 65th birthday and continues to gather signatures, as well as at G3P's annual Gram InterNational concerts and other tribute events each year.
In November 2009, the musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
production Grievous Angel: The Legend of Gram Parsons premiered, starring Anders Drerup as Gram Parsons and Kelly Prescott as Emmylou Harris. Directed by Micheal Bate and co-written by Bate and David McDonald, the production was inspired by a March 1973 interview that Bate conducted with Parsons, which became Parsons' last recorded conversation.
In 2006, a Gandulf Hennig directed documentary film titled Gram Parsons: Fallen Angel was released.
Discography
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Country | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1968 | Safe at Home Safe at Home Safe at Home was the 1968 album by The International Submarine Band, led by the 21-year-old Gram Parsons. Featuring four of Parsons' originals surrounded by six covers of classic country and rock and roll music, it helped to forge the country rock movement of the late 1960s and early... (International Submarine Band) |
— | — | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sweetheart of the Rodeo Sweetheart of the Rodeo Sweetheart of the Rodeo is the sixth album by American rock band The Byrds and was released on August 30, 1968 on Columbia Records... (The Byrds) |
77 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1969 | The Gilded Palace of Sin The Gilded Palace of Sin The Gilded Palace of Sin is an album by the country rock group The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1969. It continued Gram Parsons' and Chris Hillman's pioneering work in modern country music, fusing traditional sources like folk and country with other forms of popular music like gospel, soul,... (Flying Burrito Brothers) |
164 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1970 | Burrito Deluxe Burrito Deluxe Burrito Deluxe is the second album by the country rock group The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1970. In between The Gilded Palace of Sin and Burrito Deluxe, the band underwent some personnel changes. Bassist Chris Ethridge left the band out of frustration at the band's lack of success... (Flying Burrito Brothers) |
— | — | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1973 | GP GP (album) GP is American singer-songwriter Gram Parsons' debut solo album. It was originally released in a gatefold sleeve in 1973. GP received critical acclaim upon release, but failed to reach the Billboard charts... |
— | — | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1974 | Grievous Angel Grievous Angel Grievous Angel was the second solo album by Gram Parsons, compiled from 1973 sessions and released four months after his death. It received great critical acclaim upon release, but failed to find commercial success, a fate shared with his previous efforts solo and with The Flying Burrito Brothers.... |
195 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1976 | Sleepless Nights (Gram Parsons & the Flying Burrito Brothers) | 185 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1979 | Early Years (1963–1965) | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1982 | Live 1973 Live 1973 Live 1973 is a recording by Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels. It was recorded at Sonic Studios in Hempstead, New York on March 13, 1973 during a live radio broadcast from WLIR-FM, a station located in Garden City, New York... (Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels) |
— | — | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987 | Dim Lights, Thick Smoke and Loud Loud Music (Flying Burrito Brothers) | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995 | Cosmic American Music | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Another Side of This Life: The Lost Recordings of Gram Parsons Another Side of This Life: The Lost Recordings of Gram Parsons Another Side of This Life: The Lost Recordings of Gram Parsons is a compilation released in 2000 of early recordings by Gram Parsons. It features all previously unreleased recordings... |
— | — | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Sacred Hearts & Fallen Angels: The Gram Parsons Anthology Sacred Hearts & Fallen Angels: The Gram Parsons Anthology Sacred Hearts and Fallen Angels: The Gram Parsons Anthology is a compilation of Gram Parsons's albums from 1968 to 1976 and was released in 2000. It features segments from the International Submarine Band, The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and his solo albums, and includes unreleased live... |
— | — | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | The Complete Reprise Sessions The Complete Reprise Sessions The Complete Reprise Sessions is a box set released in 2006 featuring both of Gram Parsons's early 1970s solo albums, GP and Grievous Angel. The box set features interviews and previously unreleased alternative takes... |
— | — | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | Gram Parsons Archives Vol.1: Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1969 Gram Parsons Archives Vol.1: Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1969 Gram Parsons Archives Vol.1: Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1969 is a twenty-seven song, two-disc set released November 6, 2007, by Amoeba Records, taken from two shows at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco when the Flying Burrito Brothers opened for the Grateful Dead.Amoeba Records co-founder Dave... (Gram Parsons with the Flying Burrito Brothers) |
45 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes the release failed to chart. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tribute albums
- Conmemorativo: A Tribute to Gram ParsonsConmemorativo: A Tribute to Gram ParsonsConmemorativo: A Tribute to Gram Parsons is an album of covers of singer-songwriter Gram Parsons' songs released by Rhino in 1993. It features 17 tracks recorded by artists from the indie rock and Americana music scenes of the time, including Uncle Tupelo, Vic Chesnutt, Bob Mould, Victoria...
(1993) - Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram ParsonsReturn of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram ParsonsReturn of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons is a 1999 tribute album to pioneering country-rock musician Gram Parsons, co-produced by his one-time singing partner, Emmylou Harris and featuring cover versions of songs written/co-written by or popularized by Parsons, performed by Harris,...
(1999)