Although his career was too short, he was such an influential musician, that in the psychedelic 1960s, he talked one of the most successful rock bands into releasing a country music record.
Gram Parsons, who lies beside me here in eternal rest (picture by Carolle G.) is that influential musician. Gram got the Eight Miles High band, The Byrds, to release Sweetheart of the Rodeo. They then took him along to support the record with an international tour.
I’ve talked with Byrds fans who bought that vinyl record, including some who still have it. They’re still confused!
The Parsons Mission was to convince young music fans that country music – Cosmic American Music as he called it – was worth taking to heart.
This mission paled compared to his other purpose – to convince the country music establishment and legions of hard-core fans that they could open their hearts to musicians like him. Those musicians were adding new twists to their country songs, including distortion on the pedal steel guitar and a more-enthusiastic drumbeat.
This mission paled compared to his other purpose – to convince the country music establishment and legions of hard-core fans that they could open their hearts to musicians like him. Those musicians were adding new twists to their country songs, including distortion on the pedal steel guitar and a more-enthusiastic drumbeat.
This brought The Byrds to the Grand Ole Opry, where a very young Marty Stuart (who later covered some of Gram’s songs) saw Parsons backstage and described him as a “mess,” before witnessing a somewhat cold reception by the audience. After falling off the Byrds roster, Parsons brought his musicians to some of the hardcore redneck stages around Los Angeles.
This was a tough row for Parsons to hoe, and was a harder assignment than, say, Bob Dylan releasing Blonde on Blonde or Nashville Skyline to his existing audience.
We lost Gram to his abuse of drugs and alcohol in 1973, and he never got to see how things turned out.
His frequent duet partner, the great Emmylou Harris, sings about him in The Road, “How could I see a future then where you would not grow old?” Gram would have had to grow old, to see whether his dream would come true.
His frequent duet partner, the great Emmylou Harris, sings about him in The Road, “How could I see a future then where you would not grow old?” Gram would have had to grow old, to see whether his dream would come true.
Gram rests in an easy-to-find area of the Garden of Memories in Metairie, Louisiana called Garden of the Last Supper. He’s happy to receive visitors whenever the grounds are open.
A group of biographies cover the details of Gram’s life. I especially love Grievous Angel: An Intimate Biography of Gram Parsons by Jessica Hundley and Gram’s daughter, Polly Parsons. Amazon carries several excellent anthologies of his music.
Enjoy your journey!
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