Gram Parsons

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Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons, wearing his Nudie suit on the lot of A&M records.
Born November 5, 1946
Winter Haven, Florida, U.S.A.
Died September 19, 1973
Yucca Valley, California, U.S.A.

Gram Parsons (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. A solo artist as well as a member of both The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, he is best known for a series of recordings which anticipate the so-called country rock of the 1970s and the alt-country movement that began around 1990. Parsons described his records as "Cosmic American Music". He died of a drug overdose at the age of 26.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] 1946–1968

Parsons was born Cecil Ingram Connor, III in Winter Haven, Florida, the grandson of citrus fruit baron John Snively, with extensive properties both there and in Waycross, Georgia, where he was raised. A sister, "Little" Avis, soon followed. His father, "Coon Dog" Connor, suffered mood swings and abruptly committed suicide two days before Christmas Day 1958. Gram's mother Avis subsequently married Bob Parsons, whose surname was adopted by young Ingram, the elder Parsons going as far to have new birth certificates drawn up for his stepson and stepdaughter. Henceforth he would be known as Gram Parsons. For a time, the family found a stability of sorts until Avis rapidly descended into alcoholism, leading to her death from cirrhosis.

As his family disintegrated around him, Gram developed strong musical interests, particularly after seeing Elvis Presley perform in concert in 1957. Five years later, but 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 teamed with his first professional outfit, the Shilos. Heavily influenced by the Kingston Trio and the Journeymen,[1] 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 band folded he attended Harvard University, studying theology but departing after a semester. Despite being from the South, he first became serious about country music during his time in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1966, he and others from the Boston folk scene formed the International Submarine Band. The band relocated to Los Angeles the following year, and in 1968 released the album Safe at Home, which contains one of his best-known songs, "Luxury Liner," as well as an early version of "Do You Know How It Feels", which he would reprise on the first Flying Burrito Brothers album. But young Parsons had already moved on to bigger things by the time of the album's release.

[edit] 1968–1970

By 1968, Parsons had come to the attention of Chris Hillman of The Byrds who, depleted by the firing of David Crosby and the departure of Michael Clarke, were seeking new members. Originally conceived as a history of twentieth-century music, beginning with traditional country, taking in jazz, R&B, and rock, and ending with the most advanced (for the time) form of electronic wizardry, Sweetheart of the Rodeo was their only album with Parsons as a member. As recording plans were made, Gram (originally hired as a jazz pianist) persuaded the Byrds to leave Los Angeles and record the album in Nashville. Along the way McGuinn's plan was jettisoned in favor of a full-fledged country and western project, and included Parsons' songs such as "One Hundred Years from Now" and "Hickory Wind," along with compositions by Bob Dylan and Merle Haggard. However, due to contractual issues, most of Parsons's vocals were removed from the final product. Parsons left the band after refusing to play in apartheid-ridden South Africa.

During this period he became friendly with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones. It has been suggested that Parsons was mostly apolitical and merely took advantage of an opportunity to hang out with his idols, 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 and did not seem to exhibit racist tendencies. While in England, Parsons developed a close kinship with Richards and reintroduced him to country music. Sitting around for hours, the twosome would play obscure records and trade off on various songs with their guitars. They even toured together on a few occasions to Stonehenge with Chris Hillman and Roger McGuinn in the English countryside of Wiltshire, where Keith Richards had a house quite near to the ancient site.

Parsons was widely rumored to have been the author of "Honky Tonk Women" and added credence to this in interviews and in discussions with friends by claiming to have developed the acoustic guitar and fiddle dominated arrangement of the song included on Let It Bleed as "Country Honk". Nevertheless, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have always claimed that they conceived the traditional country arrangement while on holiday in Brazil in late 1968. As this vacation came on the heels of Parsons' initial visits with the Stones, it could be assumed that he was at least an indirect influence upon this new musical direction. Incidentally, partial authorship for the song has also been attributed to the likes of Ry Cooder (who introduced Richards to the trademark open five string tunings that would become nearly synonymous with his style) and the disintegrating Brian Jones.

Returning to Los Angeles, Parsons was soon joined by Hillman (both as rhythm guitarists), and the two formed the Flying Burrito Brothers with bassist Chris Ethridge 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 "Hot Burrito #2" 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. Most of the songs on the album were composed by Hillman and Parsons in a creatively fertile period where the latter's drug intake noticeably decreased; the atypically pronounced (for Parsons) gospel soul influence likely comes from his frequent jamming with Delaney and Bonnie and Richards.

Though not a commercial success, Gilded was acclaimed 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." Recorded without a permanent drummer, 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. Frequently indulging in massive quantities of psilocybin and cocaine, Parsons' 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 "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, who lacked total commitment to Parsons' musical vision and often indulged in drugs and drink on a level surpassing the guitarist, 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 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 with 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 Dickinson 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 William's "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 sent to Kleinow, who was scheduled to overdub a part on the song. 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, he left the Burritos in mutual agreement with Hillman, at his wit's end after two years of babysitting Parsons. Under his direction, the group recorded two more LPs.

[edit] 1970–1972

Parsons immediately signed a solo deal with A&M Records and partnered with producer/scenester Terry Melcher, who had produced The Byrds' Mr. Tambourine Man and worked with The Beatles. With a mutual penchant for alcohol, cocaine, and (by this juncture) heroin, the sessions were unproductive and found the singer in a holding pattern of covering country hits and himself ("Hot Burrito #1"). Eventually losing interest altogether, he checked the master tapes out in 1971. He accompanied the Stones on their 1971 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", nothing has been substantiated to this day. Parsons attempted to rekindle his relationship with the band on their 1972 tour to no avail.

After leaving the Stones' camp, Parsons married in 1971, for the first and only time, to Burrell at his stepfather's New Orleans estate. Allegedly, the relationship was far from stable, with Burrell cutting a needy and jealous figure while Parsons castrated 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.

[edit] 1972–1973

Parsons and Burrell enjoyed the most idyllic time of their relationship, visiting old cohorts like Ian Dunlop and Family/Blind Faith/Traffic member Ric Grech in England. With the assistance of Grech and one of the bassist's friends, a doctor friend who dabbled in country music, 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, utilized the guitar-playing of James Burton (sideman to Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson), and featured new songs from a creatively revitalized Parsons songs such as "Big Mouth Blues" and "Kiss the Children," as well as a superb 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 (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 Leadon, now an Eagle).

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 which was covered by one of the many groups influenced by Parsons, the Mekons, 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 rhythm section included Tony Bennett's sons) and the proto-punk Johnathan Richman & the Modern Lovers, who were being managed by Kaufman. Richman credits Parsons with introducing him to acoustic-based music. 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 Florida days. Like Parsons, Fisher had drifted west and became established in the Bay Area rock scene as a desirable groupie, bedding the likes of Eugene Landy and Timothy Leary's son. 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.

[edit] Death

In the late 1960s, Parsons became enamored with Joshua Tree National Monument. 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 September 19, 1973 in Joshua Tree, California at the age of 26 from an overdose, purportedly 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 not be lethal to an addict and that he had likely overestimated his tolerance considering his past experience with opiates. Fisher and McElroy were returned to Los Angeles by Kaufman, who dispersed the remnants of Parsons' stash in the desert.

In a story that has taken on legendary stature, Parsons' body disappeared from the Los Angeles International Airport, where it was being readied to be shipped to Louisiana for burial. Maintaining his promise, Kaufman and a friend managed to steal Parsons' body from the airport and, in a borrowed hearse, drove Parsons' body to Joshua Tree where they cremated it. The site of the cremation is today marked by a small concrete slab and is presided over by a large rock flake known to rock climbers as 'The Gram Parsons memorial hand traverse'.[2]. The two were arrested several days later and fined $700 for burning the coffin, since stealing a body was not a crime.[3] The burned remains were eventually returned to Parsons' stepfather and interred in New Orleans. Kaufman raised the fine money by hosting "Phil Kaufman's Koffin Kaper Koncert", an informal tribute to the singer with music from Dr. Demento, Bobby "Boris" Pickett, and Jonathan Richman. Relabeled bottles of "Gram Pilsner" were also distributed.

A version of these events is depicted in the 2003 comedy Grand Theft Parsons starring Johnny Knoxville as Kaufman, with Kaufman himself in a cameo appearance as a felon in handcuffs. In the 2005 Canadian mockumentary The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico, Kaufman plays himself in frequent interview snippets where he purports to have been the manager of the fictional title character, whose life and musical style is largely based on Parsons' life. When Terrifico is shot onstage, Kaufman says he drove the gravely-wounded singer to the hospital where the car was stolen with Terrifico in back while Kaufman was trying to get him admitted. Terrifico is never seen again. The filmmakers uncover evidence that the apparent death of Terrifico was faked by Kaufman and others. When Kaufman is questioned about the similarity to his stealing of Parsons' body, he scoffs at the comparison. In the 2003 BBC documentary Gram Parsons: Fallen Angel (released commercially in 2006), Parsons' family alleged that Kaufman's cremation was little more than a drunken hatchet job and succeeded only in mutilating roughly 60% of the corpse.

[edit] Discography

  • Safe at Home : International Submarine Band (1968)
  • Sweetheart of the Rodeo : The Byrds (1968)
  • The Gilded Palace of Sin : Flying Burrito Brothers (1969)
  • Burrito Deluxe : Flying Burrito Brothers (1970)
  • GP : Gram Parsons (1973)
  • Grievous Angel : Gram Parsons (1974)
  • Early Years (1963–1965) : Gram Parsons (1979)
  • Live 1973 : Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels (1982)
  • Sacred Hearts & Fallen Angels: The Gram Parsons Anthology : Gram Parsons/Various (2001)
  • Another Side of This Life: The Lost Recordings of Gram Parsons : Sundazed Music (2001)
  • The Complete Reprise Sessions : Gram Parsons (2006).

[edit] Samples

[edit] References

Christgau, Robert. 1990. Rock Albums of the '70s: A Critical Guide. (New York: Da Capo Press). ISBN 0-306-80409-3.

[edit] Further reading

  • Are You Ready for the Country: Elvis, Dylan, Parsons and the Roots of Country Rock, Peter Dogget, Penguin Books, 2001. ISBN 0-14-026108-7
  • Dreaming Out Loud: Garth Brooks, Wynonna Judd, Wade Hayes and the changing face of Nashville, Bruce Feiler, Avon Books, 1998. ISBN 0-380-97578-5
  • In The Country of Country: A Journey to the Roots of American Music, Nicholas Dawidoff, Vintage Books, 1998. ISBN 0-375-70082-X
  • Hickory Wind: The Life and Times of Gram Parsons, Ben Fong-Torres, Pocket Books, 1991. ISBN 0-671-70513-X
  • Grievous Angel : An Intimate Biography of Gram Parsons by Jessica Hundley and Polly Parsons (Paperback - Nov 9, 2005)
  • Gram Parsons: God's Own Singer by Jason Walker, Helter Skelter Books, London 2002 ISBN 1-900924-27-7
  • Moody Food by Ray Robertson, SFWP, 2006. ISBN 0-9776799-0-X

[edit] External links

The Byrds
Roger McGuinn | Chris Hillman | David Crosby | Gene Clark | Michael Clarke
Gram Parsons | Kevin Kelley | Clarence White | Gene Parsons | John York | Skip Battin
Discography
Studio albums: Mr. Tambourine Man | Turn! Turn! Turn! | Fifth Dimension | Younger Than Yesterday | The Notorious Byrd Brothers | Sweetheart of the Rodeo | Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde | Ballad of Easy Rider | (Untitled) | Byrdmaniax | Farther Along | Byrds
Live albums: Live at the Fillmore - February 1969
Compilations: The Byrds' Greatest Hits | The Best of The Byrds: Greatest Hits, Volume II | The Byrds Play Dylan | The Essential Byrds
Box Sets: The Byrds
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