Life of Gram Parson
Overview
Gram Parsons (Ingram Cecil
Connor III ) Member of the Byrd's
and The Flying Burrito Brothers,
he is best known for a series of
recordings that brought on the socalled 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
Many times performed duets with
Emmylou Harris, They formed the
named Gram Parsons and the
Falling angels when they played
across the United States
The Byrds
With their high harmonies, ringing guitars, and obsession with studio
technique, the Byrds also became the sonic model for many rock bands. By
1967 the bands members Crosby and the drummer Clark both left as their
first album hit stores.
At this point a new drummer and Parsons were introduced to the group.
Songwriter Gram Parsons took the band to a new level of sound.
Incorporating a country feel to their style. A year later releasing Sweetheart
of the Rodeo, recorded in Nashville and released in the fall of 1968, remains
a milestone of the country-rock movement that spawned groups like the
Eagles.
October 1968 McGuinn was the only original Byrd remaining, as Parsons
and Hillman left to continue their country experiments with the Flying Burrito
Brothers.
Flying Burrito Brothers
Consisted of, Parsons's bandmates from old bands, plus connections with
musicians. Their first album, The Gilded Palace of Sin (1969), did not sell
well, but the group had a cult following which included musicians such as
Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones. This album in particular was written by
Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman who were former Byrds members.
Parsons and Hillman got a house in the San Fernando Valley and dubbed it
"Burrito Manor." Hillman Describes
"To this day the most productive time I've ever had, including all the bands I was
ever in, the most productive time was living with [Parsons] in Reseda in 1968
when I was getting a divorce and so was he and we shared a house and we were
putting the Burritos together then. We didn't have a drummer, we had Chris
Ethridge and Sneaky Pete. We woke up in the morning and we would write every
morning.... It was a great time. To this day I've never peaked like that working with
other people."*
The two wrote some of the most memorable tunes of both their careers
during this period,
Death
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Following a brief tour with his band, the Fallen Angels, Parsons returned to the studio
to record Grievous Angel. It had just been completed when, in September 1973,
Parsons overdosed on a combination of morphine and tequila while relaxing at a
favorite desert retreat near the Joshua Tree National Monument.
According 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.
In his funeral plan his father arranged for him to be barried in New Orleans and
inviting none of his friends
Although before hand Gram had told a friend Kaufman to cremate his body and to
spread the ashes at Joshua Tree . There being his friend stole his coffin from the
airport and drove it to Joshua Tree, resulting in a police chase. But they did make it
there and poured gallons of gasoline on his coffin and struck a match to a huge fire.
Gram was set to his proper barrell.