Legends Spotlight: Gram Parsons

Legends Spotlight: Gram Parsons

Back to blog

The Phantom in a Nudie Suit: The Outlaw, Rock Star, Infamous…Who is Gram Parsons? 

The term “Rock Star” conjures images of rags-to-riches triumphs, million-selling trend-setters, constantly dogged by paparazzi, and worshipped like deities. These days, the term is even used to describe the famously outrageous, outspoken, or highly successful public figures in any field — from politicians to tech billionaires. Still, when used even in the broadest sense, the term “Rock Star” or even “successful” fails to fit one of popular music's most pivotal and influential figures. Of course, as the saying goes, “If you know, you know.” If not, it's past time to get acquainted with Rock and Roll's most enigmatic dark star, the nearly famous and almost legendary Country Rock pioneer, Gram Parsons. 

An accidental victim of his own self-destructive lifestyle, Gram Parsons' short life ended just two months shy of his 27th Birthday, in the early morning hours of September 19, 1973. Such a short lifetime scarcely leaves time for someone to realize their full potential, much less create an impactful and lasting legacy. Parsons' entire discography consists of 6 albums, all of which flopped hard. In fact, the combined sales from all six albums he’s featured on (to date) remain insufficient in sales to qualify for just one RIAA Gold record. His concert tours weren’t much more successful; although he was often positively captivating, many concert tours were cut short due to alcohol and/or other misadventures, alongside mostly disappointing attendance. 

Although he was greatly admired by many and even infamous in certain circles, Parsons' death went largely unnoticed outside his own professional and social circles. Almost as an afterthought, a few days after his death, the New York Times ran a tiny, error-filled 140-word “article” noting the singer-songwriter's passing. For most, this is where their life’s story ends, and their legacy begins to fade. Yet, today, Parsons' influence is enormous and continues to grow. In 2004, when Rolling Stone Magazine unveiled its list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time,” Gram Parsons was listed alongside luminaries like The Beatles, Hank Williams, Ray Charles, and his first musical hero, Elvis Presley. In the same year, Keith Richards led the 1st of many all-star concerts in celebration of Parsons' music. Naturally, this begs the question, “How did that happen?” or maybe “Gram who?” 

Gram Parsons circa 1966

All the riches and pleasures, what more could life bring?" 

Gram Parsons was born in 1946 into a family of great affluence. In fact, the term “born with a silver spoon” doesn’t quite cut it. As heir to a family fortune consisting of 1/3rd of Florida’s Orange groves, you could say he was born with a set of gold dinnerware, befitting a King and court. The bright, handsome young man loved to learn, read, camp, and explore the great outdoors. Above all, he loved to immerse himself in the rich musical tapestry surrounding his Waycross, Georgia, childhood home. From an early age, Gram was exposed to Country, Folk, Gospel, Blues, and R&B, but it was Elvis Presley’s Country and R&B-infused “Rockabilly” that set his life's course. 

Gram’s parents supported his love for music, providing him with a piano, guitar, and organ to explore his talents. Once he became skilled enough to perform in front of an audience, his family's wealth allowed them to purchase a club where Gram could hold shows for his friends. Although he was clearly loved and well cared for, his otherwise ideal childhood was shattered by alcoholism. At just 12 years old, Gram’s father passed away due to mental health and substance abuse issues, which pushed his mother's alcoholism into overdrive. With diminishing parental support, Gram turned to music for emotional solace. Tragically, just six years after his father's death, he received the devastating news that his mother had died as a result of alcoholism on the day of his high school graduation in 1965. Despite the tragedy, Gram went ahead with his plans to begin his adult life at Boston’s famed Ivy League Harvard University--although his decision to leave his childhood home behind had little to do with traditional academia. 

Upon arriving at Harvard in his flashy Austin-Healey coupe, Gram tattooed the campus common areas with fliers seeking bandmates. Confident, creative, and talented, Parsons all but abandoned academic pursuits in favor of pursuing his musical ventures. This kind of behavior is a recurring theme in Parsons's life. He’d use any reasoning to get himself positioned around the places and people that could advance his career. With his talent, magnetic personality, and financial resources, Gram had no problem putting himself where the action is and becoming the center of attention. 

During his first (and only) semester at Harvard, Parsons formed “The International Submarine Band (ISB) with carefully chosen local musicians who fit his stylistic preferences. Parsons fully stepped into the role (and the expensive clothes) of the type of “Rock Star” he carefully envisioned.

The International Submarine Band is the first of Gram’s musical ventures that offers a glimpse of the blended American musical styles that will become Parsons' trademark. The ISB’s Country and Folk-infused garage rock sound, along with Parsons’ songwriting and outstanding vocal performances, shortly earned the band a “non-fictional” recording deal. However, it was a far cry from the lucrative recording contract that Gram liked to boast about. After two singles failed to generate airtime, interest, or sales, Columbia unsurprisingly dropped the band. Unshaken by the lack of success but growing disillusioned with his surroundings, Gram left Harvard and the East Coast behind to seek success in sunny L.A. His timing was carefully timed and equally fortuitous. 

Thus far, Gram's family fortune only covered his housing and expenses while attending school; however, he’d just become of age to begin receiving payments from his trust fund. In 1967, Gram started to receive the equivalent of $7,000 (in today's dollars) per week in pocket money. Gram was now well-funded enough to do whatever he pleased, without financial worry. Money, like that, can open locked doors and provide the freedom to follow whims and dreams. It can also remove urgency and provide dangerous temptations. Parsons allowed all these side effects to guide how he lived, and ultimately died, but not before quietly renovating popular music. 

 Taking flight out of Laurel Canyon: The Byrds and beyond. 

California of 1967 was the perfect place and time for Parsons to explore and cultivate his unconventional musical aspirations. Although he was more of an off-the-rails southern gentleman than a card-carrying hippy or counterculture voice, challenging traditional norms was clearly a common denominator. Gram seamlessly stepped into the vibrant musical scene of Laurel Canyon, rubbing shoulders and making connections with who’s who of L.A.’s most prominent musicians. Aside from touring, Southern California would become Gram's new home for the remainder of his life. 

With a new lineup of musicians, including Chris Ethridge, Gram re-formed the International Submarine Band to take advantage of an opportunity to provide music for an experimental firm by Peter Fonda of “Easy Rider” fame. The new version of The I.S.B. quickly recorded a mix of original songs by Parsons, along with some country music covers. Although the music never made it into the film, the new band received significant exposure in the playing venues on the Sunset Strip, and they were picked up by the indie label LHI in 1967. The tracks were released in 1968, without much success or fanfare. It didn’t matter much to Gram. He’d already left the I.S.B. behind to join one of America’s most successful and influential bands of the 1960s. 

Gram Parsons' musical visions and personal aspirations made him better suited to be a solo artist or band leader, more so than a sideman or band member. That being said, an opportunity to become an instant star within the pioneering Folk and Psychedelic Rock band “The Byrds” must have been an irresistible proposition for Gram. Likewise, the Byrds were seeking someone with Gram’s feel for traditional country music to complement the band's shift in direction on their forthcoming album

Gram and keef

Upon joining the Byrds in early ’68, Gram's role was to play keyboards and provide the high vocal harmonies previously handled by David Crosby. Despite being an unknown force (especially compared to the celebrity status of the Byrds), founding members Chris Hillman and Roger McGuinn yielded Gram a vast amount of input and artistic control. It was a move that Gram took full advantage of. It didn’t take long for Gram to step out from behind the keyboards and into the role of rhythm guitarist, songwriter, and occasional lead vocalist. Moreover, Gram fully asserted his musical vision of melding Traditional Country and Rock music on a much more profound level than the Byrds had in mind. 

At Gram’s insistence, the Byrds abandoned Columbia’s L.A. studio in favor of recording what would become “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” in Nashville. This allowed the band to utilize some of the best Nashville studio musicians, including guitarist Clarence White, to help augment the album's traditional country sound. By the time sessions were complete, Gram sang lead vocals on six of the album's 10 tracks and had written three of them. In addition to dominating the Byrd’s new direction and spotlight, Gram also demanded the addition of a full-time pedal steel guitarist, as well as a pay increase. Additionally, Gram asserted that this incarnation of the already world-famous band should be renamed “Gram Parsons and the Byrds.” Needless to say, McGuinn and Hillman began to seriously regret the amount of latitude they had allowed Gram to take, and pulled in the reins. 

The Flying Burrito Brothers

Byrds leader Roger McGuinn explains: “He was taking over the band, and we couldn't really let that happen. We hired Parsons as a piano player, and got a monster in sheep's clothing. Soon, he exploded out of this sheep's clothing --- And oh my God! It's George Jones! In a big sequin suit!” Founding Byrds member Chris Hillman shared a different perspective: Initially, Gram was great in The Byrds. He was hard working, very ambitious, and it gave Roger and me a real kick in the rear. He had the motivation and ambition we lacked by 1968….I loved working with him… He came along and kind of energized us.”   

In post-production, McGuinn elected not to include the Parsons-penned “Lazy Days,” plus he overdubbed his own lead vocals over Parsons's voice on three additional songs. The final version of “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” includes Parsons' lead vocals on only three tracks and features only two of his original compositions. Still, Gram’s influence over the record is unmistakable and impossible to erase. 

Joshua Tree, California, Photo sessions for “The Gilded Palace of Sin”

Despite the band's loyal international fan base, “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” was the Byrds' first LP to be a commercial failure. Today, “Sweetheart” is widely regarded as a highly influential fusion of styles that was too far ahead of its time to earn the recognition it deserved. The 1968 album pre-dates Dylan's “Nashville Skyline” and The Band’s “Songs from Big Pink,” and is generally considered the first genuine, fully realized Country-Rock album by a major artist. 

Parsons' time as a member of the Byrds didn’t last, but had little to do with “Sweetheart of the Rodeo’s” poor reception, and much to do with Gram’s increasing drug use and lack of responsibility. In a startling move that no other aspiring rock star would ever consider, Gram informed the band he had decided to remain in London rather than fulfill his obligation to complete the final leg of the tour. After just 6 months, Gram’s tenure with the Byrds had come to an end. On such short notice, the band struggled through its remaining tour dates using a Roady to cover Grams' parts. Meanwhile, Gram spent the rest of his summer  with his new best friend, Keef Richards, while the Stones recorded their classic “Beggars Banquet.” 

(L to R) Mick, Keef, and Gram, enjoying the Rock Star life.

Cosmic American Music 

Gram Parsons openly expressed his disdain for categorizing music by genre. He said, “I was raised in the South, and I never knew the difference between Negro gospel music and country music. How can you define something like that?" However, when pressed to describe his sound in the absence of any existing term, he called it "Cosmic American Music."

Sonically, “Cosmic American Music” is a fusion of uniquely American music, including traditional Country, Folk, Gospel, Soul, R&B, and Rock. The mixing of any or all of these styles may not seem so outlandish today, but in the late 60s, it simply didn’t “fly”. Although all of these styles were widely enjoyed, listeners were commonly divided by region and race. As late as the mid-50s, Soul, Blues, and R&B were still categorized as “race music.” In late 60s America, Country music was thought of as music for “squares” and “red-necks” by the Hippies. Likewise, Country fans recoiled in horror at draft card burning “dirty hippy protest-music.” Aside from the desire to create a boundaryless musical sound, Gram hoped that Cosmic could demonstrate that Whites and Blacks, Rednecks and Longhairs, shared more similarities than differences.

After his two-month-long “weekend” of debauchery with Keef Richard in London, Gram returned home to Laurel Canyon. He got sober and serious about assembling a band that could help fully realize the “Cosmic American Music” style he’d been exploring with the ISB and The Byrds. In an audaciously bold move, the first door Gram knocked was former Byrds bandmate Chris Hillman, whom he had just abandoned mid-tour. Hillman recalls, “Gram came to me, hat in hand. We made up, and we embarked on a brand new journey, which was quite fruitful and exciting from the get-go.”  Parsons and Hillman embarked on a disciplined and productive period of songwriting and conceptualization for the new project. With the addition of Gram's former ISB bandmate Chris Ethridge (piano, bass) and the soon-to-be legendary “Sneaky” Pete Kleinow on the pedal steel guitar, “The Flying Burrito Brothers” took flight. It didn’t take long to score a record deal, with A&M Records jumping at the chance to sign a new band with two ex-members of the Byrds. The band immediately entered A&M’s studio to begin recording Parsons and Hillman had recently been obsessing over. 

Gram desired an album cover that reflected both the band's unique musical style and a sense of success. Never short on cash and ever obsessed with the trappings of stardom, Gram arranged for band members to have custom-made outfits by Nudie’s Rodeo tailors. Nudie Cohen is famous for making Elvis Presley’s iconic gold lamé suit and the flashy, custom-embroidered, rhinestone-studded suits worn by Country’s biggest stars, including Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Roy Rogers, and more. With a price tag of $10,000 each (that’s 90k in today’s money), the famously expensive and unmistakably flashy suits adorned by long-haired musicians presented the band's blending of styles perfectly. Nearly as Iconic as the music itself, the Nudie suits (including Parsons' infamous embroidered Marijuana leaves, poppies, and pills outfit)  now reside on permanent display at the Country Music Hall of Fame. 

Back cover art for “The Gilded Palace Of Sin”) The “Burritos” In their “Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors” suits. 

The Flying Burrito Brothers released their debut album, “The Gilded Palace of Sin,” in 1969. It’s a masterwork of songwriting, individual musicianship, and a fully realized example of Gram's concept of “Cosmic American Music.” 

The album's sparse production provides the listener with an intimate experience that almost feels like being in the same room as the band. Likewise, the open and airy arrangements allow every magnificently played mix of musical elements to shine through. The simple, uncluttered approach reveals how each band member plays within completely different styles. Chris Hillman's “Motown” inspired rock/soul bass lines complement the melody as well as the backbeat. The edgy steel pedal wizardry of Pete Klikow is upfront and prominent —a sound right at home in Country or Western Swing, but entirely foreign to pop/rock listeners of 1969. On top of it all is Gram Parsons' melancholy lyrics, and his authentic, soulful vocal delivery has a touch of a Southern drawl. Separately, each element sounds as if from a different genre. Together, these opposing elements came together as something entirely new. 

Unfortunately, anything so ahead of its time generally fails to reach commercial success in its own time. Despite positive press and high praise from notable figures such as Bob Dylan, such is the case with “The Gilded Palace of Sin.” Upon release, the album only briefly cracked the top 200 and sold only 40,000 copies. However, in terms of influence, “The Burritos” visionary blending of styles could not have had a greater impact, both in the near future and the long haul. 

The Burritos played some high-profile live events, such as the infamous Altamont Raceway concert with the Rolling Stones, which could have increased album sales and brought the band into the mainstream. On nights when Parsons was on, he and the band were positively riveting. 

Best friend Keith Richards said, “Gram was everything you wanted in a singer and a songwriter, and that (expletive) could make chicks cry. I have never seen another man who could make hardened old waitresses at the Palomino Club in Los Angeles shed tears the way he did.” 

Unfortunately, the band's performances became increasingly erratic due to Parsons' increasing substance abuse and self-destructive tendencies. Without the gratification of instant success, Gram's interest in the band took a back seat to hanging out with the Rolling Stones and indulging his darker side. Gram frequently missed shows, and when he did make it, he was usually too intoxicated to perform. After one more hastily prepared album, the architect of a new sound got himself kicked out of his own band. 

Gram and his muse, Emmylou Harris, circa 1973

The Return of the Fallen Angel 

After being kicked out of the “Flying Burrito Brothers” and a motorcycle wreck in 1970, Parsons spent the better part of two years serving nothing but his addictions. Had he never recorded again, at just 23 years, Gram had already sown the seeds of his own legacy, but he was not yet finished. His own addictions and the comforts of wealth often sidelined his creative prowess, but the music he loved to create always called him back from the edge. 

Plus a few pounds, sobered up, Gram was ready to return to his musical cause. Seeking new musical partners, Gram was introduced to a gifted, yet unknown Emmylou Harris. The pair went on to create the critically acclaimed first Gram Parsons solo album, “GP,” and the “fallen angels” tour that followed. Harris's vocal performances and insistence on professionalism certainly helped create a more polished version of Gram’s musical vision than the whisky-soaked wildness of the Burritos. Although not a big commercial success, Parsons and his music were maturing and gaining traction. With A&M committed to his next record, Gram returned to the studio to work closely with Harris, with whom he’d formed a tight musical bond. Gram loved singing and working with Harris enough to stay sober and undistracted while recording. Unfortunately, he couldn’t resist his old demons entirely. After completing sessions for “The Return of the Grievous Angel,” Gram took off for a weekend of celebration at his favorite Joshua Tree National Park, where he suffered a fatal overdose of morphine and alcohol. 

 

 (L to R) future Eagles co-founder Bernie Leadon performing with Gram Parsons

Gram was only starting to reach his potential as a songwriter and performer when he died. Despite his short career and minimal output, Gram Parsons’ impact on Country and Rock music is immeasurable. Although he is not the first artist to experiment with blending country and Rock music, he is the first to do it so thoroughly and authentically. Going back and discovering (or re-discovering) Gram's breakthrough mixing of Traditional Country and Rock with the Byrds, and the Flying Burrito Brothers won’t sound as radical as they did to listeners in the late 60s. Even by the late 70s, the sound of Gram's “Cosmic Mix” had become far more mainstream and familiar. What Gram started, others soon followed. In fact, Gram’s influence began seeping into more commercially successful acts, such as the Eagles and the Rolling Stones, country-infused songs within his own lifetime. After Parsons' death, his protégée, Emmylou Harris, continued in the same style, and her own rising stardom shed light on his music. Although he disliked the term, “Country-Rock” exploded into mainstream popularity in the 1970s, with the music of the Eagles, Jackson Brown, Delaney & Bonnie, Bob Dylan, and more. With time, Gram's influence spread even further. Call it Country-Rock, Outlaw Country, Alt Country, Roots, or Americana, all roads lead back to Cosmic American music, and the one and only Gram Parsons. 

Blog posts

View all
1 3
View all