Editing Gram Parsons (section)

==Career==
Parsons developed strong musical interests early in life, particularly after seeing [[Elvis Presley]] perform in concert in Waycross, on February 22, 1956.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elvispresleymusic.com.au/elvis_presley_1956.html |title=Elvis Presley 1956: The King of Rock 'n' Roll |website=Elvispresleymusic.com.au |access-date=2012-06-07}}</ref> Five years later, he was playing in [[rock and roll]] cover bands such as the Pacers and the Legends, headlining in Winter Haven/Polk County clubs owned by his stepfather. By age 16, he had graduated to [[folk music]], and in 1963 he teamed up with his first professional outfit, the Shilohs. Heavily influenced by [[The Kingston Trio]] and [[The Journeymen]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Gram Parsons - The Early Years: 1960-1965 |publisher=ByrdWatcher: A Field Guide to the Byrds of Los Angeles |url=http://ebni.com/byrds/memgrp1.html |access-date=26 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100126074029/http://ebni.com/byrds/memgrp1.html |archive-date=26 January 2010}}</ref> the band played [[Hootenanny|hootenannies]], [[coffee house]]s and high school auditoriums; as Parsons was still enrolled in prep school, he performed with the group only in select engagements. Forays into New York City included a performance at Florida's exhibition in the [[1964 New York World's Fair]] and regular appearances at the Café Rafio on [[Bleecker Street]] in [[Greenwich Village]] in the summer of 1964. Although [[John Phillips (musician)|John Phillips]] (an acquaintance of Shiloh George Wrigley) arranged an exploratory meeting with [[Albert Grossman]], the impresario balked at booking the group for a Christmas engagement at [[The Bitter End]] when he discovered that the Shilohs were high school students.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GayYaHLGCWcC&q=shilo&pg=PA57|title=Hickory Wind: The Life and Times of Gram Parsons|first=Ben|last=Fong-Torres|date=15 September 1998|publisher=Macmillan|access-date=19 December 2017|via=Google Books|isbn=9780312194642|ref=none}}</ref> Following a recording session at the radio station of [[Bob Jones University]], the group reached a creative impasse amid the emergence of [[folk rock]] and dissolved in the spring of 1965.

=== The International Submarine Band (1966–1967) ===
{{Main article|International Submarine Band}}
In 1966, he and other musicians from the Boston folk scene formed a group called the [[International Submarine Band]]. In 1967, after briefly residing in the [[Kingsbridge, Bronx|Kingsbridge]] section of [[the Bronx]], they moved to [[Los Angeles]]. Following several lineup changes, the band 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 (album)|Luxury Liner]]", and an early version of "Do You Know How It Feels," which he revised later in his career. ''Safe at Home'' would remain unreleased until mid-1968, by which time the International Submarine Band had broken up.

The International Submarine Band appeared in the [[Peter Fonda]] film [[The Trip (1967 film)|''The Trip'']] (1967) as a performing band in one of the clubs. Their song "[[Lazy Days (Gram Parsons song)|Lazy Days]]" was offered for the film's soundtrack, but the soundtrack was done by Mike Bloomfield's [[The Electric Flag|Electric Flag]]. In 1967, Peter Fonda recorded a version of the Parsons' song "November Nights" titled "November Night". The song was released as a single in March 1967, with Donovan's "[[Catch the Wind]]" on the B side.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Unterberger |first=Richie |date=May 24, 2020 |title=Peter Fonda, Rock's Easy Rider |url=http://www.richieunterberger.com/wordpress/peter-fonda-rocks-easy-rider/ |access-date=December 12, 2023 |website=Wordpress}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Peter Fonda – November Night, Mar 1967 |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/3756169-Peter-Fonda-November-Night |access-date=December 12, 2023 |website=Discogs|date=March 1967 }}</ref>

===The Byrds (1968)===
{{Main article|The Byrds}}
[[File:Gram Parsons with The Byrds 1968.jpg|thumb|Parsons during his time with the Byrds, 1968]]
By 1968, Parsons came to the attention of [[The Byrds]]' [[bassist]], [[Chris Hillman]], via business manager Larry Spector, who was looking for a new band member following the departures of [[David Crosby]] and [[Michael Clarke (musician)|Michael Clarke]].<ref name="timeless">{{cite book|author=Rogan, Johnny.|pages=250–253|year=1998|title=The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited|edition=2nd|publisher=Rogan House|isbn=0-9529540-1-X}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Byrds Biography|website=[[AllMusic]]|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p3810|pure_url=yes}}|access-date=25 March 2010}}</ref> In February 1968, Parsons passed an audition for the band, being initially recruited as a [[Jazz piano|jazz pianist]] but soon adding [[rhythm guitar]] and vocals.<ref name="timeless"/><ref name="legacy">{{cite book|author=Fricke, David.|year=2003|title=Sweetheart of the Rodeo: Legacy Edition (2003 CD liner notes)}}</ref>

Although Parsons was an equal contributor to the band, he was not regarded as a full member by the band's label, [[Columbia Records]].<ref name="timeless2">{{cite book|author=Rogan, Johnny.|pages=253–256|year=1998|title=The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited|edition=2nd|publisher=Rogan House|isbn=0-9529540-1-X}}</ref> Consequently, when the Byrds' recording contract was renewed on February 29, 1968, it was only original members [[Roger McGuinn]] and [[Chris Hillman]] who signed it.<ref name="timeless2"/> Parsons, like fellow new recruit [[Kevin Kelley (musician)|Kevin Kelley]], was hired as a [[sideman]] and received a salary from McGuinn and Hillman.<ref>{{cite book|author=Hjort, Christopher.|page=159|year=2008|title=So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star: The Byrds Day-By-Day (1965-1973)|publisher=Jawbone Press|isbn=978-1-906002-15-2}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite book|author=Scoppa, Bud.|year=2001|title=Sacred Hearts Fallen Angels (2001 CD liner notes)}}</ref> Parsons and Kelley were given equal billing alongside McGuinn and Hillman on the ''[[Sweetheart of the Rodeo]]'' album, and in press coverage.<ref>{{cite book|author=Hjort, Christopher.|pages=168–193|year=2008|title=So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star: The Byrds Day-By-Day (1965-1973)|publisher=Jawbone Press|isbn=978-1-906002-15-2}}</ref>{{quote box|width=22em|"Being with The Byrds confused me a little. I couldn't find my place. I didn't have enough say-so. I really wasn't one of The Byrds. I was originally hired because they wanted a keyboard player. But I had experience being a frontman and that came out immediately. And [Roger McGuinn] being a very perceptive fellow saw that it would help the act, and he started sticking me out front."|—Gram Parsons reflecting on his time with the Byrds<ref>{{Citation|author=Jacoba Atlas|author-link=Jacoba Atlas|newspaper=[[Melody Maker]]|title=Gram Parsons|location=London|date=25 July 1970}}</ref>}}

''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'' was conceived by McGuinn as a double-album history of [[American popular music]].<ref name="fricke">{{cite book|author=Fricke, David.|year=1997|title=Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1997 CD liner notes)}}</ref> It was to begin with [[bluegrass music|bluegrass]], then move through [[Country music|country and western]], [[jazz]], [[rhythm and blues]], and [[rock music]], before ending with [[electronic music]].<ref name="legacy"/> However, as recording plans were made, Parsons persuaded the other members to leave Los Angeles and record the album in [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]].<ref name="timeless2"/> McGuinn's concept was jettisoned in favor of a country project, which included Parsons' songs "One Hundred Years from Now" and "[[Hickory Wind]]", and songs by [[Bob Dylan]], [[Woody Guthrie]] and [[Merle Haggard]].{{sfn|Byrd Watcher1}}

Recording sessions for ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'' commenced at Columbia Records' recording studios in the [[Music Row]] area of Nashville on March 9, 1968.<ref name="legacy"/> Mid-way through, the sessions moved to Columbia Studios, Hollywood and were completed on May 27, 1968.<ref name="legacy"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Rogan, Johnny.|pages=624–625|year=1998|title=The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited|publisher=Rogan House|isbn=0-9529540-1-X}}</ref> However, Parsons was still under contract to LHI Records and Hazlewood threatened legal action over Parsons' appearance on the album.<ref name="fricke"/> As a result, McGuinn replaced three of Parsons' lead vocals with his own; in 1973, in an interview with [[Cameron Crowe]], Parsons said  that McGuinn "erased it and did the vocals himself and fucked it up."{{sfn|Fong-Torres|1991|p=94}} Parsons remained as lead vocalist on the songs "You're Still on My Mind", "Life in Prison", and "[[Hickory Wind]]".{{sfn|Byrd Watcher1}}

While in England with the Byrds in the summer of 1968, Parsons left the band over a planned concert tour of South Africa and his opposition to [[South Africa under apartheid|apartheid]].<ref name="legacy"/> During this period Parsons became acquainted with [[Mick Jagger]] and [[Keith Richards]] of [[The Rolling Stones]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Gram Parsons and The Byrds: 1968|publisher=ByrdWatcher: A Field Guide to the Byrds of Los Angeles|url=http://ebni.com/byrds/memgrp3.html|access-date=25 March 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101028025309/http://ebni.com/byrds/memgrp3.html|archive-date=28 October 2010}}</ref> After leaving the band, Parsons stayed at Richards' house and the pair developed a close friendship, with Parsons reintroducing the guitarist to country music.<ref>{{cite book|author=Hjort, Christopher.|page=179|year=2008|title=So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star: The Byrds Day-By-Day (1965-1973)|publisher=Jawbone Press|isbn=978-1-906002-15-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Kaufman, Phil.|author2=White, Colin|pages=89–91|year=1993|title=Road Manager Deluxe|publisher=White Boucke Publishing|isbn=0-9625006-5-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kentucky.com/entertainment/music-news-reviews/article220248025.html |title= Marty Stuart thankful opening for Chris Stapleton, 'the man carrying the flag for country music'|last=Tunis|first=Walter |date=October 22, 2018|work=Lexington Herald-Leader |access-date=2023-07-23}}</ref>

===The Flying Burrito Brothers (1969–1970)===
{{Main|The Flying Burrito Brothers}}
[[File:Country Music Hall of Fame (5981921715).jpg|thumb| Parsons's ''[[Nudie suit]]'' in the [[Country Music Hall of Fame]] in Nashville]]
Returning to Los Angeles, Parsons sought out Chris Hillman, 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]]'' marked the culmination of Parsons' post-1966 musical vision: a modernized variant of the [[Bakersfield sound]] that was popularized by [[Buck Owens]] amalgamated with strands of soul and [[psychedelic rock]]. The band appeared on the album cover wearing [[Nudie Cohn|Nudie]] suits emblazoned with hippie symbols, including [[marijuana]], [[Tuinal]], and [[Seconal]]-inspired patches.<ref name="Grdn">{{cite news |last1=Robinson |first1=John |title=Naked talent |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2004/feb/28/popandrock.gramparsons |access-date=24 August 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=28 February 2004}}</ref> 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, Do Right Man]]", the latter featuring David Crosby on high harmony. The original songs were the result of a productive songwriting partnership between Parsons and Hillman, who were sharing a bachelor pad in the [[San Fernando Valley]]. The pronounced gospel-soul influence on this album likely evolved from the ecumenical tastes of bassist Chris Ethridge, who co-wrote "Hot Burrito No. 1/I'm Your Toy" and "Hot Burrito No. 2" with Parsons.

Original drummer [[Eddie Hoh]] was unable to perform adequate takes due to a substance abuse problem. He was dismissed after two songs and the band used  session drummers, including former International Submarine Band drummer Jon Corneal and [[Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show|Popeye Phillips]]. Before commencing live performances, the group settled on original Byrds drummer [[Michael Clarke (musician)|Michael Clarke]].

''[[The Gilded Palace of Sin]]'' was commercially unsuccessful. Critic [[Robert Christgau]] called it "an ominous, obsessive, tongue-in-cheek country-rock synthesis, absorbing rural and urban, traditional and contemporary, at point of impact." Parsons suffered from fear of flying and the band toured via train. The band members lost most of their money in a perpetual poker game and their concerts were met with bewilderment. Parsons was taking [[psilocybin]] and [[cocaine]], so his performances were erratic. The most successful appearance was 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]]".

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 the promotion of the single, it also flopped. During this period, Ethridge departed, saying that he did not share Parsons' and Hillman's affinity for country music. He was replaced by lead guitarist [[Bernie Leadon]], while Hillman reverted to bass.

By this time, Parsons's drug use had increased to the point where new songs were rare, and much of his time was spent partying with the Rolling Stones, who were in America finishing ''[[Let It Bleed]]''. As the Stones prepared to play the nation's largest venues, the Burritos played to dwindling nightclub audiences. But they were booked as one of the acts at the [[Altamont Music Festival]]. They played a short set, including "[[Bony Moronie]]" and "[[Six Days on the Road]]", which was included in the event's documentary ''[[Gimme Shelter (1970 film)|Gimme Shelter]]''.

With mounting debt incurred, A&M hoped to recoup some of its losses by marketing the Burritos as a straight country group. Manager Jim Dickson instigated a session where the band recorded honky tonk staples and contemporary pop covers in a countrified vein, but this was scrapped in favor of a second album of originals on an extremely reduced budget.

Faced with a dearth of new material, most of the album 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, ''[[Burrito Deluxe]]'', was released in April 1970. Although it is considered less inspired than its predecessor, it is notable for the song "Older Guys" and for the band's take on "[[Wild Horses (Rolling Stones song)|Wild Horses]]".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tSy9OPq-XD0C&q=wild+horses+burrito+brothers&pg=PP112|title=Flying Burrito Brothers' The Gilded Palace of Sin|first=Bob|last=Proehl|date=15 December 2008|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA|access-date=19 December 2017|via=Google Books|isbn=9781441143495}}</ref>

Like its predecessor, ''Burrito Deluxe'' under-performed commercially but also failed to carry the critical cachet of the debut. Disenchanted, Parsons left the Burritos in mutual agreement with Hillman; under Hillman, the group recorded one more album before dissolving in 1971.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.americansongwriter.com/2012/05/pieces-of-the-sky-the-legacy-of-gram-parsons/|title=Pieces Of The Sky: The Legacy Of Gram Parsons|magazine=[[American Songwriter]]|access-date=4 June 2012}}</ref>

===Solo career and touring with Emmylou Harris (1970–1973)===
{{more citations needed|section|date=November 2019}}
In early 1970, Parsons signed a solo deal with A&M Records and moved in with producer [[Terry Melcher]].{{sfn|Meyer|2007|pp=337-342}} The two shared a penchant for cocaine and heroin, and the sessions were largely unproductive, with Parsons eventually losing interest in the project. The master tapes were lost; it is unclear who took them.{{sfn|Meyer|2007|pp=340-341}}
 
Parsons accompanied the Rolling Stones on their [[The Rolling Stones UK Tour 1971|1971 U.K. tour]] in the hope of being signed to the newly-formed [[Rolling Stones Records]]. He lived at Richards' French villa [[Nellcôte]] during the recording of ''[[Exile on Main Street]]'', though he contributed little to the process. His drug use and constant quarrelling with his girlfriend, Gretchen Burrell, led to a request to leave by Richards' girlfriend, [[Anita Pallenberg]]. Parsons attempted to rekindle his relationship with the band on their [[The Rolling Stones American Tour 1972|1972 American tour]], to no avail.

Parsons returned to the US for a one-off concert with the Burritos. In  [[Washington, D.C.]], he met [[Emmylou Harris]] and asked her to join him in Los Angeles to record his first solo album. It came as a surprise to many when Parsons was signed to [[Reprise Records]] by [[Mo Ostin]] in mid-1972. The ensuing ''[[GP (album)|GP]]'' (1973) featured several members of [[Elvis Presley]]'s [[TCB Band]]. It included six new songs from Parsons alongside several country covers, including [[Tompall Glaser]]'s "[[Streets of Baltimore]]" and [[George Jones]]' "[[That's All It Took]]". 

Parsons, now featuring Harris as his duet partner, toured across the U.S. as Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels in February–March 1973. Unable to afford the TCB Band, the group featured guitarists [[Jock Bartley]] and [[Larry Coryell]], [[Neil Flanz]] on pedal steel, bassist Kyle Tullis, and drummer [[N.D. Smart]]. The touring party also included Parsons' new wife, Gretchen Parsons, who was envious of Harris and her young daughter. Coordinating the spectacle as road manager was [[Phil Kaufman (producer)|Phil Kaufman]], who had served time with [[Charles Manson]] on [[Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island|Terminal Island]] but who ensured that the performer stayed clear of drugs and limited his [[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]] intake during shows. At first, the band was under-rehearsed and played poorly; however, they improved with steady gigging and received rapturous responses at several counter-cultural venues, including [[Armadillo World Headquarters]] in [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], [[Max's Kansas City]] in New York City, and [[Liberty Hall (Houston, Texas)|Liberty Hall]] in [[Houston, Texas|Houston]], where [[Neil Young]] and [[Linda Ronstadt]] sat in for a filmed performance. Nevertheless, the tour failed to galvanize sales of ''[[GP (album)|GP]]'', which never charted in the ''Billboard'' 200.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/search/artists/gram+parsons|title=Artist Search for "gram parsons"|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=19 December 2017}}</ref>

For his next and final album, 1974's posthumously released ''[[Grievous Angel]]'', Parsons used Harris and members of the TCB Band. The record received more enthusiastic reviews than ''GP''. Although Parsons only contributed two new songs to the album ("In My Hour of Darkness" and "[[Return of the Grievous Angel]]"), he was reportedly enthusiastic with his new sound and seemed to have finally adopted a diligent mindset to his musical career, limiting his intake of alcohol and opiates during most of the sessions. ''Grievous Angel'' peaked at number 195 on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' chart.

Before recording, Parsons and Harris played a preliminary four-show mini-tour as the headline act in a June 1973 [[Warner Records]] country rock package with the [[Kentucky Colonels (band)|New Kentucky Colonels]] and [[Country Gazette (band)|Country Gazette]]. A shared backing band included [[Clarence White]], [[Pete Kleinow]] and [[Chris Ethridge]]. On July 15, 1973, White was killed by a drunk driver in [[Palmdale, California]], while loading equipment in his car for a concert with the New Kentucky Colonels.<ref>"Car kills Topanga musician", ''Long Beach (CA) Press-Telegram'', Monday, July 16, 1973, p. 13 (A Topanga musician loading instruments aboard his van was struck and killed Sunday...")</ref> At White's funeral, Parsons and [[Bernie Leadon]] performed a rendition of "[[Farther Along (song)|Farther Along]]"; that evening, Parsons reportedly informed Phil Kaufman of his final wish: to be cremated in [[Joshua Tree National Park]].