It was just Chris Hillman and Roger McGuinn. But Gene Clark was gone, Michael Clarke was gone, David Crosby was gone. They were a major influence on countless bands aping their LA hippie style. When Gram joined them, they had five top forty albums and eight hit singles with their chiming guitars and three-part harmonies. No one really knew what they were getting with Gram, most still don’t. The epitaph on his gravestone is GOD’S OWN SINGER.

As necessary, beautiful and pointless as McCarthy, Kerouac, Hemingway or Whitman. His Cosmic American Music was a preposterous cocktail of country, gospel, blues, folk, bluegrass, rockabilly and honkytonk. Meyer by way of Colonel Kurtz, captured it best, saying that hearing Gram, “well, it really put the hook in me.” His voice invites you to do that, to think a little bit more about what music is and where it comes from. Like he did it for many people, Keith Richards included, Gram got me understanding country. After his death, his myth continued to grow, his corpse been taken by legendary road mangler Phil Kaufman and cremated in Joshua Tree Park. He almost became a punk with Jonathan Richman, but tragically died young. He released two excellent solo records with Emmylou Harris and Elvis’ band. He definitely helped put the soul and emotion back into country. He expanded the Rolling Stones musical knowledge and was the coolest guy in the room even when hanging out with them British bad boys. Arguably he influenced The Eagles more than anybody else. He created his Cosmic American Music on two albums with the Flying Burrito Brothers. He dragged The Byrds into country on Sweethearts of the Rodeo but was gone before its release. His group, the awfully named International Submarine Band blended the lemon kiss of psychedelia with roots music. Stuff befell Gram.Įlvis played at his school. Then I found out about the man and was hooked. I dug his voice from the off, when I was a kid listening to 'Love Hurts'. On the sunny day that I got married, I smoked a morning Cohiba at Gram’s grave in a remote part of New Orleans. Album reviewMy dog is called Gram Parsons.

See more Your browser does not support the audio element. Sleepless Nights was certainly a labor of love and it's a worthy purchase for committed fans, but neophytes are better off giving a listen to The Flying Burrito Brothers' masterpiece The Gilded Palace of Sin, or either solo album, G.P. The three tracks with his duet partner fare best, while most of the cuts with the Burritos sound like demos, and though a few are inspired (particularly the deeply felt versions of 'Sing Me Back Home' and 'Green, Green Grass of Home,' a lot of the time both Parsons and the band sound like a solid bar band in the middle of a Wednesday night set - more than competent, but less than inspired. Anyone hoping to find the great lost Gram Parsons song is out of luck here all 12 tunes are covers of vintage country classics, except for 'Honky Tonk Women' (which at least sounds like a C&W classic in this arrangement) and The Louvin Brothers' 'The Angels Rejoiced Last Night,' which is as spiritually uplifting as ever with Harris' pure, clear voice helping to bring it home.

Three years after Gram Parsons' untimely death, his frequent duet partner Emmylou Harris helped arrange for the release of this collection of outtakes - three songs he cut with Harris for his final solo album Grievous Angel in 1973, and nine others recorded live in the studio with The Flying Burrito Brothers in 1970. Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.

Sleepless nights gram parsons