Pioneer of Cosmic American Music who fused country, soul, and rock through the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers before his death at 26.
MOODS · country rock · soulful · twangy · wistful · cosmic americana · roots rock · honky tonk · melancholic · rebellious · southern · longing · rootsy
BIOGRAPHY
Gram Parsons (Ingram Cecil Connor III, 1946-1973) was an American musician who recorded with the International Submarine Band, the Byrds, and the Flying Burrito Brothers, popularizing what he called "Cosmic American Music," a hybrid of country, rhythm and blues, soul, folk, and rock. He left the Byrds in 1968 rather than tour apartheid-era South Africa, then formed the Flying Burrito Brothers with Chris Hillman.
The Burrito Brothers' 1969 debut, The Gilded Palace of Sin, drew a cult following among musicians including the Rolling Stones; critic Robert Christgau called it "an ominous, obsessive, tongue-in-cheek country-rock synthesis." Parsons later made GP and Grievous Angel with Emmylou Harris, and his friendship with Keith Richards shaped the Rolling Stones' country turn on Exile on Main St. and "Dead Flowers."
WHY THEY'RE COOL
Parsons never sold many records in his lifetime, but his influence reshaped rock and country alike. His work with the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers helped invent country rock, his solo albums with Emmylou Harris became touchstones for alt-country acts like Son Volt, Wilco, and Ryan Adams, and his bond with Keith Richards pushed the Rolling Stones toward the country sound of Exile on Main St. Rolling Stone ranked him No. 87 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
GEORGE'S PLAYS
First time on the station.
PLAYED ON WOKE1
