Gram Parsons : Al Fingers

Gram Parsons

Artist Of The Month | November 2007

GRAM PARSONS

Singer/songwriter Gram Parsons (née Ingram Cecil Connor III) is regarded as a pioneer of American country rock. Born on 5 November 1946 to wealthy parents in Florida, USA, he endured a troubled childhood – his father committed suicide when he was 12 years old and his mother died of alcohol poisoning on the day he graduated from high school. Immersing himself in music and drugs, Parsons moved from band to band, scoring hits with The International Submarine Band, The Byrds, and The Flying Burrito Brothers, and befriending high-profile players including Keith Richards and Mick Jagger. After hearing a virtually unknown Emmylou Harris singing in a club in 1971, Parsons persuaded her to feature on his upcoming solo album, “GP”, released on Reprise in 1973. His follow-up, the classic “Grievous Angel”, came out the following year, but it was released posthumously; Parsons was found dead, reportedly from a morphine overdose, in a motel in Joshua Tree, California on 19 September 1973 – he was aged just 26. The events that followed his death were bizarre. Shortly beforehand, Parsons had told his close friend, Phil Kaufman, of his wish to be cremated in Joshua Tree. With this in mind, Kaufman stole Parson’s corpse prior to burial and drove it to the site in a hearse, where he set the coffin alight. Parsons’ body was later reclaimed and buried in New Orleans.

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