Even in the same field of "drinkers" whom I have written, there was a man who is told in the context different from the country music scene. The man was Gram Parsons. R&B, the blues, jazz folk and country, which are the roots of rock or rock'n'roll, were seemed to be divided unclearly and influenced by each other, and after genres were strictly divided, there were some movements sticking them together again, one of which was so-called country-rock and he was the first to do it in the late '60s . (He called it as "Cosmic American Music".) Country and R&B were conbined to southern soul, and Ray Charles was one of the first R&B singers who sang and had hits of country standards . The first contact with country rock for many people should be Crosby, Stills and Nash & Young or Bob Dylan ( "Nashville Skyline" ) or the Band or the early Eagles. But their main stay was folk rock and didn't put themselves deeply into country music. Neil Young is a sort of multiple personality disorder who did from hard rock to techno featuring vocoder. At that time Gram Parsons should be the only man who did consistently. He was finally far from country music scene , and he was a rocker who was also a fanatic of country music. He made songs with the same folks who understood country music, and his voice has less country accents but subtle sentiments. On the other hand, DJs had hesitation to put them on the air of the rock radio. He was not a good salesman but a man who were known to some devotees.
If you want to see Gram Parsons through his short life, I say the compilation"Sacred Hearts & Fallen Angels" was substantial for its profound commentary. His first fundamental recordings were those of the International Submaline Band. While they did straight rock'n'roll a little, many tunes including his own compositions like Blue Eyes or Luxury Liner had already shown the direction of country rock. He also sang Merle Haggard or some, however, it was interesting that he had never known Merle Haggard or Buck Owens until the members recommended those Bakerfield country men in their heyday to him. Country music for Gram was until in the '40s and '50s, Hank Williams or the Louvin Brothers. When he decided to earn his living by music at first, he wanted to do folk music like the Kingston Trio. Bakerfield sound , the band sound featuing twangy electric guitar, should have exert influence on him.
And then, Gram Parsons joined the recordings of the Byrds. The reason why I wrote "joined the recordings" is that he couldn't be the formal member of the Byrds for the restriction of the other contract. Nonetheless, the album "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" couldn't be finished without him. The Byrds were deeply associated with Bob Dylan since Mr. Tambouline Man , and also picked up two Dylan songs here. They also played the Louvin Brothers or Merle Haggard, and William Bell's southern soul gem You Don't Miss Your Water with their signature chorus. What is more, Gram's own Hickory Wind and One Hundred Years from Now are wonderful. Among the bonus tracks you can also hear the version featuring the voice of Gram, not the original release sung by Roger McGuinn. Columbia, the label where the Byrds stayed, seemed to have difficulty to sell this album; the radio commercial at the time saying "Is it the Byrds?" can be heard as a cry of a salesperson. The keen, psychedelic aspect of the Byrds like Eight Miles High was sort of taken away when David Crosby left, and the roots-music aspect was sort of brought in by Gram Parsons. And you can hear their chorus in the free atmosphere of hippies (the transition before Gram Parsons and after Gram Parsons should be known if you listen their best like "Very Best of the Byrds".)
Gram Parsons, who finished the relation with (that is, who left) the Byrds before the release of the album, formed the Flying Burrito Brothers including the ex-Byrd Chris Hillman. As you can see some pictures which appear on their compilation "Hot Burritos !", I found myself interested by their attire on the sleeve of their first album "The Guilded Palace of Sin". This is "Nudie Suits" fabricated by a tailor in Nashville, Nudie Cohn. The gorgeous suits were worn by many artists like Hank Williams on stage, and Elvis' golden suit was also made by him. There is an interesting story of the friendship between Nudie and Gram who had Nudie add the hippie design to the suits. The picture of the two, old Nudie who wore a more gorgeous green one than young Gram, should make you smile. Although the first album including those which escaped from typically routine composition, such as fine performances of Dan Penn's Do Right Woman and Dark End of the Street, Gram's own Christine's Tune, Sin City or Wheels , finally failed to succeed commercially. Gram got a favor of the Rolling Stones. Especially, he was so familiar with Keith Richards that they share a house. This friendship led to the last tune of their second album "Burrito Deluxe", Wild Horses, which was co-written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and sung by Gram Parsons. This is fantastic as "Cosmic American Music" or as the later Stones' version.
After leaving the Flying Burrito Brothers and spending a debauched life with the Stones, Gram Parsons returned to America for making his solo album, and then he met Emmylou Harris. Among his solo album tunes on "Sacred Hearts & Fallen Angels", duets with crystaline-voiced Emmylou are so fabulous. ballads like Love Hurts sound beautiful (this was sold well by the British rock band Nathareth's version, which was made from the arrangement of Gram and Emmyhou rather than the original by the Everly Brothers). His exquisite solo is She ; this not-country but heartaching ballad should appeal to those who are reluctant to hear country. Just before the time when his next album "Grievous Angel" following his first "GP", he ended his own short life. As I dare to omit some episodes depicting confusions in his private life since his childhood, this self-destructive way of life should be the price of his delicate sensibilities. Despite his life, those who were associated with (Roger McGuinn or Emmylou Harris) got inspired well and those who were not got influenced so greatly. (2011.02.11)