Country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons died: September 19, 1973

Originally posted 9/19/11. Updated 9/19/13.

Gram Parsons has been called “the father of country-rock.” ^STE Writer Radley Balko argues that “Parsons may be the most influential artist yet to be inducted to either the Rock and Roll Country Music Hall(s) of Fame.” ^WK He was only 26 when he died on September 19, 1973 from an overdose of morphine and alcohol. However, he left behind an immensely influential body of work with his two solo albums as well as work with the International Submarine Band, the Byrds, and the Flying Burrito Brothers.

The circumstances surrounding his death make for one of rock and roll’s more unusual stories. Before launching his tour in support of his second solo album, Grievous Angel, he went to Joshua Tree National Monument in California. The spot was a frequent getaway and he’d even told his tour manager, Phil Kaufman, that when he died he wanted his ashes spread there. The resulting chain of events maded for an unbelievable and comic story; it was even turned into the 2003 movie Grand Theft Parsons starring Johnny Knoxville.

Parsons’ stepfather intended the body to be shipped from Los Angeles International Airport to New Orleans for a private ceremony. With a borrowed hearse, Kaufman and Michael Martin, a former roadie with the Byrds, stole the body from the airport and headed to Joshua Tree. Once there, they poured five gallons of gasoline into Parsons’ coffin and threw a lit match inside. It made for an enormous fireball, but not a successful cremation. Kaufman and his friend were arrested several days later and fined $750 for stealing the coffin, but there was no law against stealing a dead body. They were also not prosecuted for the 35 pounds of charred remains they left behind in their failed effort. ^WK

Parsons came from a wealthy but troubled family. He was born in 1946 to “Coon Dog” Connor, a World War II flying ace, and Avis, the daughter of John Snivley who owned about one-third of Florida’s citrus fields. ^STE Both parents were alcoholics. Two days before Christmas in 1958, Coon Dog committed suicide. ^WK Avis moved in with her parents in Florida and a year later married Robert Parsons. ^STE Tragedy struck again when, on the same day Gram graduated from high school, his mom died from alcohol poisoning.

Musically, Parsons was smitten with music at 9 years old after seeing Elvis Presley perform at his school. As a teen, he was a member of several bands. In his solitary semester at Harvard, formed the International Submarine Band. They released an album, Safe at Home, in 1968 but the group was already defunct by its release.

Parsons met Chris Hillman, the bassist of the Byrds, and was brought into the group. He only lasted one album – 1968’s Sweetheart of the Rodeo, but it is considered one of the most important in the development of country-rock.

He then formed the Flying Burrito Brothers with Hillman. They released two albums, 1969’s The Gilded Palace of Sin and 1970’s Burrito Deluxe. During this era, Parsons became close friends with Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. He also dove deep into substance abuse.

After a failed attempt in 1971 to record his first solo album, Parsons released G.P. in late-1972. A second album, Grievous Angel, was released after his death.

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Awards:

• the top 1000 music makers of all time
  
• top 1000 albums of all time (the Byrds’ Sweetheart of the Rodeo, The Gilded Palace of Sin, G.P., Grievous Angel)
  
• Grammy Hall of Fame (Rodeo)
  
• Top 20 Country Albums of All Time (Rodeo, Gilded, G.P., Angel)
  

Resources and Related Links:

• the DMDB page for Gram Parsons
  
• Gram Parsons’ DMDB Encyclopedia entry
  
• ^STE Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
  
• ^WK Wikipedia
  

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50 years ago: The Chordettes’ “Mr. Sandman” hit #1

Mr. Sandman The Chordettes

Writer(s): Pat Ballard (see lyrics here) First Charted: October 11, 1954 Peak: 17 US, 18 HP, 17 CB, 13 HR, 11 UK, 14 AU, 2 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 79.3 video, 109.04 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: This “vocal group favorite” DJ was written by Pat Ballard, the music editor of College Humor. TY2 It was first recorded by Vaughn Monroe and released in 1954 as the B-side of “They Were Doin’ the Mambo.” WK It was followed by multiple covers in late 1954 and early 1955 by the Four Aces (#5 US, #9 UK), Buddy Morrow (#20 US), the Lancers (#28 US), Dicky Valentine (#5 UK), Chet Atkins (#13 CW), and Max Bygraves (#16 UK). There were later chart versions by Bert Kaempfert (1968, #12 AC) and Emmylou Harris (1981, #10 CW, #37 US). The Andrews Sisters, Marvin Gaye, Bette Midler, and the Supremes have also recorded the song. However, the Chordettes had the first – and most successful – charting version. Theirs topped the Billboard, Cashbox, and Your Hit Parade charts. The Chordettes were a female vocal group comprised of Carol Buschmann, Lynn Evans, Jinny Osborn, and Nancy Overton. They formed in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. They were known for their “barbershop-type close harmony…with a doo wop and pop twist.” DD They were “the stylistic bridge between the barbershop harmony vocalizing of predecessors such as the Andrews Sisters and the rhythm & blues pop of the Shirelles.” TB “Mr. Sandman” is “an excellent example of their main form, singing close harmony a cappella with minimal accompaniment.” SF This was the first chart hit for the foursome. They went on to reach the top 40 on the Billboard pop charts eight more times, including four top-10 hits. Their next biggest hit was “Lollipop,” which reached #2. Their version features an iconic male voice in the third verse in simply responding, “Yes?” one time after the quartet sings “Mr. Sandman.” The voice was supplied by Archie Bleyer, the founder of Cadence Records, the company which released the Chordettes’ version of the song. WK The version by the Four Aces is featured in the movie Back to the Future when Marty, played by Michael J. Fox, first realizes he’s in 1955. WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Chordettes DD DailyDooWop.com DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 134. SF Songfacts TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 11. TY2 Don Tyler (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955. McFarland & Company, Inc.: Jefferson, North Carolina. Page 331. WK Wikipedia First posted 9/8/2021; last updated 3/23/2023.

Gram Parsons’ Grievous Angel charted

Grievous Angel Gram Parsons

Charted: February 16, 1974 Peak: 195 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): 0.14 US, -- UK, 0.14 world (includes US and UK) Genre: country rock

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] Click for codes to charts. Return of the Grievous Angel (Gram Parsons, Tom Brown) [4:19] Hearts on Fire (Walter Egan, Tom Guidera) [3:50] I Can’t Dance (Tom T. Hall) [2:20] Brass Buttons (Parsons) [3:27] $1000 Wedding (Parsons) [5:00] Cash on the Barrelhead (Charlie Louvin, Ira Louvin) [2:12] Hickory Wind (Parsons, Rob Buchanan) [4:15] Love Hurts (Boudleaux Bryant) [3:40] Ooh Las Vegas (Parsons, Ric Grech) [3:29] In My Hour of Darkness (Parsons, Emmylou Harris) [3:42] Total Running Time: 36:14

Rating: 4.379 out of 5.00 (average of 15 ratings) Quotable: Established Parsons as “the patron saint of alt-country.” – Mark Deming, All Music Guide Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “Gram Parsons fondness for drugs and high living are said to have been catching up with him while he was recording Grievous Angel, and sadly he wouldn’t live long enough to see it reach record stores, dying from a drug overdose in the fall of 1973.” MD “Released four months after Parsons went to that great nightclub in the sky, Grievous Angel was more than a final bow. It infused the ex Byrd and Flying Burrito Brothers cosmic tang with melancholy soul, breathing new life into both country and rock & roll” BL and establishing Parsons as “the patron saint of alt-country.” MD “This album is a less ambitious and unified set than his solo debut, but that’s to say that G.P. was a great album while Grievous Angel was instead a very, very good one. Much of the same band that played on his solo debut were brought back for this set, and they perform with the same effortless grace and authority (especially guitarist James Burton and fiddler Byron Berline).” MD “If Parsons was slowing down a bit as a songwriter, he still had plenty of gems on hand from more productive days, such as Brass Buttons and Hickory Wind (which wasn't really recorded live in Northern Quebec; that’s just Gram and the band ripping it up live in the studio, with a handful of friends whooping it up to create honky-tonk atmosphere). He also proved to be a shrewd judge of other folks material as always; Tom T. Hall’s I Can’t Dance is a strong barroom rocker, and everyone seems to be having a great time on The Louvin Brothers’ Cash on the Barrelhead.” MD “As a vocal duo, Parsons and Emmylou Harris only improved on this set, turning in a version of Love Hurts so quietly impassioned and delicately beautiful that it’s enough to make you forget Roy Orbison ever recorded it. And while he didn’t plan on it, Parsons could hardly have picked a better closing gesture than In My Hour of Darkness. Grievous Angel may not have been the finest work of his career, but one would be hard pressed to name an artist who made an album this strong only a few weeks before their death – or at any time of their life, for that matter.” MD Notes: The CD reissue combined this album with Parsons’ debut G.P.

Resources and Related Links: BL Blender (10/08). “100 Greatest American Albums” MD Mark Deming, All Music Guide Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 2/24/2008; last updated 3/21/2024.

Gram Parsons: Top 20 Songs

Gram Parsons Top 20 Songs

Country-rock singer and guitarist born Cecil Ingram Connor on 11/5/1946 in Winter Haven, FL. Died 9/19/1973. With the International Submarine Band (1968), the Byrds (December 1967 to August 1968), Flying Burrito Brothers (1968-71), and a solo artist (1971-73). Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Gram Parsons DMDB profile page for Gram Parsons Dave’s Music Database: “Acts’ Profile Pages and Best-of Lists”

Awards:

Top 20 Songs Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. DMDB Top 10%: 1. The Byrds “Hickory Wind” (1968) 2. Gram Parsons “Return of the Grievous Angel” (1974) 3. The Flying Burrito Brothers “Sin City” (1969) DMDB Top 20%: 4. The Flying Burrito Brothers “Christine’s Tune (Devil in Disguise)” (1969) 5. Gram Parsons “She” (1973) 6. The Byrds “One Hundred Years from Now” (1968) 7. The Flying Burrito Brothers “Wild Horses” (1970) 8. Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris “Love Hurts” (1974) 9. The Flying Burrito Brothers “Hot Burrito #1” (1969) Beyond the DMDB Top 20%: 10. Gram Parsons “Brass Buttons” (1974) 11. Gram Parsons “$1000 Wedding” (1974) 12. Gram Parsons “Streets of Baltimore” (1973) 13. Gram Parsons “In My Hour of Darkness” (1974) 14. The Byrds “You’re Still on My Mind” (1968) 15. The Flying Burrito Brothers “The Dark End of the Street” (1969) 16. The International Submarine Band “Luxury Liner” (1968) 17. Gram Parsons “A Song for You” (1973) 18. The International Submarine Band “Blue Eyes” (1968) 19. Gram Parsons “Ooh Las Vegas” (1974) 20. Gram Parsons “The New Soft Shoe” (1973) Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Gram Parsons DMDB profile page for Gram Parsons Dave’s Music Database: “Acts’ Profile Pages and Best-of Lists” First posted 11/19/2025.