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Gram Parsons was born Ingram Cecil Connor III on November 5, 1946 in Winter Haven, Florida. His mother was Avis Snively Connors, a citrus heiress. His father, Cecil "Coon Dog" Connors, died when Ingram was 15. Gram's widowed mother married Bob Parsons, and Ingram legally changed both of his names, to Gram Parsons.
Gram formed his first band, The Pacers, when he was 12 years old. After high school, in 1965, he briefly attended Harvard, but was not academically inclined. He moved to Los Angeles and recorded his first album, "Safe at Home." In 1968 he teamed with the country-rock band the Byrds to record "Sweetheart of the Rodeo," which is today recognized as a classic.
In 1969, he formed the Flying Burrito Brothers with Chris Ethridge, Chris Hillman, "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow, and Michael Clark. They recorded the albums "Gilded Palace of Sin" and "Burrito Deluxe" and did some touring. Gram quit the Flying Burrito Brothers after a motorcycle accident in 1970. At around this time, he met and soon married a model named Gretchen Burrell, and the two honeymooned at Disneyland. But the marriage was not a happy one, with each accusing the other of infidelities.
During the late Sixties, Gram also hung out with his friends the Rolling Stones, and his sound, which he called "Cosmic American Music," influenced the feel of their classic album "Exile on Main Street." However, it is not true that he wrote the Stones' hit "Wild Horses."
In 1972, Gram met EmmyLou Harris, an up-and-coming country singer, and asked her to sing harmonies on his album "G.P." In 1973 they recorded "Grievous Angel" together and toured the country. It is unclear as to whether or not they were lovers, but they were very close.
On September 19, 1973, Gram Parsons died in a hotel room in Joshua Tree, part of the Mojave Desert. The death was ruled "natural," but few who knew him had any doubt that his addictions to drugs and alcohol played some part in it. Several friends of Gram's stole the body as it was being taken to Los Angeles Airport, and took it back to the desert to try to cremate it themselves. Interestingly, they were arrested and fined for burning the coffin, but not for stealing the body, which was not illegal at the time.
Gram Parsons sound lives on, as he continues to influence such musicians as the Lemonheads, the Black Crowes, U2, and Tom Petty.
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