10 Best Songs by Gram Parsons

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die describes Gram Parsons as “Keith Richards’ citrus-heir drug-buddy”. But he’s remembered as a country-rock pioneer. I was taken aback by Parson’s music initially. It’s not the commercially oriented country offered by the Eagles and the Counting Crows; it’s more anchored in traditional country.

Parsons started his career in the International Submarine Band, then joined The Byrds. He then formed The Flying Burrito Brothers with Chris Hillman. After the Burritos petered out, Parsons recruited Elvis Presley’s backing band, found Emmylou Harris in a folk club, and recorded a couple of solo albums, before overdosing at Joshua Tree Memorial. His career was short and often erratic – he sounds disinterested during Burrito Deluxe. 

But he was a gifted songwriter, and left a clutch of great songs, blending rock and country into what he called “Cosmic American Music”. Here are my ten favourite Parsons songs, taking in The Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers, and his solo albums.

10 Best Gram Parsons Albums

#10 Brass Buttons

from Grievous Angel, 1973
Despite his trust fund, Parsons’ upbringing was tragic. His father, a World War II flying ace, committed suicide in 1958. On Parsons’ graduation day in1965, his mother died of complications from alcoholism.

‘Brass Buttons’ is a tender remembrance to his mother. It’s understated and devastating. It’s the only song on Grievous Angel without Emmylou Harris on harmonies, but they’d feel intrusive. It dates back to Parsons’ days as a Harvard-based folk singer in the mid-1960s. Parsons had to turn to old material to finish Grievous Angel, but it hangs together as his best record.

---

#9 In My Hour of Darkness

from Grievous Angel, 1974
The solemn, hymn-like ‘In My Hour of Darkness’ closes Parsons’ final album. It’s sadly prescient – it’s dedicated to three of Parsons’ friends who had passed away recently. By the time the album was released, Parsons had also passed away.

Each of the three verses is devoted to a friend of Parsons who died young. The first verse of is about actor/musician Brandon deWilde, who appeared in Shane, The Virginian TV Series, and Hawaii Five-O. The second verse is about Byrds’ guitarist Clarence White. And the final person is Sid Kaiser, a talent agent and producer in Los Angeles. Tragically, Parsons would overdose in September 1973, shortly after mixing Grievous Angel.

---

#8 She

from GP, 1973
There’s little backstory on ‘She’ – it’s a simple portrait of a woman who “wasn’t very pretty” but “sure could sing”. It turned up on Parsons’ 1973 solo debut, and his version lands somewhere between country and gospel.

‘She’ was first recorded by Booker T Jones and his then-wife, Priscilla. Priscilla was the sister of Rita Coolidge – the pair were married between 1969 and 1979. Burritos bassist Chris Ethridge cowrote the song with Parsons, and he also played on Booker T. and Priscilla’s debut. The Jones and Coolidge version emphasises the gospel elements of the song, and the big finale is arguably overkill.

---

#7 Juanita

from The Gilded Palace of Sin, 1969
Chris Hillman told American Songwriter that “Juanita was the sister of Arlo Guthrie’s wife. She was a great gal. She was at the Troubadour, one of the watering holes we used to go to all the time. There was a house we were living at in the valley. At the time, she was exactly as the song says – we were down in the dumps. We both could relate to this loneliness: “Then an angel appeared, she was just 17.” I don’t think she was really 17.”

I always liked this Sheryl Crow and Emmylou Harris duet on the 1999 Parsons tribute album Return of the Grievous Angel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXBN2ZyiUPw

---

#6 Hickory Wind

from Sweetheart of the Rodeo, 1968, and Grievous Angel, 1974
Parsons wrote ‘Hickory Wind’ with Bob Buchanan, his bandmate in the International Submarine Band. They wrote it on a train ride from Florida to Los Angeles, and it recalls an idyllic childhood, something that Parsons didn’t enjoy. The original version was recorded by The Byrds. Session legend Lloyd Green plays the yearning pedal steel guitar, while Roger McGuinn is on banjo.

Parsons revisited ‘Hickory Wind’ on Grievous Angel, as part of a medley with the Louvin Brothers’ ‘Cash on the Barrelhead’.

It’s his [Parsons’] signature song, just as ‘I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better’ is Gene Clark‘s signature song. If Gram had never written another song, “Hickory Wind” would have put him on the map. The song says it all – it’s very descriptive, with vivid imagery. It’s actually quite literary, but Gram was, we know, was a very bright kid. If you know the guy’s life story, however he conjured up that scenario – it’s right at home. Gram was shuffled off to a prep school, lots of money… that’s a lonely song. He was a lonely kid.

---

#5 Return of the Grievous Angel

from Grievous Angel, 1974
The lyrics for ‘Return of the Grievous Angel’ were written by Boston poet Tom S. Brown. A fan, he wrote them with Parsons in mind. It’s about a train named the Grievous Angel travelling around the USA.

With Brown’s help, it’s Parsons’ greatest piece of self-mythology. He sings about meeting Elvis, “on his head, an amphetamine crown”. And “a calico bonnet from, Cheyenne to Tennessee.”

---

#4 Sin City

from The Gilded Palace of Sin, 1969
‘Sin City was written by Hillman and Parsons. The pair lived in a house in the San Fernando Valley dubbed “Burrito Manor”. Hillman started the song while Parsons was asleep, then woke him up to finish it.

Hillman told American Songwriter that “we’re writing about Hollywood in 1969 – but it’s relevant today. We’re touching on money, indebtedness, collapse, war. We had this manager, Larry Spector. He lived on the 31st floor of a condo in Hollywood. He had the most ugly front door with gold plating on it. “The scientists say” was about the threat of an earthquake. “We’ve got our recruits and our green mohair suits, so please show your ID at the door.”

“Gram wrote that line. It had something to do with him and I going to the Whiskey A Go Go on Sunset Strip. To this day, I’m going, what is he talking about? And the last verse was, of course, about Robert Kennedy. Each verse was a little vignette.”

---

#3 Hot Burrito #2

from The Gilded Palace of Sin, 1969
Parsons and Hillman sought to bridge the gap between country and rock on The Flying Burrito Brothers debut album. ‘Hot Burrito #2’ lands far more on the rock song – it’s hard to imagine a 1960s country song with a chorus culminating in “Jesus Christ”.

Chris Ethridge cowrote the song with Parsons, and he’s presumably on the funky piano, while Parsons plays organ. Dinosaur Jr. later covered ‘Hot Burrito #2’ on Green Mind.

“I told Gram I had a couple of old melodies from back when I was growin’ up…I played ’em for him and we wrote the two songs that day, the “Hot Burrito #1” and the “Hot Burrito #2,” and then that night went into the studio and cut ’em.”

Chris Ethridge,  Gram Parsons: Fallen Angel documentary

---

#2 Love Hurts

from Grievous Angel, 1974
Based on Nazareth’s version, I though that ‘Love Hurts’ was a terrible song. But Harris and Parsons’ duet is revelatory, tender and aching. The song was originally recorded by the Everly Brothers in 1960.

Grievous Angel was originally titled Sleepless Nights, after another song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. Parsons was filing for divorce from his wife Gretchen when he died. Gretchen resented Harris’ involvement in the project. Her name and photo were excised from the album’s cover. The song ‘Sleepless Nights’ originally turned up on a 1976 outtakes album.

---

#1 $1000 Wedding

from Grievous Angel, 1974
‘$1000 Wedding’ is another impressive Grievous Angel song that Parsons plucked out of his archives – the Flying Burrito Brothers had recorded it in 1970. It’s inspired by Parsons’ real-life aborted wedding. Parsons took up with Nancy Ross when he arrived to LA, stealing her from David Crosby. Parsons had planned a large wedding, and commissioned a $1,000 wedding dress from Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors. But Parsons and Ross drifted apart and the dress was never used.

Parsons extrapolates this experience into something more dramatic and tragic. In the song, the bride dies on the day of her wedding, and it becomes a funeral instead – it’s been a bad, bad day.

Did I miss your favourite Parsons’ song?

Read more

• 10 Best Songs by Emmylou Harris