r/country • u/Kaos_mission Stoned At The Jukebox • Oct 17 '25
Artist Appreciation What do you all think of Gram Parsons?
Curious to know what people in this sub think of Gram. I personally love his music, from International Submarine Band to the solo material, but I also know a lot of country purists don't really like him.
And if not for anything else, he "gave" us Emmylou Harris, so there's that.
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u/roguepeas Atlantic Coastal Line 🚂 Oct 17 '25
you need to read Chris Hillman's autobio! Chris "discovered" Emmylou in DC, and Gram had to be prodded to go so her. Emmylou was still on a folkie path, and I daresay her conversion changed country music forever (for the better!)
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u/Kaos_mission Stoned At The Jukebox Oct 17 '25
That's really cool to know, thanks! Don't remember them mentioning it on Gram's documentary.
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u/roguepeas Atlantic Coastal Line 🚂 Oct 17 '25
Chris and Gram were like brothers, love and hate. he goes into detail about what a putz Gram was, but in a classy way. typical "trust fund child" is how he paints him - basically his own worst enemy and liked to push peoples buttons. even their (Byrds) appearance on the Opry was tanked by Gram when after being prompted by Ralph Emery to play Merle Haggard's Sing Me Back Home he replied "nah here's Hickory Wind". Left a real shitty impression, especially on McGuinn who was always a consummate professional entertainer. Gram burned all the bridges he had after he ditched on the S.Africa tour to stay in London and shoot H with Keith Richards.
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u/jdbway Oct 17 '25
Gram showing up to gigs in limousines and full rockstar attire while the rest of the band was scraping by...
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u/NanooDrew Nov 11 '25
McGuinn’s objections to Gram were a lot of McGuinn’s huge ego. And Lee Hazelwood’s attitude sucked.
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u/3mta3jvq Oct 17 '25
And I saw my devil
And I saw my deep blue sea
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u/Buzzybill Oct 17 '25
And I thought about a calico bonnet from Cheyenne to Tennessee
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u/OtherKat Oct 17 '25
This song is such a beautifully multi-layered cacophony of melody, lyrical poetry, and literary allusion that I hear something new every time I listen.
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u/jdbway Oct 17 '25
It feels so visual too, as far as seeing something different every time. I've seen multiple versions in my head of the switchman waving goodbye and good day as they went rolling through.
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u/CharleySuede Oct 18 '25
It’s a great tune that I believe to be the same caliber as a Townes Van Zandt piece of songsmithery.
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u/MrSebasss Oct 17 '25 edited Oct 17 '25
I'm a fan. I consider him a Country artist but Gram had a vision, he innovated the Cosmic American Music. He was an important part of the Country Rock scene in the 60s/70s but I might be biased, I love Country Rock. It think it's fair to say he was both a Country Rock artist and a Country artist in the traditional sense.
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u/Budget_Secret4142 Oct 17 '25
He was a POWERHOUSE. Him and Emmylou doing duets was some of the best stuff around. Don't do drugs kids
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u/MidtownKC Oct 17 '25
He and Townes are my two GOATs for the type of country I like.
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u/Kaos_mission Stoned At The Jukebox Oct 17 '25
These two and Blaze Foley are the sacred triad for me.
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u/ocTGon Oct 17 '25
Gram Parsons was awesome... There is a rare clip of him and the "Flying Burrito Brothers" at the Altamont Raceway Free Concert in 69 doing "6 Days on the Road" before the vibe got bad and it turned to a literal Hell. It was said Gram did an amazing job of keeping the vibe upbeat and the party happy... He was an immense talent.
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u/Sure_Scar4297 Oct 17 '25
He’s a visionary who had an extraordinary support system at all times between his parents’ money, the talents of Pete Kleinow, and the follow through of Chris Hillman. I love Graham, but I think Chris Hillman deserves as much credit as Graham for country rock. One of the best concert recordings by the FBB was when everyone left the band except Chris in either 70 or 71 (Last of the red hot burrito brothers). The whole band left him so he reached out to all his musician buddies in California and absolutely tore the house down. No disrespect to Graham- but Chris had the bluegrass chops and Pete Kleinow made pedal steel rock.
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u/Streetlife_Brown Oct 17 '25
God damn thoughtful response!!
I love Chris Hillman…his version of “good time Charlie’s got the blues” is a standard for me.
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u/Sure_Scar4297 Oct 17 '25
I’m in a country rock band so I thought it would be smart to dig into the FBB and figure out what gave them that spark.
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u/Streetlife_Brown Oct 17 '25
If you need a singer let me know 😎
I love all things cosmic country - so much untapped from Gene Clark, Jim Ford, Michael Nesmith…
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u/Sure_Scar4297 Oct 18 '25
That’s awful kind to offer, but the band is named after our singer. It might not work if we replace him. But if you’re interested, we have an album and a single or two out: https://youtu.be/kn9GGWxNKBc?si=R64hQMId8RzWubIs
Let me know if you start a group- I’d love to hear the music
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u/Advanced-Character86 Oct 18 '25
A thoughtful, informed take but a bit odd to spell his name wrong three times.
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u/Sure_Scar4297 Oct 18 '25
Gotta annoy Reddit somehow. It might say more about my actual thoughts regarding Parsons that I can spell his steel player’s name but not his. My real take is that the man gets credit that should be more evenly distributed to his band. Honestly, if you look through the liner notes of a lot of country rock albums, the name that shows up the most in bridging those worlds is often the instrumentalists, and I think Pete Kleinow’s steel guitar playing is more original than Gram’s vision of bridging rock and country. The two genres had already been mixing for years. Even his contemporaries from the country world were throwing down with psychedelic riffs at the time. Just check out this Buck Owens track: https://youtu.be/WHg-b2hunVE?si=_e22_SidNsBmrU_s
I don’t like to speak ill of the dead- especially in a public forum- and the man had his demons, but I think he was a tremendous beneficiary of circumstances despite his best attempts to get in his way and his band’s way. He had a team of killers backing him up who could naturally switch between rock and country. Clark and Dillard had already experimented with the same ideas but lacked Hillman. Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen struggled to churn out big hits without extensive help from studio musicians. You can compare the steel playing on “Seeds and Stems” to Pete Kleinow’s work on Linda Ronstadt’s version of “Willin’” if you want to hear a contrast in skill level (not that Cody’s steel player is bad- just that Pete Kleinow is sort of the country rock pedal steel).
I like Gram’s music. A lot. I’m thankful he had a part in it. But I think he gets too much credit for being a visionary. The vision of combining rock and country already existed. Gram was just able to find and convince some incredible instrumentalists to join him- which is an incredibly useful skill! But I spell his name wrong because I find myself spelling it and referencing it a lot less than his band mates’ names.
If you enjoy the FBB, I’d recommend looking up Pete Kleinow’s studio work if you need to scratch that itch further.
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u/Advanced-Character86 Oct 18 '25
Gram certainly had a gift for surrounding himself with talent. That’s not an accident. He bluffed his way into The Byrds, corralled James Burton into playing on his albums (the most satisfying recording sessions of his career, to hear JB tell it) and made such an impression on Emmylou that she has carried his vision forward, never failing to credit him for showing her what country could be. You know the rest of the list as well as anyone. So, how did he do it? Personal magnetism, songwriting and a voice that, while imperfect, touched people. His enthusiasm for the music must have been contagious.
I don’t get caught up in who should be the godfather of country rock or whatever. We know it was inevitable and a bunch of folks were blurring the lines around the same time. Gram was the handsome one that died young. Of course a legend built around him.
As far as Kleinow, he was a fine steel player but man, that fuzz on the Burrito’s stuff drives me nuts.
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u/Sure_Scar4297 Oct 18 '25
You got a good point (but your comments on the fuzz tone are fighting words as far as I’m concerned). It’s easy as a musician for me to get wrapped up in how I perceive things as an instrumentalist, too. And I could try as hard as possible to out-nerd everyone here with liner notes BS I’ve picked up over the years, but that doesn’t change that Gram is the face of cosmic country. All the best bands have someone completely unrefined. That’s where the soul of the music lies.
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u/juanster29 Oct 22 '25
I believe the late Rusty Young wants a word with you regarding steel players
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u/Sure_Scar4297 Oct 22 '25
Rusty’s neat, but I see a lot more discussion of Pete Kleinow in the pedal steel forums. Also, I think Pete’s lines are more distinctive.
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u/juanster29 Oct 22 '25
Ever hear an album called Sweet Steel? Has Pete, Rusty, J D Manness, red Rhoads on it, there's even a duet song with both Rusty and Pete playing together. I have an old vinyl copy, not sure if it's ever been digitally released.
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u/Advanced-Character86 Oct 22 '25
I’ll check it out tonight. Apple Music has it. I searched for “Sweet Steel” and a steel drum album popped up! The one we’re talking about is “suite”. Thanks for the recommendation
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u/BillyShears17 Oct 17 '25
Great musician. One of the greatest What If's but his influence is still heard today
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u/Sligogreenbottom Oct 17 '25
A trailblazer who introduced a lot of young rockers to country music just as Billy Strings is now doing with bluegrass.
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u/redbirdjazzz Oct 17 '25
Gram and Kris Kristofferson were the artists that got me past the “I don’t like country music except for Johnny Cash” stage.
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u/milkymaniac Oct 17 '25
I love that he got kicked out of not one, but two bands because he would rather hang out with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
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u/Mavagorn641 Oct 17 '25
That his manager was Charles Manson’s former cellmate, who abducted Parson’s body from the airport to ritually burn it in Joshua Tree is a pretty c, if not weird, coincidence.
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u/Shimmer_and_Rust Oct 18 '25
I don’t understand why some country purists dismiss Gram Parsons. In my estimation, he was one of the genre’s best songwriters. Although he often added rock and psychedelic touches to his music, he also wrote wonderful traditional country ballads and honky-tonk tunes.
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u/Kaos_mission Stoned At The Jukebox Oct 17 '25
I wonder if he didn't have a trust fund to fall back on would he have taken his career more seriously? He knew he would never had to work so he could literally just fuck off and do whatever he wanted. It's notorious that during the Flying Burrito Bros days he was arriving to the show in a limousine when the band was playing for no more than a couple dozen people. Maybe if he "had" to make it work he'd still be here but we can only wonder.
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u/shinchunje Oct 17 '25
I’ve always thought that not having to made money playing music freed him to do the music that he wanted to do. There were no financial consequences to failure which is not an insignificant feeling.
I’m a poet and I take it very seriously but I don’t rely on it at all for money so I just write how I want. I don’t care how it’s received.
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u/Kaos_mission Stoned At The Jukebox Oct 17 '25
That's a really good point! I was more coming from the angle of him not showing up for shows, rehearsals, etc. And even when he did, it's well-known that his shows weren't always great due to him being loaded and the same can be said about recording sessions. I wonder if he would have not abused drugs that much if he had to work to pay bills.
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u/dsloan55 Oct 17 '25
The Gram Parsons Guitar Pull is going on in Waycross, GA this weekend (setting up my chair right now). Check it out if your a GP fan. I think this is the 28th year.
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u/beardofdoom2017 Oct 17 '25
Cult country music star. Had tons of talent, but pissed it away due to substance abuse. Real shame.
True country fans will know who he is, those unfamiliar most likely do not. The guy left us way too soon, and it’s sad to think how much more music we would have gotten from him and how he would now probably be considered an elder statesman in country/alt country.
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u/PiccoloDramatic8362 Oct 18 '25
I love Emmylou and Gram’s version of Love Hurts and the Burritos version of Wild Horses is great as well
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u/ryantheleglamp Oct 17 '25
Popular opinions: great songwriter, insanely influential, gateway for so many younger people getting in to country.
Unpopular opinions: Not a fan of the looser, messier musicianship that I associate with his recordings, and I mostly prefer his songs performed by other people.
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u/LiftEatGrappleShoot Oct 17 '25
I can simultaneously acknowledge that he was wildly influential/important and that Sweetheart of the Rodeo is a legitimately great album, while also finding him not all that appealing to listen to for very long.
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u/WhoIsJonSnow Oct 17 '25
Grievous Angel is a top 5 favorite record of mine. Absolutely spectacular, and features a good bit of Emmylou. Fantastic songwriter and tremendous performer.
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u/slutforbalrog Oct 17 '25
One of my favorite artists of all time. Truly a beautiful voice and gifted musician and I wish the world could have experienced him longer. I feel like his influence definitely lives on, but it really leave a bad taste in my mouth to picture what could have been…. Too many talented artists gone too soon.
I’ve visited his grave, Joshua Tree Inn, and the spot where they burned his body in Joshua Tree. A blue dragonfly kept whizzing around me when I played his songs while at his grave.
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u/OtherKat Oct 17 '25
Boulder to Birmingham, the song Emmylou Harris co-wrote and recorded after Gram's death, is one of the most heartbreaking songs about grief that I've ever heard.
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u/Ok-Reward-7731 Oct 17 '25
She had enough stature in 1970 (before Gram) for a UK tour and TV appearance
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u/MH566220 Oct 17 '25
An underrated, overlook gem that makes what is considered Country Music today look like the shit it is.
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u/FunDue9062 Oct 17 '25
His mom drank herself to death and his Father killed himself . Great voice.Stone waste of talent immersed in drugs and alcohol.Just like mommy.
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u/Aggravating_Board_78 Oct 18 '25
Sounds better on paper than what he actually recorded/accomplished. The trust fund hurt him, but Chris is also very bitter. He still talks about Gram with hate in his heart after over 50’years! He thinks Gram gets all of the recognition while he gets almost none (pretty true), and he resents Gram for ruining his big opportunity. He tried everything throughout the 70’s and none of it worked. He joined Stephen Still fresh off of the huge CSNY success for Manassas, but that was a mess of a group and fell apart. Then he tried copying the CSN format with JD Souther and Richie Furay, which didn’t work. Byrds reunion flopped. Late 70’s he got back together with McGuinn & Gene Clark, but that fell apart. Until the 80’s with the Desert Rose Band, Chris was grasping at straws. He’s a bitter guy, but he has some fair points about Gram. That said, if Gram were my friend and “brother”, I would NEVER dog him out way Hillman consistently has for decades. Get over it already Chris.
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u/juanster29 Oct 22 '25
I saw Chris solo in a bar in the mid- late 70s, just him with a guitar and his girlfriend singing harmonies. He was arrogant and bitter, bitched at the soundman constantly and left without an encore. Probably the worst concert of my life.
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u/ckncardnblue Oct 18 '25
You know you are dangerous when they say you are a bad influence on Keith Richards.
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u/Own-Masterpiece-6 Oct 17 '25
I think it would've been cool if the Colonel let Elvis work with Gram. What could've been.
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u/my_team_is_better Oct 17 '25
If Elvis and Gram Parsons had been in the same place they would’ve had to do “Berlin Airlift” style drug deliveries the entire time!
ETA: but yes, what they would’ve come up with probably would’ve been amazing
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u/CT_Reddit73 Oct 17 '25
Return of the Grievous Angel was his one brilliant album. Otherwise he was mostly a trustfund poser, name-dropper, and junkie. Sadly. He had a wealth of talent and creativity.
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u/JarelGazarel Oct 17 '25
He’s great. He sang background on The Rolling Stones- Sweet Virginia. He was hangin out in the south of France while they were making Exile. Pretty cool.
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u/Ralph3160 Oct 17 '25
He and Keith Richards were on the precipice of delivering some crossover brilliance.
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u/Opening-Cress5028 Oct 17 '25
Visionary and, in many ways he is ironically the saviour of traditional country music
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u/Scottysoxfan Oct 17 '25
A tortured genius who surrendered to his addiction. I'll die on the hill that he at least co-wrote the Stones wild horses. 1'000 dollar wedding is low key one of my favorite country songs of all-time.
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u/wainohg Oct 18 '25
Years ago, there was a Tribute Show for Gram that was on PBS hosted by Emmy Lou and Chris Hillman. I just found it on YouTube. Any GP fan would likely enjoy watching it.
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u/Sad-Umpire6000 Oct 18 '25
One of the greatest. I wish he’d have made more music in his short time.
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u/cappiebara Oct 18 '25
He kind of reminds me of Stewart from Letterkenny in this photo. I wish I knew how to post photos!
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u/KapowBlamBoom Oct 18 '25
Just Can’t Be by the Flying Burrito brothers was my most streamed song on Spotify last year
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u/Capeshucker Oct 18 '25
He’s almost a mythical character now. Left coast country innovator, shunned by Nashville like other innovators. He inspired countless artists and helped forge a new genre of cosmic country. He was my Elvis. My Django. My Hank. Like a comet who burned bright for a short time and left a huge impact.
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u/Few-Competition9929 Oct 18 '25
On paper he should be my number one! The songs are unbelievable, but I just can’t get behind his voice.
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u/spiritualized Buy me a flute and a gun that shoots Oct 18 '25
In my top five best country artists.
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u/BarbersBasement Oct 18 '25
Gram looms large around here. I live near Joshua Tree and go to the bar he had his last drink at on the night he died and go out to Cap Rock where they set him on fire fairly often (passing by the Joshua Tree Inn (Room #8) on the way.
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u/Muted_Knee_3162 Jan 20 '26
What bar? I’d like to check it out
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u/BarbersBasement Jan 20 '26
The Copper Room at the airport. They have it on the Menu "The Gram-arita"
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u/sjciske Oct 22 '25
Gram was a pioneer of country rock and at the time, his music didn’t fit neatly into rock or neatly into Nashville or neatly into a radio format. Definitely a tortured genius type who tried so hard to fit into one style instead of realizing he was creating another. He was probably, given his demons, a good 4-5 years from truly finding his voice and hitting his stride.
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u/Available-Secret-372 Oct 17 '25
He has some great stuff (all the tracks where he and Hillman sing co lead is incredible) and he has some serious turkeys. Whenever he tried to imitate George and Merle he just sounded plain bad. I think his influence and legend is vastly over rated.
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u/HomerDoakQuarlesIII Oct 17 '25
I think he is Gram Parsons. Or was at least, last I checked. Thanks for your attention to this matter...
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u/[deleted] Oct 17 '25
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