"If I go away, you know I’m gonna get back somehow…"
Country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons sang those immortal words on a track called "One Hundred Years From Now" back in 1968, when he briefly joined the Byrds’ lineup and ended up steering them towards the twang of their much-beloved album, Sweethearts of the Rodeo. That seminal record remains a treasured keepsake of Gram fans, and a major influence on countless bands that followed his brave and brazen mission to incorporate southern sounds into psychedelic rock-n-roll. But since his untimely death in 1974, there’s been a disappointing dearth of Gram material, despite renewed interest in his music and, of course, the legend of his demise (Gram overdosed on a lethal cocktail of drugs and alcohol in a motel room in Joshua Tree, California; his body was subsequently stolen from LAX and driven back out to desert by his tour manager and longtime friend, Phil Kaufman, where it was burned). Sure, we got the 2001 collection Sacred Hearts and Fallen Angels: The Gram Parsons Anthology, which was a thorough rehash of some of Gram’s greatest hits, both on his own, with the Byrds, and fronting the International Submarine Band, and the Flying Burrito Brothers. And we Gram lovers were also treated to the glorious two-night tribute concert in 2004, lovingly curated by his daughter, Polly, and featuring performances by Keith Richards, Norah Jones, Steve Earle and John Doe, among others. But then again, we were also forced to endure the godawful film Grand Theft Parsons, starring a true fan (Johnny Knoxville) in a very unfortunate role.
Still, for the most part, we’ve been pretty patient, some would even say passive, in our desire to hear new music. But not Dave Prinz, co-founder of Amoeba Records and a die-hard Gram fan. In between running his three superb California record stores, he went out in search of undiscovered Gram recordings — and happened upon two hours of live music buried deep within 16,000 hours of the Grateful Dead archive. The tapes were from two Avalon shows in 1969 — when the Flying Burrito Brothers opened up for the Dead — and they were perfect.
But getting the rights to release them proved no small feat. The owner ofthe tapes, Dead archivist Owsley "Bear" Stanley, was notoriouslyprotective of his recordings and, after a grueling six months of little-to-no contact, he simply ignored the deliberately simple, one-pagecontract that Dave Prinz needed.
To make a long story short, Prinz did, with the help of DavidGrisman (and Gram’s spirit from above, says Prinz), get that contractsigned. And on Wednesday, he, Polly Parsons and Burrito Bros. bassistChris Etheridge gathered a group of reporters and supporters for aroundtable discussion and listening session. He explained that ten ofthe tracks were of previously unavailable songs, and described howGram’s voice, still fresh and remarkably spot-on, can be heard better-than-ever thanks to Bear’s meticulous taping know-how. This is a bigdeal for Gram fans, my friends, which is why I thought I’d share thestory and full track-listing with you. The two-CD set is scheduled forrelease on August 28.
Gram Parsons Archives: The Flying Burrito Brothers Live at the Avalon, 1969
Disc 1
1. Close up the Honky Tonks
2. Dark End of the Street
3. Undo the Right
4. She Once Lived Here
5. We’ve Got to Get Ourselves Together
6. Lucille
7. Hot Burrito #1
8. Hot Burrito #2
9. Long Black Limousine
10. Mental Revenge
11. Sin City
12. Thousand Dollar Wedding
13. When Will I Be Loved
Disc 2
1. Undo the Right
2. She Once Lived Here
3. Sweet Mental Revenge
4. We’ve Got to Get Ourselves Together
5. Lucille
6. Sin City
7. You Win Again
8. Hot Burrito #1
9. Hot Burrito #2
10. You’re Still On My Mind
11. Train Song
12. Long Black Limousine
13. Sweet Dream Baby
14. Do Right Woman
His stint with the Byrds must have been extremely short because, I don’t recall him in the band at all.
It’s just a shame that some people cannot handle fame:Jim Morrison, Steve Clark, Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix,Kurt Cobain, who sadly had a nagging wife. Gram Parsons from what I see in this photo, was quite young, just as Jim Morrison and others were. Drugs and alcohol are not a solution to problems. I hope there will not be a next Parson.
As someone who worked at Elektra Records in the late 60s and from whom Jim Morrison caged cigarettes, the two previous posters sound awfully young to me. I don’t necessarily endorse dying of drugs and alcohol at a young age. Staying alive is harder, especially for artists. Can’t wait to hear the new material from Gram! Thank you Dave Prinz.
great news for fans of the FBB and Gram. check out my progressive blog at http://www.mrebks.blogspot.com –in a day or two–for the start of LONG interview with Gram and Chris 1969, mostly previously unseen.
Melissa: If Jim Morrison asked you for cigarettes, does that make you feel fortunate? I am not a young chippy. Yes, living is hard, but drugs are not the answer. I don’t need someone to tell me I can’t think straight. I know the drug culture was prevalent at that time. If you don’t feel like living, the only other alternative is for you to die.
Nancy, if you don’t recall Gram’s time in the Byrds it can only mean that you are unaware of their Sweetheart Of The Rodeo album, a pivotal album for them and, perhaps, their most influential album. You should definitely check it out. Not a Byrds album, but you should check out the Flying Burrito Brothers’ Gilded Palace of Sin album featuring Gram and Chris Hillman. You do recall Chris being a member of the Byrds, don’t you?
Trudy, I love how you feel the need to mention Kurt Cobain’s “nagging wife,” as if she’s somehow responsible for Kurt’s death. It was very mean-spirited for someone whose posts are otherwise a “just say no” campaign.
Nancy, Gram’s time with the Byrds was short. He joined the band after David Crosby left and immediately took them in the country-rock direction that he would go in throughout his short career.
Gram was a trust fund baby and if things weren’t going the way he liked him he had the freedom to bail. When he left the Byrds, after only Sweetheart, he took Chris Hillman with him to form the Flying Burrito Brothers.
Gram only recorded two albums with the Burrito Brothers, Guilded Palace of Sin is greatness, before leaving them.
He recorded two more solo albums and helped to establish Emmylou Harris, using her as his singing partner.
If you want to learn more about Gram, there’s a great book by Ben Fong-Torres called Hickory Wind which is great.
Suck it ACL Boardies… I know you’re lurking!
Jeff thanks for the information. I am going to check the book out. I have a few of the Byrds cds.
Go suck eggs moron!
Because a bunch of of (668 so far) believe with all our hearts that Gram was the essence of country music, we have a petition we’d like you to sign: just go to http://www.atticweb.com/gramparsons or http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/531164998.
…and, once again, another announced release date for this has been rendered meaningless. Does Amoeba Records actually intend to release this thing or do they just like to talk about releasing it. The latest pronouncement from Amoeba is a “September” (no specific day, no specific year) release. Jeez guys, why not just shut the hell up about it until you can get your crap together? It’s been a year and a half since your originally announced release date.
The album will be out November 6th. The one song they released on MP3 sounded great. Better than great for that vintage. Owsley was a man of many talents, apparently. At least half to three quarters of the songs are not on any of Grams other albums, making it even more important.
He actually died in 1973, not 1974. Just an FYI…