Gram Parsons and The Gilded Palace of Sin

Hands up who has heard of Gram Parsons? Not many, I’d guess. But you might have heard of the Byrds, and you’ve probably heard of the Eagles. Parsons was in the former (briefly) and influenced the latter, as well as Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones.  He was seen as having invented country-rock, but he preferred to call his mission: Cosmic American Music. Basically he introduced late sixties hipsters to country music, which was then seen as conservative and lame.
 
The Gilded Palace of Sin (1969) was Parson’s calling card, the closest he got to his vision, though it was a collaborative effort by a talented group, The Flying Burrito Brothers. Parsons is long gone, but I saw his bandmate and co-writer Chris Hillman in concert a few years back, and I wish I’d got him to sign this record. The DVD tells a story you couldn’t make up. It’s beyond belief.

(As I write it is chucking it down wth rain.)