Gram Parsons was only 26 when he died in 1973 of an accidental overdose near Joshua Tree, California, but in the subsequent 50 years, the pioneering musician’s impact has only grown.
As a pivotal member of The Byrds and co-founder of The Flying Burrito Brothers, as well as through his short solo career, Parsons bridged the then-divide between country music and rock, bringing the raw emotionalism of country into rock’s bravado. For his enduring musical contributions, Parsons will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Los Angeles on Nov. 14 in the early influence category.
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But first, Parsons will be honored Nov. 11 at a sold-out, star-filled salute, A Song for Gram, at vaunted Los Angeles club The Troubadour.
The celebration, headlined by Emmylou Harris — Parson’s muse who sang on his two solo albums, including 1974’s seminal, posthumous Grievous Angel — occurs less than a week after what would have been his 80th birthday on Nov. 5.
“Gram as an artist was way ahead of his time and I think he will continue to inspire those who come after him to follow their own vision, just as Gram did,” Harris tells Billboard ahead of the tribute. “Gram of course turned me on to country music and showed me the joy of playing with a band.”
Parsons’ daughter, Polly Parsons; Vector Management’s Ken Levitan and Nicki Loranger; the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s Rick Krim; and Rolling Stone co-editor Shirley Halperin are producing the evening in partnership with the Gram Parsons estate and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Rolling Stone’s Shirley Halperin, Polly Parsons and Vector Management’s Nicki Loranger
Michael Buckner/Penske Media
Polly says the Gram Parsons estate already hoped to do a tribute show for her father’s 80th birthday, and “when he got the induction, it made sense to combine the two. What better way to celebrate this moment?”
Joel Peresman, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation president/CEO, agrees. “Gram’s story is so tied to Los Angeles,” he says of Parsons, who moved to Los Angeles in 1967 with his first group, the International Submarine Band. “The Troubadour is such a meaningful room in [his] history that it felt like the natural place to give him his own night as he is inducted under music’s highest honor and gave us a greater opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge his contributions than we could do during the actual induction ceremony. Being in Los Angeles was the perfect opportunity to do this leading up to the ceremony.”
In addition to Harris, the concert will also feature Elvis Costello, The Black Crowes, Margo Price, The Head and the Heart, Grace Potter, Jesse Welles, Madison Cunningham, Grahame Lesh, Harper Simon and Jim Lauderdale. Beachwood Sparks will serve as the backing band — or as the concert poster bills it — “cosmic accompaniment.”
Parson’s induction is way past overdue, Costello tells Billboard. “I’ve been singing Gram’s songs onstage since I was 19 years old, when Grievous Angel was a brand-new record,” he says. “It has taken far too long for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to acknowledge him, but then it is so damn crowded in there. I’m on record as having offered to leave, so they could make room for Gram, but only if Don Henley came with me,” he jokes.
Costello, who was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2003, along with his band The Attractions, has long acknowledged Parsons’ trailblazing status and ability to blend the two genres. He considers him one of the all-time country greats.
“When the Attractions and I went to Nashville in 1981 to cut the album Almost Blue, we included two of Gram’s songs alongside numbers made famous or written by Hank Williams, Merle Haggard and Charlie Rich,” Costello says. “A year later, at a Royal Albert Hall concert with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, we performed the great Gram Parsons and Chris Ethridge ballad ‘Hot Burrito No. 1′ – which I took the liberty of re-titling ‘I’m Your Toy’ to make it sound more romantic.”
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In picking the participating artists, the goal was to select those who emulated Parson’s musical spirit. “Rick Krim worked with the Gram Parsons estate on artists who carry Gram’s music forward in their own way,” Peresman says. “From The Black Crowes to Margo Price, Madison Cunningham, Jesse Welles and Jim Lauderdale, the lineup reflects how Gram’s music continues to resonate across genres and generations. We couldn’t be more thrilled about the artists participating and with the way this show has come together.”
Halperin became a Parsons acolyte after covering a 2004 tribute concert for Parsons at the Santa Barbara Bowl as a young reporter for Rolling Stone. That concert left such an impression, followed by one at the now-defunct Gibson Amphitheater in Los Angeles, that Halperin relocated from New York to Los Angeles. She and her husband even picked Parsons’ version of “To Love Somebody” as their wedding song.
She and Polly had remained in touch over the years, “and a few months back, we were talking and she mentioned some challenges with organizing the show,” Halperin says. “I offered to help out and make some connections. As the bill has come together, and with rehearsals under way, it’s been thrilling to hear this music come to life by artists so deeply inspired by it.”
Parsons remains a towering figure not only for his talent, but also for his independence.
“I think that when every young person picks up a guitar that has a rebellious heart and wants to do things their own way, Gram Parsons is a beautiful source code for that irreverent, talented, kind nature,” Polly says.
The concert serves as a springboard for “collaboration with future artists and future projects and making sure that we make an effort to continue throughout this year and beyond,” Polly says, adding that there are other plans to commemorate Parsons’ 80th birthday that she can’t yet reveal.
Polly was only 6 when her father died, but she has strong memories of their bond. “I had an incredibly sweet, potent connection with my father,” she says. “He was definitely front and center and very, very loving and charming when he was with me. It wasn’t as often as I’m sure I wish it was, but I was very aware that I was focused on when I did get time with him.”
The show will benefit the L.A. sober living house for women Friendly House Foundation and Backline, which provides mental health and wellness resources for music industry professionals and their families.
The evening will not be recorded or filmed. “The focus has been on creating a meaningful, one-night experience that celebrates Gram’s music and supports Friendly House and Backline,” Peresman says. “It’s also a small, intimate venue, which is part of what makes the evening special. If you’re there, you’ll have seen something that won’t happen again.”
The storied Troubadour holds special meaning in the birth of the country rock sound, and Polly believes it was one of the last places Parsons played, “so the Troubadour just felt right,” she says as the tribute site.
As far as how Polly thinks her father would feel about getting inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, “I think that he would be cool with it,” she says. “It’s a testament to a portion of his vision, especially as an early influence. I think there was a part of him that was really trying to send a message musically that people at the time were on very opposite ends of the spectrum regarding country and rock. Even as difficult as moments of his personal life were, he was able to make such a huge statement that reverberates still to this day musically.”