COSMIC AMERICAN MUSIC

Thirty seven years ago this month, one of the pioneers of country-rock died following a drug and drink-fuelled binge. Gram Parsons was just 26 years old, but his influence lives on. Peter Lewry looks back at his career.

Gram Parsons was born Ingram Cecil Connor III in Waycross, Georgia, USA, on 5 November 1946. His life was clouded by tragedy from the start. He was the grandson of citrus fruit magnate John A. Sniveley, whose daughter Avis had married Cecil ‘Coon Dog’ Connor. Two days before Christmas 1958, Connor committed suicide and his mother went on to marry Robert Ellis Parsons, whose surname was taken by Gram. He had new birth certificates drawn up for both Gram and his younger sister, Avis. Often described as a fortune hunter, many believe this was a way to lay his hands on the Sniveley fortune.

Although Gram started taking piano lessons at the age of nine, it was rock’n’ roll that captured his attention and, in particular, the music of Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley, who probably made a lasting impression on him. In fact, he saw Elvis when he played the City Auditorium in Waycross in early 1956.

While still in eighth-grade, Gram joined his first band, The Pacers, and became their lead singer. After a year of singing Elvis songs, he tired of the clean-cut image of the group and joined another local band, The Legends, where he also became the front-man. The band comprised Jim Stafford on lead guitar, Jim Carlton on bass and Lamar Braxton on drums, later to be replaced by Jon Corneal. Not …

by Peter Lewry
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