Lyrics | Artists | Gram Parsons

Charts

Genres

Images

Gram Parsons

Folk rock

Rock music

Country rock

An erratic character whose taste for excess killed him at 26, Gram Parsons was also an exquisite guitarist and songwriter, whose vision and artistry helped change country music. What's now called "country-rock" and "alt. country", is essentially rooted in the revolutionary template created by the charismatic Parsons in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The son of a World War 2 pilot who committed suicide in 1958, he was raised in Georgia and adopted the Parsons surname of his stepfather. Inspired by Elvis Presley, he played in rock'n'roll covers bands in his early teens, but, after...