Born on This Day in 1946, the Country Rock Pioneer Who Wrote Songs Recorded by Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, and Many More

On this day (November 5) in 1946, Gram Parsons was born in Winter Haven, Florida. The singer/songwriter formed the first country rock band and helped foster the style’s growth with stints in a pair of iconic bands. More than a major influence on the music world of the 1970s, Parsons wrote songs that would later be covered by the likes of Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris.

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Parsons got swept up in the folk music revival of the early 1960s. This led him to begin playing guitar, singing, and writing songs. The middle of the decade saw him living in Boston, heavily involved in the city’s folk music scene. There, he formed the International Submarine Band, which is widely considered the first country rock band. Not long after the band formed, they relocated to Los Angeles. There, they recorded the album Safe at Home in 1967. It didn’t see the light of day until late 1968, after the band had split. However, it contained a pair of important compositions, “Luxury Liner” and “Do You Know How It Feels.”

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By that time, Parsons had discovered country music. He listened to artists like Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, and George Jones. His love for country music greatly impacted his guitar playing and songwriting.

The Musical Impact of Gram Parsons

In the late 1960s, Parsons met Chris Hillman of the Byrds. Hillman invited him to join the band, replacing David Crosby. While he was never an official member of the band, he greatly influenced the country-leaning sound of the band’s landmark 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo, according to The San Diego Troubadour.

Later, Parsons and Hillman formed The Flying Burrito Brothers. They were together for two years and released two albums before they parted ways in 1970. Two years later, during a one-off show with the Flying Burrito Brothers in Washington, D.C., Parsons met a young folk singer named Emmylou Harris. Impressed with her voice, he invited her to join him in Los Angeles to record his debut solo album, GP.

After a tour, Harris and Parsons returned to the studio to work on his sophomore record, Grievous Angel. However, he would die from an overdose in September 1973 while staying at Joshua Tree National Monument.

Since his death, many artists have covered his songs. However, few have recorded as many of his compositions as Emmylou Harris. For instance, her legendary 1976 album, Luxury Liner, features many songs co-written by Gram Parsons, including the title track.

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