GRAM PARSONS LYRICS Compiled by Robin Dunn & Chrissie Van Varik
GRAM PARSONS LYRICS Compiled by Robin Dunn & Chrissie van Varik. As performed in principal recordings (or demos) by or with Gram Parsons or, in the case of Gram Parsons compositions, performed by others. Gram often varied, adapted or altered the lyrics to non-Parsons compositions; those listed here are as sung by him. Gram’s birth name was Ingram Cecil Connor III. However, ‘Gram Parsons’ is used throughout this document. Following his father’s suicide, Gram’s mother Avis subsequently married Robert Parsons, whose surname Gram adopted. Born Ingram Cecil Connor III, 5th November 1946 - 19th September 1973 and credited as being the founder of modern ‘country-rock’, Gram Parsons was hugely influenced by The Everly Brothers and included a number of their songs in his live and recorded repertoire – most famously ‘Love Hurts’, a truly wonderful rendition with a young Emmylou Harris. He also recorded ‘Brand New Heartache’ and ‘Sleepless Nights’ – also the title of a posthumous album – and very early, in 1967, ‘When Will I Be Loved’. Many would attest that ‘country-rock’ kicked off with The Everly Brothers, and in the late sixties the album Roots was a key and acknowledged influence, but that is not to deny Parsons huge role in developing it. Gram Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre but he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called “Cosmic American Music”. While he was alive, Gram Parsons was a cult figure that never sold many records but influenced countless fellow musicians, from the Rolling Stones to The Byrds.
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