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Fred Neil (March 16, 1936 – July 7, 2001)^[1] was an American folk singer-songwriter in the 1960s and early 1970s. He did not achieve commercial success as a performer,^[2] and is mainly known through other people's recordings of his material – particularly "Everybody's Talkin'", which became a hit for Harry Nilsson after being used for the film Midnight Cowboy.^[1][3] Though highly regarded by contemporary folk singers,^[2] he was reluctant to tour (something he shared with Nilsson), and mainly spent the last 30 years of his life assisting with the preservation of dolphins.^[3][4]

Biography[link]

Born in Cleveland, Ohio and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida, Neil was exposed to music at an early age, travelling around the US with his father who was a representative for Wurlitzer jukeboxes.^[5] Neil was one of the singer-songwriters who worked out of New York City's Brill Building, a center for music industry offices.^[6] While composing at the Brill Building for other artists, Neil also recorded six mostly rockabilly-pop oriented singles for different labels as a solo artist.^[5] He wrote songs that were taken by early rock and roll artists such as Buddy Holly ("Come Back Baby" 1958) and Roy Orbison ("Candy Man" 1961).^[7]

He met Vince Martin in 1961, and they formed a singing partnership;^[8] his first LP, Tear Down The Walls (1965) was recorded with Martin.^[9] During 1965 and 1966 Neil was joined on many live sets by the Seventh Sons, a trio trio led by Buzzy Linhart on guitar and vibes. Neil released Bleecker & MacDougal on Elektra Records in 1965, reissued in 1970 as A Little Bit of Rain. Fred Neil (released in 1966, relaunched in 1969 as Everybody's Talkin') was recorded during his residences in Greenwich Village and Coconut Grove, Florida, respectively (although for the latter, one session took place in Los Angeles).^[9]

After "Everybody's Talkin'", Neil's best-known song is "The Dolphins", which was later recorded by several artists including Tim Buckley, for whom Neil was a major influence.^[5] Interested in dolphins since the mid 1960s, when he had begun visiting the Miami Seaquarium, with Ric O’Barry in 1970 Neil founded The Dolphin Research Project, an organization dedicated (according to Neil himself) to stopping the capture, trafficking and exploitation of dolphins worldwide.^[5] Increasingly involved in that pursuit, Neil progressively disappeared from the recording studio and live performance, with only occasional performances in the rest of the 1970s.^[5]

Later life and death[link]

Neil left Woodstock in the mid 1970s and spent his remaining decades on the shores of southern Florida, involved in The Dolphin Project. After playing with Stephen Stills at New York City's Madison Square Garden in 1970, Neil began a long retirement, performing in public mostly at gigs for the Dolphin Project Revue in Coconut Grove, although in 1977 he played a benefit show for the Revue in Tokyo. A live date occurred in July 1975 at The Montreux Jazz Festival,^[10] when Neil played with his core group of John Sebastian on harp, Harvey Brooks on bass, and Pete Childs on guitar. Michael Lang, one of the organizers of the 1969 Woodstock Festival and a 1970s Coconut Grove scene habituée, tried unsuccessfully to release this as a live LP. His last public performances were in 1981 at an outdoor concert at the Old Grove Pub in Coconut Grove, where he joined Buzzy Linhart for one song and stayed onstage for the rest of the set.

Many of Neil's 1970s recordings remain unissued, including a 1973 session with Quicksilver Messenger Service guitarist John Cipollina. In a later interview, Ric O'Barry claimed that Neil recorded two albums of all cover songs between 1977 and 1978 that were buried by Columbia Records.^[11] According to Barry, he produced the first of the recordings in the sessions in Miami. Neil was joined by Pete Childs on guitar, John Sebastian on harp, and Harvey Brooks on bass. The second album was more fully arranged, with Neil accompanied by the New York session band Stuff and some old friends like Slick Aguilar. The songs on these albums were written by Bobby Charles, "Hey Joe"'s writer Billy Roberts, John Braheny and Bobby Ingram.

Neil died of natural causes in 2001.^[1]

Legacy[link]

Neil gained public recognition in 1969, when Nilsson's recording of "Everybody's Talkin'" was featured in the film Midnight Cowboy; the song became a hit and won a Grammy Award. He was one of the pioneers of the folk rock and singer-songwriter musical genres,^[12][13] his most prominent musical descendants being Tim Buckley,^[14] Stephen Stills,^[15] David Crosby and Joni Mitchell.^{[citation needed]} His most frequently cited disciples are Karen Dalton, Tim Hardin, Dino Valenti, Vince Martin, Peter Stampfel of the avant-folk ensemble The Holy Modal Rounders, John Sebastian (The Lovin' Spoonful),^[15] Gram Parsons,^[16] Jerry Jeff Walker, Barry McGuire,^[15] and Paul Kantner (Jefferson Airplane).^{[15][citation needed]} Some of Neil's early compositions were recorded by Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison. He played guitar on the demo version of Bobby Darin's 1958 hit "Dream Lover," and was a demo singer on a late-1950s Elvis Presley movie soundtrack session.^{[citation needed]}

In Fred Neil's Rolling Stone obituary Anthony DeCurtis wrote, "So why is Neil a hero to David Crosby? Because back when Crosby was an aspiring folkie who just arrived in New York, Neil bothered to take an interest in him, just as he did for the young Bob Dylan, who backed Neil on harmonica at the Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village. 'He taught me that everything was music,' Crosby says."^[17]

In his memoir, Richie Havens recalled Neil and then-partner Vince Martin's ability to make an entrance through the audience, sans microphones, and get the audience up and clapping by relying only on their harmonious vocals.^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

• 1965: Tear Down the Walls (Elektra) with Vince Martin
• 1965: Bleecker & MacDougal (Elektra) reissued in 1970 as A Little Bit of Rain
• 1966: Fred Neil (Capitol) reissued in 1969 as Everybody's Talkin'
• 1967: Sessions (Capitol)
• 1971: The Other Side of This Life (Capitol) live and alternate versions

Compilations

• 1986: The Very Best of Fred Neil (See for Miles)
• 1998: The Many Sides of Fred Neil (Collectors' Choice)
• 2003: Do You Ever Think of Me? (Rev-Ola)
• 2004: The Sky Is Falling: The Complete Live Recordings 1965-1971 (Rev-Ola)
• 2005: Echoes of My Mind: The Best of 1963-1971 (Raven)
• 2008: Trav'lin' Man: The Early Singles (Fallout)^[9]

Anthologies including tracks by Neil

• 1963: Hootenanny Live at the Bitter End (FM)
• 1964: A Rootin" Tootin' Hootenanny (FM)
• 1964: World of Folk Music (FM)

Selected songs[link]

• "Candy Man"
• "Everybody's Talkin'"
• "Ba-di-da"
• "Tear Down the Walls"
• "The Dolphins"
• "Green Rocky Road"
• "The Other Side of This Life"
• "Country Boy & Bleecker Street"
• "That's the Bag I'm In"
• "Blues on the Ceiling"
• "Wild Child in a World of Trouble"

References[link]

External links[link]

• Illustrated Fred Neil discography
• Fansite

Tim Buckley
Tim Buckley performing at the Fillmore East on October 19, 1968.
Background information
Birth name	Timothy Charles Buckley III
Born	(1947-02-14)February 14, 1947 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Died	June 29, 1975(1975-06-29) (aged 28) Santa Monica, CA., U.S.
Genres	Folk Experimental rock Jazz-rock Funk Soul
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals Guitar
Years active	1966–1975
Labels	Elektra, Straight, DiscReet, Rhino
Website	www.timbuckley.net
Notable instruments
Guild 12 String Guitar Fender Electric XII

Timothy Charles Buckley III (February 14, 1947 – June 29, 1975) was an American vocalist, and musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years; his first album (1966) was mostly folk oriented, but over time his music incorporated jazz, psychedelia, funk, soul, avant-garde and an evolving "voice as instrument," sound. He died aged 28, leaving his son Jeff Buckley from his marriage to Mary Guibert.

Biography[link]

Early life and career[link]

Tim Buckley was born in Washington DC on St. Valentine's Day, to Elaine Buckley (née Scalia), an Italian American, and Tim Charles Buckley Jr, who was the son of Irish immigrants from Cork. He spent his early childhood in Amsterdam, New York, an industrial city approximately 40 miles northwest of Albany; here at five years old he made his first acquaintance with music, his mother's progressive jazz recordings (she was a fan of Miles Davis).

Tim's musical life began in earnest after his family moved to Bell Gardens in southern California in 1956. His grandmother had introduced him to Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday, his mother to Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis and Judy Garland and his father to the country music of Hank Williams and Johnny Cash.^[1] When he attended Bell Gardens' public schools he was ready to catch the folk bug going around. At the age of 13 he taught himself the banjo, and with his new friend, Dan Gordon, and several others formed a folk group inspired by the Kingston Trio that played local high school events.^[2]

During his initial high school years he was a popular and engaged student; he was elected to numerous offices, played on the baseball team and quarterbacked the football team.^[3] During a football game he broke the first two fingers on his left hand, permanently damaging them. He later said that the injury prevented him from playing barre chords. This disability may have led to his use of extended chords, many of which don't require barres.^[4]

His last two years in school, which included a short stint at Loara High School in Anaheim, California,^[5] found him disillusioned. Tim quit football and cut classes regularly; he had decided school was of little value and that it would be more fruitful for him to focus most of his attention on music. He befriended Larry Beckett, his future lyricist, and Jim Fielder, bass player with whom he formed two separate musical groups, The Bohemians, who initially played popular music, and later added originals co-written by Buckley and Beckett,^[6] and The Harlequin 3, a folk group which regularly incorporated spoken word and beat poetry into their gigs.^[1]

In 1965 during French class at Loara High School, Buckley met Mary Guibert, one grade his junior and his soon to be wife. Their relationship inspired some of Buckley's music, and provided him time away from his turbulent home life. His father, a highly decorated World War II veteran, had become unstable, angry and occasionally violent in his later years. He had suffered a serious head injury during the war; that, along with a severe work-related injury, was said to have affected his mental balance.^[7]

Mary and Buckley married on the 25th of October, as Mary was pregnant (it turned out to be a hysterical pregnancy).^[3] The marriage angered Mary's father enough for him to forego the wedding; while Buckley's father attended, but joked to the priest, "I give it six months". Shortly after the wedding Mary realized that she was not pregnant after all.

The marriage was tumultuous, some ups and lots of downs. Buckley moved out to his own apartment. Mary soon became pregnant. After several months of married and "pregnant," life, Buckley found himself neither willing nor able to cope with marriage, and with pregnancy in particular. From then on he and Mary only saw each other sporadically. They divorced in October 1966 about a month before their son Jeffrey Scott (Jeff Buckley) was born.^[8]

By the time Buckley had graduated from high school he and lyricist/friend Beckett had written a couple dozen songs; several were to appear on Tim's debut album Tim Buckley. "Buzzin' Fly", was also written during this period, and was featured on Happy Sad his 1969 LP.^[8]

Buckley's ill-conceived college career (1965, Fullerton College) lasted only two weeks; he found himself unable to cope with both school and a fledgling music career.^[2][3] Buckley dropped out and dedicated himself fully to his music and to playing L.A. folk clubs. During the summer of 1965 he played regularly at a club co-founded by Dan Gordon. Later in the year he played various Orange County coffeehouses (such as the White Room in Buena Park) and the Monday night hootenannies at the famed Los Angeles' Troubadour.^[9] That year Cheetah magazine deemed Tim Buckley an up-and-comer, one of "The Orange County Three", along with Steve Noonan and Jackson Browne.^[1]

In February 1966, following a gig at L.A.'s It's Boss, Mothers of Invention drummer Jimmy Carl Black recommended Buckley to Mothers manager, Herb Cohen. Cohen saw potential in Tim and soon ^[2] landed him an extended gig at the Nite Owl Café (Greenwich Village, NYC). Buckley's new girlfriend, Jainie Goldstein, drove him cross country to the Nite Owl gig in her VW bug.^[7] While living in the Bowery (NYC) with Jainie, Buckley ran into Lee Underwood, and asked him to play guitar for him at the Nite Owl. From there, they became lifelong friends and collaborators.

Herb Cohen had signed Buckley, but not The Bohemians. "It was always understood that, ultimately, it was about Tim," Fielder noted;^[6] Cohen recorded a six song demo acetate disc, which he sent to Elektra records owner Jac Holzman.^[1][6] Holzman was very much taken by Buckley's music and, after seeing him play live, offered him an Elektra recording contract.^[2]

Folk rock[link]

Buckley recorded his self-titled debut album in three days in Los Angeles, in August 1966. He was generally unhappy with his albums after the fact; he described this one as "like Disneyland".^[1] The album's folk-rock style was largely typical of the time, although many people including Lee Underwood felt that the string additions by Jack Nitzsche "did not enhance its musical quality;"^[7] critics did note Buckley's distinctive voice and tuneful compositions.^[2]

The record featured Buckley and a backing band of Orange County friends, as well as Lee Underwood. Underwood's mix of jazz and country improvisation on a twangy telecaster became a distinctive part of Tim's early sound. Jac Holzman and Paul Rothchild's production style and Jack Nitzsche's string arrangements cemented in the record's mid-sixties sound.

	"Song of The Magician" noicon from Tim Buckley Demonstrating the sixties sound of the record
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On later reflection, those involved with the album saw it as demonstrative of the potential of the group. Lee Underwood summed it up as "a first effort, naive, stiff, quaky and innocent [but] a ticket into the marketplace".^[4] Producer Jac Holzman expressed similar sentiments, stating in 1991, that Tim "wasn't really comfortable in his own musical skin".^[2] Larry Beckett suggested that the band's desire to please audiences held them back.^[6]

Elektra released two singles promoting the debut album; "Wings" appeared in December with "Grief in My Soul" as a b-side, and "Aren't You the Girl" with "Strange Street Affair Under Blue" the next month. Herb Cohen suggested that Buckley should work with producer Jerry Yester and Elektra's demand for a new single represented their first challenge. Buckley and Beckett planned a songwriting session and listened to the radio relentlessly in search of making a hit record. The results were "Once Upon a Time" and "Lady Give Me Your Key". The former was not well regarded by the pair but they felt the latter had much potential.^[10] Despite this, Elektra decided not to release it as a single and the songs are assumed to remain in Elektra's record vaults. Rhino Records hoped to include "Lady Give Me Your Key" on Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology, but could not find the songs in time for its release.^[6]

Goodbye and Hello, released in 1967, featured late 1960s-style poetry and songs in different timings and has been described as an ambitious release for the then 20-year-old Buckley.^[1][11] Reflecting the confidence Elektra had in Buckley and group, they were given free rein on the music and content of the album.^[10] Beckett continued as lyricist and the album consisted of half Buckley originals and half Beckett–Buckley collaborations. Critics noted the improved lyrical and melodic qualities of Buckley's music.^[12] Buckley's voice had also developed since the last release and the press appreciated both his lower register and higher falsetto in equal measure.^[11]

	"I Never Asked to Be Your Mountain" noicon
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	"Pleasant Street" noicon both tracks from Goodbye and Hello
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The subject matter of the album also distinguished it from its predecessor. Beckett addressed the psychological nature of war in "No Man Can Find the War",^[10] and Underwood welcomed Buckley's entry into darker territory with "Pleasant Street".^[4] "I Never Asked to Be Your Mountain" represented a confessional lyric to his estranged wife and child.^[11] Underwood also judged that the mix of introspective folk songs and political-themed content attracted folk fans and anti-war audiences alike.^[4] Elektra owner Jac Holzman had much faith in the young up-and-comer, renting advertising space for the musician on the Sunset Strip which was virtually unheard of for an unestablished solo act.^[12] The album reflected the feeling in the US at the time, Holzman stating: "the combined effect of his words, his music, his passion, his persona struck a particular resonance."^[1] Despite having some aspects in common with Bob Dylan, in terms of musical style and fashion sense, Buckley distanced himself from comparisons, expressing a general apathy towards the artist and his work.^[13] Whilst Goodbye and Hello did not make Buckley a star, it performed better in the charts than his previous effort, peaking at #171.^[11]

His higher profile also led to more opportunities; the album was used as a soundtrack to Hall Bartlett's 1969 movie Changes and Micky Dolenz landed Tim a spot to perform "Song to the Siren" on the final episode of The Monkees TV show.^[1][11] However, Buckley was wary of the press and media, often avoiding interviews or being unresponsive when they were necessary.^[14] After scoring a slot on the Tonight Show, Buckley was standoffish and insulting towards the host and on another TV appearance he outright rejected a plan to lip-synch to "Pleasant Street" and refused to play.^[1] Buckley did not see the album's sales as a path to commercial success, but rather an opportunity to express his musical creativity.

After Beckett left for the Army, Buckley was free to develop his own individual style, without the literary restraints of before. Uneducated both vocally and instrumentally in the finer aspects of melody and lyric structure, the quality of the tracks he produced demonstrate the natural talent he possessed.

He described the jazz/blues-rock that he was associated with at the time as "White thievery and an emotional sham."^[4] With this opinion strongly set, he rebelled against what was commercial, and persevered on a course of development that alienated many of his fans. Drawing inspiration from jazz greats such as Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Roland Kirk, and vocalist Leon Thomas, his subsequent independently-recorded music was vastly different from previous recordings.

In 1968, Buckley recorded Happy Sad, which reflected folk and jazz influences. This would be his best charting album, peaking at #81. Dissatisfied with playing the same material continuously, and disenchanted with the music business that he felt was restraining him from producing new material, he began to weave in new songs into his performances, featuring an increasingly minimalist sound from his heavily orchestrated first two albums, and introducing a vibraphone player, David Friedman, into his band. However, this attempted rejuvenation was a commercial failure; becoming largely based on improvisation, his performances were less accessible to the audiences who saw him as a folk-rock poster boy.

Middle period[link]

During 1969, Buckley began to write and record material for three different albums: Lorca, Blue Afternoon, and Starsailor. Inspired by the singing of avant-garde musician Cathy Berberian, he decided to integrate the ideas of composers such as Luciano Berio and Iannis Xenakis in an avant-garde rock genre. He started to fully use his voice's impressive range. According to guitarist Lee Underwood, Buckley knew that Lorca had little to no chance in the commercial market, and due to his old friend Herb Cohen starting up a new label venture with Frank Zappa, Straight Records, he wanted to provide an album of older material that was a step back from his current direction, but one that would have a better shot at making a dent in the public's minds. Selecting eight songs that had yet to be recorded, these tracks evolved into the sessions for Blue Afternoon, an album that was quite similar to Happy Sad in style.^[15] Underwood himself contradicts this with a 1977 article he wrote for Down Beat magazine chronicling Buckley's career – he states that Buckley's heart was not into the Blue Afternoon performances and that the album was a perfunctory response to please his business partners.^[16]

Neither album sold well: Lorca alienated his folk base, while Blue Afternoon was widely criticized as boring and tepid – "[not] even good sulking music", as one critic wrote. Blue Afternoon was Buckley's last album to hit the Billboard charts, reaching #192. After the lack of success for both records, Buckley began to focus more on what he felt to be his true masterpiece, Starsailor.

Starsailor was a departure for Buckley, with free jazz textures under his most extreme vocal performance; ranging from high shrieks to deep, soulful baritone. Different from his first three albums, this personal album shared the same response as Lorca. It included the more accessible "Song to the Siren", later covered on record by This Mortal Coil, Robert Plant, John Frusciante, and Bryan Ferry.

The album was a critical and commercial failure. Following its release, Buckley's sales declined rapidly, and the quality of his live shows plummeted. Unable to produce his own music and almost completely broke, he turned to alcohol and drug binges. He also considered acting, with an unreleased low-budget group therapy-drama entitled Why? (1971) being the only film completed after several abortive meetings with Hollywood producers.^{[clarification needed]} The film is a three-minute short, shot on videotape.^[1]

Sex funk period[link]

Buckley abruptly disbanded his Starsailor ensemble near the end of 1970, and assembled a new band of funk players including Joe Falsia and Buddy Helm. With this band, he cut three albums of what has been described as "sex funk": Greetings from L.A., Sefronia and Look at the Fool. They were all commercial flops.^{[citation needed]} Tim had alienated much of his hippie fan base with his previous two albums, but retained a cult following. Buckley's often sexually frank lyrics ("whip me, spank me") prevented the songs from receiving airplay. (However, "Greetings from L.A." received a great deal of airplay on KQRS-FM in Minneapolis and became something of a local hit. Stores in the Twin Cities sold the album steadily until it was no longer available.)

In 1975, Buckley quit using drugs and engaged the musical press regarding a live album comeback. Buckley began performing revamped versions of material drawn from his whole career (except Starsailor and Lorca) as a response to the desires of his audience, which he had always spurned in the past.

Death[link]

On June 28, 1975, Buckley completed the last show of a tour in Dallas, Texas, playing to a sold-out venue with 1,800 people in attendance.^[1] Buckley celebrated the culmination of the tour with a weekend of drinking with his band and friends, as was his normal routine. On the evening of June 29, 1975, Buckley accompanied long-time friend Richard Keeling back to his house in the hope of obtaining heroin.^[4] After spending approximately an hour at the house, Buckley, in his inebriated state, walked in on Keeling while he was having sex, causing an argument between the two.^[1] Keeling, trying to placate him, handed Buckley a large dose of heroin and challenged him to "Go ahead, take it all", which he did.

Following this, Buckley was in such a bad condition that friends took him home. Upon his return home, his wife, Judy, seeing his inebriated state, laid him on a pillow on their living room floor and questioned his friends as to what had happened.^[4] Judy then moved Buckley into bed. Checking on him later, she found he had turned blue and was no longer breathing. Attempts by friends and paramedics to revive him were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead on arrival.^[1]

Having diligently controlled his drug habit while on the road, his tolerance was lowered, and the combination of the drugs he took mixed with the amount of alcohol he had consumed throughout the day was too much. The coroner's report by Dr. Joseph H. Choi stated that he died at 9:42pm, June 29, 1975, from "acute heroin/morphine and ethanol intoxication due to inhalation and ingestion of overdose".^[17] Long time friend and lead guitarist, Lee Underwood, has stated that "on many previous occasions Buckley had ingested considerably more alcohol and drugs than this."^[18]

Aftermath[link]

Buckley's death shocked many of his friends and relatives. The drug-related death was in stark contrast to how people had seen him at the time. The sound recorder at Buckley's last show noted "someone offered him a drag off of a joint and he refused. He didn't appear strung out in any way. He was very together both physically and psychologically".^[17] Some friends were left dazed by the situation, Buckley's old tour manager Bob Duffy stated: "It wasn't expected but it was like watching a movie, and that was its natural ending."^[1] Lee Underwood went on to write a biography about him, Blue Melody:Tim Buckley Remembered, reflecting on his life and death and how he had been influenced by Buckley. Other friends saw his fate as more predictable, if not inevitable; his lyricist, Larry Beckett later said of Buckley:

"He continually took chances with his life. He'd drive like a maniac, risking accidents. For a couple of years he drank a lot and took downers to the point where it nearly killed him, but he'd always escape. Then he got into this romantic heroin-taking thing. Then his luck ran out."^[1]

Given the circumstances of his death, police charged Richard Keeling with murder and distribution of heroin.^[17][19] The evidence was insufficient and, at the hearing on August 14, 1975, at Santa Monica Municipal Court, Keeling pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.^[19][20] Keeling was given the chance to avoid time in jail by doing voluntary work but he failed to keep to the bargain and was sentenced to 120 days in jail and four years probation.^[21]

Buckley died with little to his name beyond the musical legacy of his nine albums. All he owned was a guitar and an amplifier and he died in debt.^[4] Friends and family, some 200 in number, attended the funeral at the Wilshire Funeral Home in Santa Monica. Those in attendance included: manager Herb Cohen, guitarist Lee Underwood, Tim's mother Elaine and sister Katey, and Buckley's widow, Judy. Also in attendance was Buckley's adopted son, Taylor Buckley. Taylor, who would eventually join the U.S. Marines, currently resides in Arizona. Reportedly, on the evening of June 29, 1975, Richard Keeling heard Buckley's last words: "Bye, bye, baby", almost surely addressed to his wife Judy.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• Tim Buckley (1966)
• Goodbye and Hello (1967)
• Happy Sad (1969)
• Blue Afternoon (1969)
• Lorca (1970)
• Starsailor (1970)
• Greetings from L.A. (1972)
• Sefronia (1973)
• Look at the Fool (1974)

Live albums[link]

• Dream Letter: Live in London 1968 (1990)
• Peel Sessions (1991)
• Live at the Troubadour 1969 (1994)
• Honeyman: Live 1973 (1995)
• Once I Was (1999)
• Copenhagen Tapes (2000)
• Live at the Folklore Center 1967 (2009)

Compilations[link]

• The Late Great Tim Buckley (1978) Released in Australia only.
• The Best of Tim Buckley (1983)
• Morning Glory (1994)
• Works in Progress (1999)
• The Dream Belongs to Me: Rare and Unreleased 1968–1973 (2001)
• Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology (2001)
• Tim Buckley/Goodbye and Hello (2001) Compilation of first two albums.
• Take 2: Greetings from L.A./Tim Buckley (2005) Compilation of the two albums.
• Tim Buckley (2011) Rhino Handmade two-disc set. Disc One: Both the stereo and mono versions of his debut album. Disc Two: 22 unreleased recordings Buckley from Nov. 1965 with The Bohemians (12 tracks) and in 1966 with Larry Beckett (10 tracks).

Other releases[link]

• Thin Wires In The Voice (1999) A 120 page booklet with a 3 track CD EP included.
• Tim Buckley: My Fleeting House (2007) DVD of filmed live performances.

Books[link]

• Once He Was: the Tim Buckley Story, (1997). Barrera, Paul.
• Dream Brother: The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley, (2001) Browne, David.
• Blue Melody:Tim Buckley Remembered, (2002). Underwood, Lee.

Tribute albums[link]

• Sing a Song for You: Tribute to Tim Buckley (2000)
• Dream Brother: The Songs of Tim and Jeff Buckley (2005)

References and notes[link]

External links[link]

• TimBuckley.com official
• The Tim Buckley Archives
• Tim Buckley Music
• Lee Underwood's official site
• Rhino Entertainment – Tim Buckley
• Tim Buckley Newport Folk Recordings at Wolfgangsvault

Gram Parsons (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music".^[1] Besides recording as a solo artist, he also worked in several notable bands, including the International Submarine Band, The Byrds, and The Flying Burrito Brothers. His career, though short, is described by Allmusic as "enormously influential" for both country and rock, "blending the two genres to the point that they became indistinguishable from each other."^[2]

Born in 1946, Parsons emerged from a wealthy but troubled childhood to attend Harvard University. He founded the International Submarine Band in 1966, and after several months of delay their debut, Safe at Home, was released in 1968, by which time the group had disbanded. Parsons joined The Byrds in early 1968, and played a pivotal role in the making of the seminal Sweetheart of the Rodeo album. After leaving the group in late 1968, Parsons and fellow Byrd Chris Hillman formed The Flying Burrito Brothers in 1969, releasing their debut, The Gilded Palace of Sin, the same year. The album was well received but failed commercially; after a sloppy cross-country tour, they hastily recorded Burrito Deluxe. Parsons was fired from the band before its release in early 1970. He soon signed with A&M Records, but after several unproductive sessions he canceled his intended solo debut in early 1971. Parsons moved to France, where he lived for a short period at Villa Nellcôte with his friend Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones. Returning to America, Parsons befriended Emmylou Harris, who assisted him on vocals for his first solo record, GP, released in 1973. Although it received enthusiastic reviews, the release failed to chart; his next album, Grievous Angel (released posthumously in 1974) met with a similar reception, and peaked at number 195 on Billboard. Parsons died of a drug overdose on September 19, 1973 in a hotel room in Joshua Tree, California, at the age of 26.

Since his death, Parsons has been recognized as an extremely influential artist, credited with helping to found both country rock and alt-country.^[2] His posthumous honors include the Americana Music Association "President's Award" for 2003, and a ranking at #87 on Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time."^[3]

Biography[link]

Early life and career (1946–1968)[link]

Parsons was born Ingram Cecil Connor III on November 5, 1946, in Winter Haven, Florida, to Ingram Cecil ("Coon Dog") and Avis (née Snively) Connor.^[4] The Connors normally resided at their main residence in Waycross, Georgia, but Avis traveled to her hometown in Florida to give birth.^[4] She was the daughter of citrus fruit magnate John A. Snively, who held extensive properties both in Winter Haven and in Waycross; Parsons' father was a famous World War II flying ace, decorated with the Air Medal, who was present at the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.^[5] Biographer David Meyer characterized Coon Dog and Avis as loving parents: he writes in Twenty Thousand Roads that they are "remembered as affectionate parents and a loving couple".^[4] He also notes, however, that "unhappiness was eating away at the Connor family": Avis suffered from depression, and both parents were alcoholics.^[6] Coon Dog committed suicide two days before Christmas Day, 1958, devastating the young Gram and the rest of the Connor family.^[7] Avis subsequently married Robert Parsons, whose surname was adopted by Ingram (henceforth he would be known as Gram Parsons). Gram attended the prestigious Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida. For a time, the family found a stability of sorts. They were soon torn apart in early 1965, when Robert became embroiled in an extramarital affair and Avis' heavy drinking led to her death from cirrhosis on July 5, 1965, the day of Gram's graduation from Bolles.^[8]

As his family disintegrated around him, Parsons developed strong musical interests, particularly after seeing Elvis Presley perform in concert on February 22, 1956, in Waycross ^[9]. Five years later, while barely in his teens, he played in rock and roll cover bands such as the Pacers and the Legends, headlining in clubs owned by his stepfather in the Winter Haven/Polk County area. By the age of 16 he graduated to folk music, and in 1963 he teamed with his first professional outfit, the Shilos. Heavily influenced by the Kingston Trio and the Journeymen,^[10] the band played hootenannies, coffee houses and high school auditoriums. Forays into New York City's Greenwich Village included appearances at The Bitter End.

After The Shilos broke up, Parsons attended Harvard University, where he studied theology but departed after a single semester. Despite being from the South, he did not become seriously interested in country music until his time at Harvard, where he heard Merle Haggard for the first time. In 1966, he and other musicians from the Boston folk scene formed a group called the International Submarine Band. They relocated to Los Angeles the following year, and after several lineup changes signed to Lee Hazlewood's LHI Records, where they spent late 1967 recording Safe at Home. The album contains one of Parsons' best-known songs, "Luxury Liner", as well as an early version of "Do You Know How It Feels", which he revisited later on in his career. Safe at Home would remain unreleased until mid 1968, by which time the International Submarine Band had broken up.

Membership in The Byrds (1968)[link]

By 1968 Parsons had come to the attention of The Byrds' bassist, Chris Hillman, via Larry Spector (The Byrds' business manager), as a possible replacement band member following the departures of David Crosby and Michael Clarke from the group in late 1967.^[11][12] Parsons had been acquainted with Hillman since the pair had met in a bank during 1967 and in February 1968 he passed an audition for the band, being initially recruited as a jazz pianist but soon switching to rhythm guitar and vocals.^[11][13]

Although Parsons was an equal contributor to the band, he was not regarded as a full member of The Byrds by the band's record label, Columbia Records.^[14] Consequently, when The Byrds' Columbia recording contract was renewed on February 29, 1968, it was only original members Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman who signed it.^[14] Parsons, like fellow new recruit Kevin Kelley, was hired as a sideman and received a salary from McGuinn and Hillman.^[15] In later years, this led Hillman to state "Gram was hired. He was not a member of The Byrds, ever — he was on salary, that was the only way we could get him to turn up."^[16] However, these comments overlook the fact that Parsons, like Kelley, was considered a bona fide member of the band during 1968 and as such, was given equal billing alongside McGuinn, Hillman, and Kelley on the Sweetheart of the Rodeo album and in contemporary press coverage of the band.^[17]

Sweetheart of the Rodeo was originally conceived by band leader Roger McGuinn as a sprawling, double album history of American popular music.^[19] It was to begin with bluegrass music, then move through country and western, jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock music, before finally ending with the most advanced (for the time) form of electronic music.^[13] However, as recording plans were made, Parsons exerted a controlling influence over the group, persuading the other members to leave Los Angeles and record the album in Nashville, Tennessee.^[14] Along the way, McGuinn's original album concept was jettisoned in favor of a fully fledged country project, which included Parsons' songs such as "One Hundred Years from Now" and "Hickory Wind", along with compositions by Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Merle Haggard, and others.^[20]

Recording sessions for Sweetheart of the Rodeo commenced at Columbia Records' recording studios in the Music Row area of Nashville on March 9, 1968.^[13] Mid-way through, the sessions moved to Columbia Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, finally coming to a close on May 27, 1968.^[13][21] However, Parsons was still under contract to LHI Records and consequently, Hazlewood contested Parsons' appearance on the album and threatened legal action.^[19] As a result, McGuinn ended up replacing three of Parsons' lead vocals with his own singing on the finished album, a move that was still rankling Parsons as late as 1973, when he told Cameron Crowe in an interview that McGuinn "erased it and did the vocals himself and fucked it up."^[22] However, Parsons is still featured as lead vocalist on the songs "You're Still on My Mind", "Life in Prison", and "Hickory Wind".^[20]

While in England with The Byrds in the summer of 1968, Parsons left the band due to his concerns over a planned concert tour of South Africa, citing opposition to that country's apartheid policies.^[13] There has been some doubt expressed by Hillman over the sincerity of Parsons' protest.^[23] It appears that Parsons was mostly apolitical, although he did refer to one of the younger African-American butlers in the Connor household as being "like a brother" to him in an interview.^{[citation needed]} During this period, Parsons became acquainted with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones.^[24] Prior to Parsons' departure from The Byrds, he had accompanied the two Rolling Stones to Stonehenge (along with McGuinn and Hillman) in the English county of Wiltshire, where Richards had a house near the ancient site.^[25] Immediately after leaving the band, Parsons stayed at Richards' house and the pair developed a close friendship over the next few years, with Parsons reintroducing the guitarist to country music.^[26] According to Stones' confidant and close friend of Parsons, Phil Kaufman, the twosome would sit around for hours, playing obscure country records and trading off on various songs with their guitars.^[27]

The Flying Burrito Brothers (1969–1970)[link]

Returning to Los Angeles, Parsons sought out Hillman, and the two formed the Flying Burrito Brothers with bassist Chris Ethridge and pedal steel player Sneaky Pete Kleinow. Their 1969 album The Gilded Palace Of Sin was a modernized version of the Bakersfield style of country music made popular by Buck Owens, and the band appeared on the album cover wearing Nudie suits emblazoned with all sorts of hippie accoutrements. Along with the Parsons-Hillman originals "Christine's Tune" and "Sin City" were versions of the soul music classics "The Dark End of the Street" and "Do Right Woman", the latter featuring David Crosby on high harmony. The album's original songs were the result of a very productive songwriting partnership between Parsons and Hillman, who were sharing a bachelor pad in LA during this period. The atypically pronounced (for Parsons) gospel soul influence on this album likely comes from his frequent jamming with Delaney and Bonnie and Richards.

Though not a commercial success, Gilded was measured by rock critic Robert Christgau as "an ominous, obsessive, tongue-in-cheek country-rock synthesis, absorbing rural and urban, traditional and contemporary, at point of impact." The album was recorded without a permanent drummer, but the group soon added original Byrd Michael Clarke on drums. Embarking on a cross-country tour via train, as Parsons suffered from periodic bouts of fear of flying, the group squandered most of their money in a perpetual poker game and received bewildered reactions in most cities. Parsons was frequently indulging in massive quantities of psilocybin and cocaine, so his performances were erratic at best, while much of the band's repertoire consisted of vintage honky tonk and soul standards with few originals. Perhaps the most successful appearance occurred in Philadelphia, where the group opened for the reconstituted Byrds. Midway through their set, Parsons joined the headline act and fronted his former group on renditions of "Hickory Wind" and "You Don't Miss Your Water". The other Burritos surfaced with the exception of Clarke, and the joint aggregation played several songs, including "Long Black Veil" and "Goin' Back".

After returning to Los Angeles the group recorded "The Train Song", written during an increasingly infrequent songwriting session on the train and produced by 1950s R&B legends Larry Williams and Johnny "Guitar" Watson. Despite a request from the Burritos that the remnants of their publicity budget be diverted to promotion of the single, it also flopped. Ethridge departed shortly thereafter. He was replaced by lead guitarist Bernie Leadon, while Hillman reverted to bass.

By this time, Parsons's own use of drugs had increased to the extent that new songs were rare and much of his time was diverted to partying with the Stones, who briefly relocated to America in the summer of 1969 to finish their forthcoming Let It Bleed album and prepare for an autumn cross-country tour, their first series of regular live engagements since 1967. As they prepared to play the nation's largest sports arenas, the Burritos played to dwindling nightclub audiences; one night Jagger had to literally order Parsons to fulfill an obligation to his group. The singer's dedication to the Rolling Stones was rewarded when the Burrito Brothers were booked as the opening act of the infamous Altamont Music Festival. Playing a short set including "Six Days on the Road" and "Bony Moronie", Parsons left on one of the final helicopters and attempted to pick up Michelle Phillips. "Six Days..." was included in Gimme Shelter, a documentary of the event.

With mounting debt incurred, A&M hoped to recoup some of their losses by marketing the Burritos as a straight country group. To this end, manager Jim Dickson instigated a loose session where the band recorded several honky tonk staples from their live act, contemporary pop covers in a countrified vein ("To Love Somebody", "Lodi", "I Shall Be Released", "Honky Tonk Women"), and Larry Williams' "Bony Moronie". This was soon scrapped in favor of a second album of originals on an extremely reduced budget. Faced with a dearth of new material, most of the material was hastily written in the studio by Leadon, Hillman, and Parsons, with two Gilded Palace of Sin outtakes thrown into the mix. The resulting album, entitled Burrito Deluxe, was released in April 1970.

The album is considered less inspired than its predecessor, but it is notable for the Parsons-Hillman-Leadon song "Older Guys" and for its take on Jagger and Richards' "Wild Horses"—the first recording released of this famous song. Parsons was inspired to cover the song after hearing an advance tape of the Sticky Fingers album sent to Kleinow, who was scheduled to overdub a part on the song (Kleinow's part was not included on the released Rolling Stones version, though it is available on bootlegs). Jagger consented to the cover version, so long as the Flying Burrito Brothers did not issue it as a single.

Burrito Deluxe, like its predecessor, underperformed commercially but faced the double whammy of being lambasted by critics. Disenchanted with the band, Parsons left the Burritos in mutual agreement with Hillman, who was at his wits end after two years of babysitting Gram. Under Hillman's direction, the group recorded a further two LPs.

Aborted solo effort and residency at Villa Nellcôte (1970–1972)[link]

Parsons signed a solo deal with A&M Records and moved in with producer Terry Melcher in early 1970.^[28] Melcher (who had worked with The Byrds and The Beach Boys and had rejected producing an unknown singer/songwriter by the name of Charles Manson) was a member of the successful duo Bruce & Terry, also known as The Rip Chords. The two shared a mutual penchant for cocaine and heroin, and as a result, the sessions were largely unproductive, with Parsons eventually losing interest in the project. "Terry loved Gram and wanted to produce him ... But neither of them could get anything done," recalled Eve Babitz.^[29] "Long lost, the tapes from this session have gathered a legendary patina," writes David Meyer.^[30] The recording stalled, and the master tapes were checked out, but there is conflict as to whether "Gram ... or Melcher took them".^[31] He accompanied the Rolling Stones on their 1971 U.K. tour in the hope of being signed to the newly formed Rolling Stones Records, intending to record a duo album with Richards. Moving into Villa Nellcôte with the guitarist during the sessions for Exile on Main Street, Parsons remained in a consistently incapacitated state and frequently quarreled with his much younger girlfriend, aspiring actress Gretchen Burrell. Eventually, Parsons was asked to leave by Anita Pallenberg, Richards' longtime domestic partner. Keith suggests in his autobiography "Life" that Mick Jagger may have been the real driver for Parson' departure given that Keith spent so much time playing music with Gram. Rumors have persisted that he appears somewhere on the legendary album, and while Richards concedes that it is very likely he is among the chorus of singers on "Sweet Virginia", to this day nothing has been substantiated. Parsons attempted to rekindle his relationship with the band on their 1972 tour to no avail.

After leaving the Stones' camp, Parsons married Burrell in 1971 at his stepfather's New Orleans estate. Allegedly, the relationship was far from stable, with Burrell cutting a needy and jealous figure while Parsons quashed her burgeoning film career. Many of the singer's closest associates and friends claim that Parsons was preparing to commence divorce proceedings at the time of his death; the couple had already separated by this point.

Solo career and touring with Emmylou Harris (1972–1973)[link]

Parsons and Burrell enjoyed the most idyllic time of their relationship, visiting old cohorts like Ian Dunlop and Family/Blind Faith/Traffic member Ric Grech in England. With the assistance of Grech and one of the bassist's friends, a doctor who also dabbled in country music and is now known as Hank Wangford,^[32] Parsons managed to kick his heroin habit once and for all (a treatment suggested by William Burroughs proved unsuccessful).

He returned to the US for a one-off concert with the Burritos, and at Hillman's instigation went to hear Emmylou Harris sing in a small club in Washington, D.C. They became friends and, within a year, he asked her to join him in Los Angeles for another attempt to record his first solo album.

Having gained thirty pounds since his Burrito days from Southern food and excessive alcohol consumption, it came as a surprise to many when Parsons was enthusiastically signed to Reprise Records by Mo Ostin in mid-1972. GP, released in 1973, used the guitar-playing of James Burton (sideman to Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson), and featured new songs from a creatively revitalized Parsons such as "Big Mouth Blues" and "Kiss the Children," as well as a cover of Tompall Glaser's "Streets of Baltimore".

Parsons, by now featuring Harris as his duet partner, played dates across the United States as Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels. Unable to afford the services of the Elvis band for a month, the band featured the talents of obscure Colorado-based rock guitarist Jock Bartley (soon to skyrocket to fame with Firefall), veteran Nashville sideman Neil Flanz on pedal steel, Kyle Tullis on bass and former Mountain drummer N.D. Smart (once described by Canadian folksinger Ian Tyson as "a psychotic redneck"). The touring party also included Gretchen Parsons—by this point extremely envious of Harris—and Harris' young daughter. Coordinating the spectacle as road manager was Phil Kaufman, who had served time with Charles Manson on Terminal Island in the mid-sixties and first met Parsons while working for the Stones in 1968. Kaufman ensured that the performer stayed away from substance abuse, limiting his alcohol intake during shows and throwing out any drugs smuggled into hotel rooms. At first, the band was under-rehearsed and played poorly, but improved markedly with steady gigging and received rapturous responses at the Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin, Texas and at a filmed concert at Liberty Hall in Houston (with Neil Young and Linda Ronstadt sitting in) and Max's Kansas City in New York City. According to a number of sources, it was Emmylou who forced the band to practice and work up an actual set list. Nevertheless, the tour did absolutely nothing for record sales. While he had been in the vanguard with The Byrds and the Burrito Brothers, Parsons was now perceived as being too authentic and traditional in an era dominated by the stylings of the Eagles,^{[citation needed]} whose sound Parsons disdained (although he did maintain cordial relations with Bernie Leadon, a former member of the Eagles who left the group in 1975).

For his next and final album, 1974's Grievous Angel, he again used Harris and Burton. The record, which was released after his death, received even more enthusiastic reviews than had GP, and has since attained classic status. Among its most celebrated songs is "$1000 Wedding", a holdover from the Burrito Brothers era, and "Brass Buttons", a 1965 opus which addresses his mother's alcoholism. Also included was a new version of "Hickory Wind" and "Ooh Las Vegas", co-written with Grech and dating from the G.P. sessions. Despite the fact that Parsons only contributed two new songs to the album ("In My Hour of Darkness", "Return of the Grievous Angel"), Parsons was highly enthused with his new sound and seemed to have finally adopted a serious, diligent mindset to his musical career, eschewing most drugs and alcohol during the sessions.

Before recording, Parsons and Harris played a preliminary three show mini-tour as the headline act in a Warner Brothers country-rock package. The backing band included Clarence White, Pete Kleinow, and Chris Etheridge. On July 14, 1973, the legendary White was killed by a drunk driver while loading equipment in his car for a concert with the New Kentucky Colonels. At White's funeral, Parsons and Bernie Leadon launched into an impromptu touching rendition of "Farther Along"; that night, the distraught and drunken musician reportedly informed Phil Kaufman of his final wish: to be cremated in Joshua Tree. Despite the almost insurmountable setback, Parsons, Harris, and the other musicians decided to continue with plans for a fall tour.

In the summer of 1973, Parsons' Topanga Canyon home burned to the ground, the result of a stray cigarette. Nearly all of his possessions were destroyed with the exception of a guitar and a prized Jaguar automobile. The fire proved to be the last straw in the relationship between Burrell and Parsons, who moved into a spare room in Kaufman's house. While not recording, he frequently hung out and jammed with members of New Jersey–based country rockers Quacky Duck and His Barnyard Friends (whose members included Tony Bennett's sons, Danny and Dae Bennett as well as future Dylan sideman and member of the Alpha Band, multi-instrumentalist David Mansfield) and the proto-punk Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers, who were being managed by Kaufman. Richman credits Parsons with introducing him to acoustic-based music^{[citation needed]}. Parsons is credited as producer on Quacky Duck's only album, Media Push, released by Warner Bros. in 1974. According to the road manager of Quacky Duck, Parsons was, despite being frequently drunk, a kind soul who provided business and musical guidance to the younger band.

Before formally breaking up with Burrell, Parsons already had a woman waiting in the wings. While recording, he saw a photo of a beautiful woman at a friend's home and was instantly smitten. The woman turned out to be Margaret Fisher, a high school sweetheart of the singer from his Waycross, Georgia days. Like Parsons, Fisher had drifted west and became established in the Bay Area rock scene. A meeting was arranged and the two instantly rekindled their relationship, with Fisher dividing her weeks between Los Angeles and San Francisco at Parsons' expense.

Death[link]

In the late 1960s, Parsons became enamored of Joshua Tree National Monument (now Joshua Tree National Park) in southeastern California. Alone or with friends, he would disappear in the desert for days searching for UFOs while under the influence of psilocybin or LSD. After splitting from Burrell, Parsons would frequently spend his weekends in the area with Margaret Fisher and Phil Kaufman. Before his tour was scheduled to commence in October 1973, Parsons decided to go on one more excursion. Accompanying him were Fisher, personal assistant Michael Martin, and Dale McElroy, Martin's girlfriend.

Less than two days after arriving, Parsons died on September 19, 1973, in Joshua Tree, California, at the age of 26 from an overdose of morphine and alcohol.^[33][34] According to Fisher in the 2005 biography Grievous Angel: An Intimate Biography of Gram Parsons, the amount of morphine consumed by Parsons would be lethal to three regular users and thus he had likely overestimated his tolerance considering his experience with opiates. Fisher and McElroy were returned to Los Angeles by Kaufman, who dispersed the remnants of Parsons' stash in the desert.

Parsons' body disappeared from the Los Angeles International Airport where it was being readied to be shipped to Louisiana for burial. Prior to his death, Parsons stated that he wanted his body cremated at Joshua Tree and his ashes spread over Cap Rock, a prominent natural feature there; however, Parsons' stepfather arranged for a private ceremony back in New Orleans and neglected to invite any of his friends from the music industry.^[34] Two accounts claim that Bob Parsons stood to inherit Gram's share of his grandfather's estate if he could prove that Gram was a resident of Louisiana, explaining his eagerness to have him buried there.^[35][36]

To fulfill Parsons' funeral wishes, Kaufman and a friend stole his body from the airport and in a borrowed hearse drove it to Joshua Tree. Upon reaching the Cap Rock section of the park, they attempted to cremate Parsons' corpse by pouring five gallons of gasoline into the open coffin and throwing a lit match inside. What resulted was an enormous fireball. Police chased them, but according to one account they "were unencumbered by sobriety" and the pair got away.^[34] The two were arrested several days later. Since there was no law against stealing a dead body, they were only fined $750^[37] for stealing the coffin and were not prosecuted for leaving 35 lbs of his charred remains in the desert.

Parsons' makeshift memorial in Joshua Tree, California

The site of Parsons' cremation was marked by a small concrete slab and was presided over by a large rock flake known to rock climbers as The Gram Parsons Memorial Hand Traverse.^[38] The slab has since been removed by the U.S. National Park Service, and relocated to the Joshua Tree Inn. There is no monument at Cap Rock noting Parsons' cremation at the site.^[39] Joshua Tree park guides are given the option to tell the story of Parsons' cremation during tours, but there is no mention of the act in official maps or brochures.^[39] Fans regularly assemble simple rock structures and writings on the rock, which the park service sand blasts to remove from time to time.^[39]

Legacy[link]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic describes Parsons as "enormously influential" for both country and rock, "blending the two genres to the point that they became indistinguishable from each other. ... His influence could still be heard well into the next millennium."^[2] In his essay on Parsons for Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Greatest Artist" list, Keith Richards notes that Parsons' recorded music output was "pretty minimal." But nevertheless, Richards claims that Parsons "effect on country music is enormous[, t]his is why we're talking about him now."^[3]

The 2003 film Grand Theft Parsons stars Johnny Knoxville as Phil Kaufman and chronicles a farcical version of the theft of Parsons' corpse.

Emmylou Harris has continued to champion Parsons' work throughout her career, covering a number of his songs over the years, including "Hickory Wind", "Wheels", "Sin City", "Luxury Liner", and "Hot Burrito #2". Harris' songs "Boulder to Birmingham", from her 1975 album Pieces of the Sky, and "The Road", from her 2011 album Hard Bargain, are tributes to Parsons.^{[citation needed]} In addition, her 1985 album The Ballad of Sally Rose is an original concept album that includes many allusions to Parsons in its narrative.^{[citation needed]} The song "My Man", written by Bernie Leadon and performed by the Eagles on their album On the Border, is a tribute to Gram Parsons.^[40] Both Leadon and Parsons were members of the Flying Burrito Brothers during the late 1960s and early 1970s.^[41]

A music festival called Gram Fest or the Cosmic American Music Festival was held annually in honor of Parsons in Joshua Tree, California, between 1996 and 2006. The show featured tunes written by Gram Parsons and Gene Clark as well as influential songs and musical styles from other artists that were part of that era. Performers were also encouraged to showcase their own material. The underlying theme of the event is to inspire the performers to take these musical styles to the next level of the creative process. Past concerts have featured such notable artists as Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Chris Ethridge, Spooner Oldham, John Molo, Jack Royerton, Gib Guilbeau, Counting Crows, Bob Warford, Rosie Flores, David Lowery, Barry & Holly Tashian, George Tomsco, Jann Browne, Lucinda Williams, Polly Parsons, The "Road Mangler"- Phil Kaufman, Ben Fong-Torres, Victoria Williams & Mark Olson, Sid Griffin, as well as a variety of many other bands that had played over the 2 or 3 day event. In addition, the Gram Parsons Tribute, in Waycross, Georgia, is a music festival remembering Parsons in the town in which he grew up.

In February 2008, Gram's protégée, Emmylou Harris, was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Despite his influence, however, Parsons has yet to be inducted. Radley Balko has written that "Parsons may be the most influential artist yet to be inducted to either the Rock and Roll or Country Music Hall(s) of Fame. And it's a damned shame."^[42] The Gram Parsons Petition Project (G3P)^[43] was begun in May 2008 in support of an ongoing drive to induct Parsons into the Country Music Hall of Fame. On September 19, 2008, the 35th anniversary of Parsons' death, it was first presented to the Country Music Association (CMA) and Hall as a "List of Supporters" together with the official Nomination Proposal.^[44] The online List of Supporters reached 5,500 on what would have been Parsons' 65th birthday and continues to gather signatures, as well as at G3P's annual Gram InterNational concerts and other tribute events each year.

In November 2009, the musical theatre production Grievous Angel: The Legend of Gram Parsons premiered, starring Anders Drerup as Gram Parsons and Kelly Prescott as Emmylou Harris.^[45] Directed by Micheal Bate and co-written by Bate and David McDonald, the production was inspired by a March 1973 interview that Bate conducted with Parsons, which became Parsons' last recorded conversation.^[46]

In 2006, a Gandulf Hennig directed documentary film titled Gram Parsons: Fallen Angel was released.

In 2012, Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit released the single "Emmylou" from the album The Lion's Roar. The song's chorus is a lyrical acknowledgment of the Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris singing partnership.^[47]

Discography[link]

Tribute albums[link]

• Conmemorativo: A Tribute to Gram Parsons (1993)
• Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons (1999)

Notes[link]

References[link]

Online[link]

Bibliography[link]

External links[link]

• Gram Parsons at the Internet Movie Database
• Time for a Repress: The Gilded Palace of Sin by Bob Proehl, 30, March 2009

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2011)

Jerry Jeff Walker
Jerry Jeff Walker, 2002
Background information
Birth name	Ronald Clyde Crosby
Also known as	Gypsy Songman
Born	(1942-03-16) March 16, 1942 (age 70)
Genres	Country Music Outlaw Country
Occupations	Country music artist
Instruments	Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar
Years active	1967–present
Labels	Tried & True Music
Associated acts	Lost Gonzo Band Jimmy Buffett Django Walker
Website	www.jerryjeff.com

Jerry Jeff Walker (born Ronald Clyde Crosby on March 16, 1942 in Oneonta, New York.^[1]) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He is most famous for writing the song "Mr. Bojangles".^[2]

Biography[link]

His maternal grandparents played for square dances in the area, with his grandmother, Jessie Conroe, playing piano, and her husband playing fiddle. During the late-1950s, Crosby was a member of a local Oneonta teen band called The Tones. The band traveled to Philadelphia to audition for Dick Clark's American Bandstand, but were turned down. Members of the band found Dick Clark's house and were able to get a recommendation to audition at New York City's Baton Records through the company's lead producer Sol Rabinowitz. The band was given a recording contract, but the studio wanted a quintet backed by studio musicians, which left Crosby and another member (Jerry Russell) out of their recordings.

After high school, Crosby joined the National Guard, but his thirst for adventure led him to go AWOL and roam the country busking for a living in New Orleans and throughout Texas, Florida, and New York, often accompanied by H.R. Stoneback (a friendship referenced in 1970's "Stoney"). He played mostly ukulele until Harriet Ottenheimer, one of the founders of The Quorum, got him settled on a guitar in 1963. He adopted his stage name "Jerry Jeff Walker" in 1966. He spent his early folk music days in Greenwich Village in the mid-1960s. He co-founded a band with Bob Bruno in the late-1960s called Circus Maximus that put out two albums, one with the popular west coast hit "Wind", but Bruno's interest in jazz apparently diverged from Walker's interest in folk music. Walker thus resumed his solo career and recorded the seminal album "Mr. Bojangles" with the help of David Bromberg and other influential Atlantic recording artists. He settled in Austin, Texas, in the 1970s associating mainly with the country outlaw scene that included artists such as Willie Nelson, Guy Clark, Waylon Jennings, and Townes Van Zandt.

"Mr. Bojangles" (written by Walker) is perhaps his most well-known and most-often covered song.^[1] It was about an obscure alcoholic but talented tap-dancing drifter, (not the famous stage and movie dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, as usually assumed, nor was it about New Orleans blues musician Babe Stovall), a friend of Walker's. In his autobiography 'Gypsy Songman', Walker makes it clear the man he met was white. Further, in an interview with BBC Radio 4 in August 2008, he pointed out that at the time the jail cells in New Orleans were segregated along color lines, so his influence could not have been black. Bojangles is thought to have been a folk character who entertained informally in the south of the US and California, with authentic reports of him existing from the 1920s through about 1965. Artists from Neil Diamond to Nina Simone, Bob Dylan, Philip Glass, David Bromberg, Tom T. Hall, Jim Stafford, Sammy Davis Jr., Lulu (New Routes), Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Harry Belafonte and recently Robbie Williams, have covered the song. Walker has also recorded songs written by others such as "LA Freeway" (Guy Clark), "Up Against the Wall Red Neck Mother" (Ray Wylie Hubbard), "(Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night" (Tom Waits) and London Homesick Blues (Gary P. Nunn).

A string of records for MCA and Elektra followed Jerry Jeff's move to Austin, Texas, before he gave up on the mainstream music business and formed his own independent record label. Tried & True Music was founded in 1986, with his wife Susan as President and manager. Susan also founded Goodknight Music as his management company and Tried & True Artists for his bookings. A series of increasingly autobiographical records followed under the Tried & True imprint. Tried & True also sells his autobiography called "Gypsy Songman". In 2004, Jerry Jeff released his first DVD of songs from his past as performed in an intimate setting in Austin.

He has interpreted the songs of others like Rodney Crowell, Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Keith Sykes, Paul Siebel, Bob Dylan, Todd Snider and even a rodeo clown named Billy Jim Baker. Some have called Jerry Jeff the Jimmy Buffett of Texas. Oddly enough, it was Jerry Jeff who first drove Jimmy Buffett to Key West (from Coconut Grove, Florida in a Packard). Walker and Buffett also co-wrote the song "Railroad Lady" while riding the last run of the Panama Limited.

Jerry married the former Susan Streit in 1974 in Travis County, Texas.^[1] They have two children: a son, Django Walker, who is also a musician and a daughter, Jessie Jane. In addition to his residence in Austin, Walker has a retreat on Ambergris Caye in Belize where he recorded his "Cowboy Boots and Bathing Suits" album in 1998.

Walker has developed a style of music he calls "Cowjazz". The poignant “Eastern Avenue River Railway Blues,” is one of the best examples of this music. The song sounds like a cross between Bob Dylan and Harry Chapin, with lyrics that refer to the industrial area between Cincinnati's Eastern Avenue and the Ohio River, just south of the tony Mount Adams area.

Members of his band have varied over the years. The Lost Gonzo Band and the Gonzo Compadres have backed him in the past. Key members of his band have included John Inmon, Freddie Krc, Gary P. Nunn, Bob Livingston, Michael Clarke, Bobby Ray Rambo, Mitch Watkins, Steve Samuel, David Bromberg, Chris Gage (of Albert and Gage, Austin, TX), Brad Fordham and others. He is presumably the "Jerry Jeff" in the song Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love) when Willie Nelson sings,"Between Hank Williams pain songs / Jerry Jeff's train songs."

Jerry Jeff has an annual birthday celebration bash in Austin, Texas at the Paramount Theatre and at Gruene Hall in Gruene, Texas.^[1] This party has become an enormous event in Texas and brings some of the biggest names in country music out for a night of picking and swapping stories under the Austin skyline. Jimmy Buffett attended the 2004 Birthday bash. His son Django also often accompanies him at these parties.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• ^AContrary to Ordinary also peaked at #99 on the RPM Top Albums chart in Canada.

Singles[link]

• ^A"Mr. Bojangles" also peaked at #51 on the RPM Top Singles chart in Canada.

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

• JerryJeff.com
• Unofficial Jerry Jeff Walker Fan Page
• Local '50s band almost made it big, Mark Simonson, The Daily Star, Oct 1, 2001
• "Official Documentary Film on Jerry Jeff Walker's Life"