Emmylou Harris & Gram Parsons

Harmony singers

Gram Parsons was born Ingram Cecil Connor III on November 5, 1946 in Winter Haven, Florida. He joined the Byrds in February 1968 and contributed to Sweetheart of the Rodeo, then formed the Flying Burrito Brothers with Chris Hillman, whose The Gilded Palace of Sin appeared in 1969. He called his blend Cosmic American Music. Emmylou Harris, born April 2, 1947 in Birmingham, Alabama, was singing at the Cellar Door in Washington, D.C. in 1971 when Parsons, looking for a harmony singer, contacted her the day after hearing her; about a year later he sent her a plane ticket to Los Angeles. A Wikipedia account says Hillman recommended her.

GP was recorded in September and October 1972 at Wally Heider Studio 4 in Hollywood, produced by Parsons and Ric Grech, and released in January 1973 on Reprise; Harris duets with him on "That's All It Took" and "We'll Sweep Out the Ashes in the Morning". They toured in early 1973 as Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels, including the Bijou Cafe in Philadelphia on March 16, 1973. Grievous Angel was recorded in the summer of 1973 at Wally Heider Studio 4 and mixed at Capitol; Harris sings on every track but "Brass Buttons". Parsons died on September 19, 1973, aged 26, and the album came out in January 1974.

Harris made Pieces of the Sky in 1975, which includes her elegy "Boulder to Birmingham", and credits Parsons with helping her find her direction in country music. The Sleepless Nights compilation (A&M, 1976) gathered three session tracks with her, and The Complete Reprise Sessions (Rhino, June 20, 2006) holds both solo albums with alternates. A live recording from the Bijou, The Last Roundup, was released by Amoeba Records on double vinyl on November 24, 2023; Amoeba's Dave Prinz called it the only live club show of Parsons ever released. Harris went on to a career with 13 Grammys by Wikipedia's count and entered the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008.