Creating a synthesis of country music with rock-n-roll must have seemed a fairly daunting task, given the two encampments generally negative feelings about one another previous to the late ‘60s; however, funny things happen when people all start smoking weed. Country music was all around the north-central Florida woods in which Gram Parsons grew up, and so was rock-n-roll to a lesser extent, but the bridge may very well have been marijuana---a plant which was always very near & dear to Mr. Parsons’ heart. After exiting from the Byrds, he got a bunch of guys together who supported the idea of doing the country-rock thing, not just for a song or two, but as their entire vibe…they became the Flying Burrito Brothers. Parsons was not long for this world, overdosing on morphine and tequila in the desert in 1973, but his hybridization of styles and cultures has proven to be one of the most influential legacies in modern music.
