Song of the day for September 19, 2024
Love Hurts by Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris is today’s featured song.
On this day in 1973, 26-year-old singer-songwriter Gram Parsons died of a drug overdose in Joshua Tree, California. Known for his fusion of country, rock, folk, and R&B (what he coined “Cosmic American Music”), Parsons found success as a solo artist, as well as with groups like The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers. Although his career was relatively short, Parsons’ influence was monumental, particularly with the development of alt-country in the following decades. In the days following his death, however, the intrigue surrounding Parsons only continued to grow, in what can only be described as rock’n’roll lore. As Parsons’ body was being prepared to be shipped to his family in Louisiana, the artist’s friend and tour manager, Phil Kaufman, intercepted the body at Los Angeles International Airport and, following his friend’s wishes, drove the body back to the desert, where he attempted to cremate it.
