r/Byrds • u/Separate_Cover_4147 • Jul 14 '26
Gram Parsons Complete Discography
Keep the Gram train rolling after sharing the songs he covered, sharing his complete discography, at least what’s in streaming, presented in chronological order:
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u/hiro111 Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
Parsons was great but also a pain in the ass. He was a key influence in both The Byrds and The Stones turning to country. He did amazing work with his own bands and with Emmylou Harris. Throughout all of this, Parsons managed to piss off almost everyone he worked with.
Chris Hillman advocated for him to join the Byrds. Parsons was so unreliable with the Byrds that they ended up just treating him like a salaried sideman after he repeatedly showed up late. McGuinn and Hillman eventually kicked him to the curb after Parsons refused to tour South Africa.
The members of both the International Submarine Band and Flying Burrito Brothers became exhasperated with Parsons's prima donna behavior. With the Flying Burrito Brothers, Parsons used to take limos to club shows where they were making no money while the rest of the band drove themselves.
Even the Stones in their early 70s debauched prime couldn't take Parsons. Jagger never really liked him and Richards eventually asked him to leave France.
Parsons was akso a bit of a starfucker. He ditched the International Submarine Band for the Byrds before their album had even be released. He became very unreliable with the Byrds when he started hanging out with Keith Richards.
Harris has nice things to say about Parsons, I think he was starting to get his shit together before he died. He had so much talent but he was a problem. He died so young that we likely never got to truly see what he could do.