Hickory Wind: The Life and Times of Gram Parsons [Paperback]

Ben Fong-Torres (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1998

Gram Parons lived hard and died young, and left behind a musical legacy that has influenced generations of rock and country legends. Ben Fong-Torres's moving account of his story--from his poor-little-rich-kid childhood; through his seminal time with the Byrds and his own bands, the Flying Burrito Brothers and the Fallen Angels; to days and nights spent with the likes of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Emmylou Harris--is a classic of rock biography. This newly expanded edition updates the text and discograph, adds rare new photographs, and concludes with an intriguing epilogue that answers some lingering questions about Gram's untimely death--and raised a few more.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An entertaining biography of singer/songwriter/guitarist Gram Parsons, a key figure linking country music to rock until his 1973 drug-related death at age 26. Photos.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Parsons must receive the lion's share of the credit (or blame) for defining California "country rock." Before his early death in 1973, he recorded with the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers, and as a solo. Although he was not appreciated during his lifetime, his work is now seen as influential. As important as he may have been as an artist, Parsons personally was little more interesting than most other late-1960s burnouts, and his life proves thin stuff for a book-length biography. Fong-Torres, a respected rock music journalist and Rolling Stone alumnus, does his best to fashion a sensational narrative out of Parsons's 27 years, but falls short. His efforts to depict Parsons's early life in the South as a Tennessee Williams-style family drama, for example, is forced at best. Fans will love this book, but it holds little appeal for others. For larger music collections.
- James Stephenson, Soc. of the Cincinnati Lib., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (September 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312194641
• ISBN-13: 978-0312194642
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.6 x 8.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #751,801 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Ahem, Not all the Facts April 18, 2000

By Michele Parker

Format:Paperback

This book is a good introduction to the music of Gram Parsons, but not his life, however. While Fong Torres has gathered an impressive number of facts, these facts are also found elsewhere in the literature since the late 1960s. Anybody who has read Rolling Stone or any other magazine/book about music since the 60s has undoubtedly read all of these "facts." But several things stood out in my mind as being purely sensationalistic, i.e the "fight" with Clarence White--it never happened. Clarence and Gram were true friends and when Clarence had to call Gram down (nothing more than "You need to cut that out, man") for being rambunctious, that was all he had to do; Gram cooled it. Also, with all of the information out there, I cannot for the likes of me understand why the author neglected to mention that Gram had a bad heart; that being the reason he didn't go to Vietnam and also, why he was prescribed morphine. And though his lifestyle surely contributed to his early demise, it was his heart that was the true culprit. This book, more often times than not, seems only to sensationalize and dramatize the life and death of Gram Parsons. I think all due respect should be given to Gram and not needless hype.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Lived fast, died young, left some great music March 18, 2002

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

While there's a lot of his music that I've enjoyed, I've always been a little wary of the cult-of-personality that's surrounded Gram Parsons and his music. Ben Fong-Torres' biography about Parsons only reinforces this wariness; he had talent, sure, but he was also a grandmaster at screwing up the good things in his life. He had an enormous ego and an appetite for chemical recreation that seems upon reading to have been limitless. Who knows what could've happened if he'd partied a little less and moved music to the forefront of his life a little more? Fong-Torres may hold Parsons in high regard, but this doesn't prevent him from showing his subject's less admirable sides.

It also doesn't prevent him from showing that when Parsons really worked at it, what resulted was some of the best music that still resonates today. "Brass Buttons," "She" and the song that gives the title for this biography are today considered to be country ballad standards of the first stripe by many, and they deserve that honor. And if he wasn't necessarily the "father" of "country rock," Parsons certainly was one of the first to show that country with a rock attitude made for some great music. All you have to do is listen to his posthumous "Grievious Angel" collection for proof of that.

Fong-Torres spends less time on Parson's music than on his personal travails, but that's probably because the latter managed to undermine the former more often than not. That said, HICKORY WIND effectively displays the life of a guy who could've been a contender and, as it is, remains a lasting presence in the world of music.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hickory Wind-Gram Parsons Visited April 14, 2000

By Booker

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The definitive work for those interested in the short life and times of the original Rhinestone Cowboy. Credited by some as being the one who popularized the genre of Country Rock music, Gram disdained this term for his own "Cosmic American Music". Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Gram was probably cursed by genetics. His mother's longstanding bouts with the twin evils of alcohol and depression, and his father sharing those traits, conspired to doom a talent that is recognized more today than when he lived. An impetuous young man, Gram Parson's talent was unquestionable. His inability to manage that talent, while immersing himself in the most hedonistic pursuits of contemporary life, was a large part of his downfall. The story told within these pages is likely to move the reader; not so much in a sympathetic way, as Gram didn't evoke sympathy. He does, though, appear to be a product of his upbringing, which unfortunately led him down a path of self-destruction that ended in his untimely death in a high desert motel. This book reads well, written by an author who always pays attention to detail without inserting his personal judgement.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Love Gram, not this book November 30, 2009

By Acupunk

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Contrary to other reviews found here, this is not the "definitive biography" of Gram Parsons. That honor belongs to Sid Griffin's loving (and out of print) biography. This is a poorly written, passionless, classics illustrated story of Gram's life- lots of whats, but few whys. We'll all keep hoping for Sid's bio to be re-released. In the meantime, try wikipedia.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Wanting More April 7, 2000

By Goodja

Format:Paperback

While this is an interesting read - giving readers a long listing of events in this short,tragic life. There is almost no "feel" for what made Gram tick -or how he came posess the unique powers and vision to be a pioneer in his musical genre. The events of his life are detailed - but without a feeling for how or why the events affected him the way they did. I still don't really know why he was so tormented or how it was such a tortured soul could feel his way clear to writing a song like Hickory Wind. I intuit that he was so much more than a "trust fund" hippie- A person such as this who had the vision to meld rock and country music and have a feel for the true essence of country - must have had a strong feeling for the essential purity of it - but this book offers very little insight. I still recommend the book for what I assume is an accurate telling of the facts.