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: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #410,744 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

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

By 

Michele Parker (US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hickory Wind: The Life and Times of Gram Parsons (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.

11 of 11 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

This review is from: Hickory Wind: The Life and Times of Gram Parsons (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 Eye-opening look at a musical legend obscured by time, April 26, 2005

By 

Trevor Seigler (South Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hickory Wind: The Life and Times of Gram Parsons (Paperback)

Before picking up "Hickory Wind", all I knew of Gram Parsons was that he died at the age of 26, was burned afterwords in a hasty cremation by his road manager, and that he'd spent time in the Byrds before going off to the Flying Burrito Brothers (who I'd never heard of) and his own solo recordings. As this book shows, there was so much more.

Ben Fong-Torres illuminates the early life of Parsons, including his troubled family's past, and discusses his music and its influence in the wake of his untimely demise. What it also does is make human a larger-than-life legend (as most are once their subject is passed on. Jim Morrison didn't become a "poet" until his death, really). Gram Parsons was a trust-fund kid with a world of problems, and little in the way of an ability to deal with them. Fong-Torres spares none of the grim details of his drug abuse and its effects on those around him.

Also covered are the mysteries surrounding his death. There are numerous theoris abounding, but Fong-Torres sumises that the most likely is also the dullest (a accidental overdose), but therefore the most tragic. By the end of the book, you understand what rock and country lost with his passing.

As someone who's just now getting into his music, I found "Hickory Wind" to be a great introduction to Gram Parsons, the musician and the man. It's impossible to know everything about our rock legends, but Ben Fong-Torres probably comes the closest to explaining Gram Parsons as I've seen any journalist do for their subject in a long time. Get this to learn about Gram Parsons; then pick up the FBB's first two albums so you understand what all the fuss is about.