{"product_id":"twenty-thousand-roads-the-ballad-of-gram-parsons-and-his-cosmic-american-music-9780375505706","title":"Twenty Thousand Roads: The Ballad of Gram Parsons and His Cosmic American Music","description":"\u003cp\u003eGram Parsons lived fast  died young  and left a beautiful corpsea corpse his friends stole  took to Joshua Tree National Monument  and set afire in its coffin. The theft and burning of his body marked the end of Gram Parsons life and the beginning of the Gram Parsons legend.  As a singer and songwriter  Gram Parsons stood at the nexus of countless musical crossroads  and he sold his soul to the devil at every one. Parson hung out with glamorous women and the coolest friends. His intimates and collaborators on his journey included Keith Richards  William Burroughs  Marianne Faithfull  Peter Fonda  Roger McGuinn  Clarence White  and Emmylou Harris. Parsons had everythinglooks  charisma  money  style  the best drugs  the most heartbreaking voiceand threw it all away with both hands. His ballad is one of gigantic talent colliding with epic self-destruction.  Parsons led the Byrds to create the seminal country rock masterpiece Sweetheart of the Rodeo. He formed the Flying Burrito Brothers  helped to guide the Rolling Stones beyond the blues in their appreciation of American roots music  and found his musical soul mate in Emmylou Harris. Parsons solo albums  GP and Grievous Angel  are now recognized as visionary masterpieces of the transcendental jambalaya of rock  soul  country  gospel  and blues Parsons named Cosmic American Music. Four months before Grievous Angelwas released  Parsons died of a drug and alcohol overdose at age twenty-six.  In this beautifully written  raucous  meticulously researched biography  David N. Meyer gives Parsons mythic life its due. From Parsons privileged Southern Gothic upbringing to his early career in Greenwich Villages folk music scene to his Sunset Strip glory days  Twenty Thousand Roads paints an unprecedented portrait of the man who linked country to rock. Parsons creative genius gave birth to a new sound that was rooted in the past but heralded the future.  From interviews with hundreds of the famous and obscure who knew and worked closely with Parsonsmany who have never spoken publicly about him beforeMeyer conjures a dazzling panorama of the artist and his era. Shedding new light and dispelling old myths  Twenty Thousand Roads is a breakthrough in rock-and-roll biography and morea chronicle of creativity  drugs  excess  culture  and music in the ferment of late-1960s America.  Visit the official website: www.twentythousandroads.com\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67661069910069,"sku":"ByrdShop_0375505709","price":31.74,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780375505706_57bf96b8-6ce9-4e39-a880-3c82ebd1d7b2.jpg?v=1791911471","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/twenty-thousand-roads-the-ballad-of-gram-parsons-and-his-cosmic-american-music-9780375505706","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}