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List Price: $29.95 | | Publisher: Villard
Salesrank: 226918
Released: October 30, 2007 |
| Our Price: $12.00 |
| Used Price: $15.00 |
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| Media: Hardcover |
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Editorial Review:
Gram Parsons lived fast, died young, and left a beautiful corpse–a 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 everything–looks, charisma, money, style, the best drugs, the most heartbreaking voice–and 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 Angel was 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 Village’s 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 Parsons–many who have never spoken publicly about him before–Meyer 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 more–a chronicle of creativity, drugs, excess, culture, and music in the ferment of late-1960s America.
Visit the official website: www.twentythousandroads.com
Twenty Thousand Roads: The Ballad of Gram Parsons and His Cosmic American Music Reviews:
Decent Rock n Roll Bio 
2008-05-27 - I've read many biographies of rock personalities and other famous people. This one is better than most. It provides a balanced viewpoint with input from varying sources. A good read for Gram Parsons fans.
Did the author do much fact-checking? At all??? 
2008-05-01 - I've already read the Ben Fong-Torres bio, as well as the Sid Griffin bio.....now, while I am not a Gram-o-phile, I am most definitely a Nez-head. And based on the countless errors I am reading about Mike Nesmith, I wonder just how much research went into this book?
1) "Nesmith...the iconic Monkee, the one who could actually play his instrument." Never mind that Peter Tork was a clasically trained pianist, French horn player and FAR better guitarist than Nesmith...
2) Red Rhodes was "a regular contributor to ex-Monkee Michael Nesmith's country-rock First National Band." Hmmm...seems he ought to have been *in* the band with all of those contributions....oh wait....he was.
3) David Barry "played piano on Michael Nesmith's Country Time Records recordings." They served a lot of lemonade during those sessions, apparently. It was Countryside Records.
4) Red Rhodes "played on Elvis Presley's records." Let's name them:
5)Red Rhodes was the CMA's "Steel Guitar Player of the Year from 1965 through 1968." Close...but Red did not win in 1966. Ralph Mooney and Tom Brumley shared the award that year.
That many omissions on some sidebars to the main story make me wonder how many omissions are in the main story itself.
Slow going in the beginning
2008-04-07 - This book starts REALLY slowly!!! It digs really deeply into Gram's family ..... generations before he's born. I'm sure the stories about his well-to-do family was meant to add background to his own messed-up personality. But it was really boring. The book picks up when Gram finally gets out and starts making music.
Very Informative. 
2008-03-19 - A superb book on Gram Parsons. It probes the genius and vulnerability of this great talent. I, for one appreciate the authors in-depth telling of this man's life. One can only imagine the even greater impact he would have had on the music world had his life not been cut so drastically short. It is a true loss for everyone.
Gram's legend finally told.
2008-02-25 - This is an amazing book for anyone who is interested in music from the 50s - 70s.
While reading I suggest you listen to the music discussed to truly appreciate the details and evolution of Gram's contribution to American music. enjoy!
