It might be hard to fathom, but Gram Parsons would have turned 65 this year. Some of our most influential artists were mere shooting stars, and in the blink of an eye they were gone. Like Otis Redding and Buddy Holly, Gram left an indelible mark on music. He created a paradigm shift which is still celebrated sonically to this day, maybe even more so today. Back in those musty 60s, the genres were separate, sacred; slaves to their own structural DNA. And Gram changed all that. He made the country earthy, performed the soulful alongside it, and generally explored the genre bending that would spawn today’s Americana scene. Country, rock, hillbilly, blues, gospel, folk. Throw it in the pot and stir it up.
There are continuing Gram Parson’s Birthday events going on worldwide. The next one is this Saturday in Boston, one of seven cities holding a GIN IV this fall (in four countries) For the uninitiated, those initials stand for Gram InterNational. There is more about it here.
The John Henrys song today, “Sweet As The Grain,” just put me in the Gram mood. We filmed the Canadian band last year at Americana Fest. As we get ready to do this year’s event next week, I am thinking about Gram, and his huge contribution to the music I love. We are busy working on the line up for our gonzo latter day archivist gig. Think of us as John and Alan Lomax, but with today’s moments to capture, in glorious video with amazing sound. That is our mission. We will be announcing our schedule soon, and we will be streaming it from Nashville, along with the usual capture presentation in the weeks and months to follow. We can’t wait to bring our line up to you! Meanwhile, here's the John Henrys with a song from their album of the same name.
- Jessie Scott
