Gram Parsons’ star blazed bright, but sadly, burned out far too soon. Born Ingram Cecil Connor III in Winter Haven, FL, his early life was badly shaken when his biological father committed suicide when he was 12. His mother quickly remarried, and young Gram took the surname of his step-father, Robert Parsons. For a time, the family found a stability of sorts. They were later torn apart in early 1965, when Robert became embroiled in an extramarital affair and Avis’ heavy drinking led to her death from cirrhosis on June 5, 1965, the day of Gram’s graduation from Bolles Academy in Jacksonville Fl.
Gram Parsons found his salvation in music, which he discovered at an early age after seeing Elvis Presley perform in 1956, when he was 10. After honing his craft, he later performed in a variety of local bands anywhere that would allow them to play – mostly coffeehouses, and high schools auditoriums. It was later, during a short stint at
Harvard...
