The ostensible reason for this varies from unresolved contractual questions about Parsons to McGuinn’s refusal to be upstaged by the unknown rich boy in his spiffy psychedelic-drug-and-pill-themed Nudie suit (which, in the interests of historical authenticity, he probably didn’t purchase until later.) Parsons’ tenure as a Byrd turned out to be short-lived-he soon went on to form The Flying Burrito Brothers with Chris Hillman-and the Sweetheart sessions ended in controversy and chaos, with McGuinn (the original Lou Reed!) erasing Parsons’ vocals on three songs during post-production and rerecording them himself, leaving Parsons as lead vocalist on just three cuts. To add authenticity, The Byrds (McGuinn on acoustic guitar, banjo, and vocals Chris Hillman on bass, mandolin, acoustic guitar, and vocals Parsons on acoustic guitar, piano and organ, and vocals and Kevin Kelley on drums) wrangled up a crew of mostly Nashville ringers, including legendary electric guitarist Clarence White (who would die tragically in 1973, hit by a drunken driver) John “Tear Down the Grand Ole Opry” Hartford on banjo, fiddle, and acoustic guitar Lloyd Green and JayDee Maness on pedal steel guitar Roy Husky on double bass and Earl Poole Ball and Barry “Electric Flag” Goldberg on piano. From “Eight Miles High” to “The Christian Life”? Longhairs playing pure country honk? Why, the idea was unthinkable, risible even, although The Byrds themselves had dabbled in country before and Bob Dylan himself would make the transition soon enough. It must have been an audacious piece of salesmanship, for no rock band-much less a pop supergroup with the psychedelic bona fides of The Byrds-had ever attempted anything so potentially suicidal from a commercial standpoint. No sooner had the relatively unknown 21-year-old joined The Byrds in February 1968 in the wake of the departure of David “I Am the Walrus” Crosby and Michael Clarke, he managed to talk the band, including leader Roger McGuinn, into scuttling McGuinn’s plans for an ambitious double album of the history of American popular music in favor of an album of straight-up country music, or country-rock if you insist, or “Cosmic American Music” as Parsons poetically termed it. You’ve got to hand it to Gram Parsons the boy had chutzpah.
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