Twenty Thousand Roads: The Ballad of Gram Parsons and His Cosmic Ameri

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Twenty Thousand Roads: The Ballad of Gram Parsons and His Cosmic American MusicAuthor: Meyer, DavidPublication Date: 09\/16\/2008Format: PaperbackAs 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. His intimates and collaborators included Keith Richards, William Burroughs, Marianne Faithfull, Peter Fonda, Roger McGuinn, and Clarence White. Parsons led the Byrds to create the seminal country rock masterpiece Sweetheart of the Rodeo, 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. Parsons had everythinglooks, charisma, money, style, the best drugs, the most heartbreaking voiceand threw it all away with both hands, dying of a drug and alcohol overdose at age twenty-six.\nIn this beautifully written, raucous, meticulously researched biography, David N. Meyer gives Parsons mythic life its due. 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.\nPraise for Twenty Thousand Roads\nNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE LOS ANGELES TIMES\nNAMED ONE OF THE FIVE BEST ROCK BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY ROLLING STONE\nFar and away the most thorough biography of Parsons . . . skewers any number of myths surrounding this endlessly mythologized performer.\nLos Angeles Times\nA terrific biography of a rock innovator that hums with juicy detail and wincing truth. . . . Page after page groans with the folly of the 60s drug culture, the tragedy of talent toasted before its time, the curse of wealth and the madness of wasted opportunity.\nThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution\nThe definitive account of Gram Parsons lifeand early death. From the country-rock pioneers wealthy, wildly dysfunctional family through his symbiotic friendship with Keith Richards, Meyer deftly illuminates one of rocks most elusive figures.\nRolling Stone\nMeticulously researched . . . Though Meyer answers a lot of long-burning questions, he preserves Parsons legend as a man of mystery.\nEntertainment Weekly\n\nMeyer gives Parsons a thorough, Peter Guralnick-like treatment.\nNew York Post\nVisit the official website: www.twentythousandroads.com