If you’re not familiar with Gram Parsons, STOP now and START here!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gram_Parsons
Quite a story, right?!
My knowledge was extremely limited. Until… On a whim, I purchased a two CD “Anthology” to listen to on a road trip. The music instantly took me in and I headed down “the “rabbit hole” of research.
The Parsons story is fascinating and tragic. A trust fund child who spent one semester as a student at Harvard. Handsome, and so passionate about sharing his love of country music. Some call him the “Godfather of country rock.” Without him, there may not have been The Eagles, etc. Dead at 26, leaving a mystique.
In 2007, I had an invitation to visit California. A friend had access to a cabin just outside the border of Joshua Tree National Park. The route to the property would take us right past the Joshua Tree Inn, where a big part of the Parsons story took place. It was a “must see” for me.
I’ve always had a strong sense of curiosity. How did it happen, what were the circumstances? That need to understand. Reading about it doesn’t always cut it. Too much left to the imagination. Being there is seeing it with your own eyes. Here was that chance.
Things were surely different in September of 1973. The road past the inn was two lane. But the cinder block building and the property have not changed all that much. Quaint but very basic. If you’re not ghost chasing, you’d probably drive right on past.
The attendant was super nice. The inn probably has to deal with hundreds of people a year just like me. “Lookers,” but not staying. With no hesitation, he led my friend and I down a sidewalk. There are eleven, ground level rooms that face a courtyard. We stopped at room #8, he opened the door and we went in.
The guy answered questions the best he could. I looked around and took it all in. I made a few photos with the point and shoot Canon. It doesn’t have a wide angle lens so I did so with what I had. “The bed frame is the only original piece left from then,” he volunteered. A recent visit to the inn website states “a mirror and picture that hung in the room back in 1973” are still there.
It was quiet. No joking. around. Parsons died in this room. I believe, when someone passes, that earthy energy has to dissipate somewhere. I didn’t sense any spirits, but was getting a much better feel for that itch of understanding. We were in the room maybe 10 minutes. As we exited, I made a point to look down.
Thresholds. They can be literal. They can be figurative. Thresholds are crossed. When you cross the threshold from the skybridge onto a plane, you’re no longer in control. “Carry the bride across the threshold.” Those are literal. Moving from one thing to another, that’s more figurative.
There’s a small step from the sidewalk to room #8. Assuming that cinder block building is still structurally the same as in 1973, so is the threshold. Gram Parsons was alive when he crossed the threshold to enter the room. High on morphine and tequila. He was dead when he was carried out across that threshold.
We thanked the clerk for his time and moved on. A day later, in Joshua Tree National Park, we visited Cap Rock, the area where Phil Kaufman and Michael Martin did what they did.
Parson’s half-sister, Diane, has stated she finds it sad that fans note his death date more than his birth date. That’s a fair point. I never romanticized the story, just found it interesting. As time passed, it’s still interesting, but pretty gruesome. It depends on who you talk to.
The Joshua Tree Inn.
The courtyard at the Joshua Tree Inn.
Inside room #8. Parsons died in this room.
Outside room #8 at the Joshua Tree Inn.
A memorial in the inn courtyard.
The Cap Rock area in Joshua Tree National Park.
The book by Ben Fong-Torres. A great read.
This is a GREAT documentary!
Various artists cover Parsons. It’s super good.
The two disc set I bought on a whim. It’s great!