Legendary road manager, record producer and author Phil Kaufman will be appearing at The Great Escape Nashville to remember his friendship with Country Rock legend Gram Parsons on Thursday, September 19th at 7:00 p.m.
Kaufman, an infamous fixture on the Nashville scene since moving here from California while working with Emmylou Harris, has chronicled his many adventures throughout the years working with Harris, The Rolling Stones, Etta James, Frank Zappa, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Joe Cocker and others in his autobiography, "Road Mangler Deluxe". (It was while he was working as a road manager, that he acquired the nickname "The Road Mangler".)
Born Ingram Cecil Connor lll, Gram Parsons is iconic as one of the founders of country rock, and first became well-known in this genre when he joined the Byrds in 1968, after David Crosby was fired and the band decided to lean in a decidedly country direction. After making one album with them, he formed The Flying Burrito Brothers with fellow Byrd Chris Hillman, and is immortalized with them in the movie "Gimme Shelter", the movie chronicling The Rolling Stones' 1969 American tour, which led up to the disastrous free concert at Altamont Raceway at the end of it that the Burrito Brothers performed in. (The Flying Burrito Brothers also featured Bernie Leadon, who would end up being a founding member of The Eagles a few years later.) After recording two albums and touring with the band, Parsons was fired in 1970, and began a short career as a solo artist, which is particularly notable for launching the career of Emmylou Harris, who he often sang duets with. His influence on both country and country rock is considered to be immeasurable, and he wrote many classic songs that have been covered by artists like Harris, Poco and others.
Kaufman met Parsons through Keith Richards, while Kaufman was working with The Rolling Stones, who first employed him when he was offered a job as a driver for Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithful, while Jagger was in Los Angeles to mix the Stones' most recent release, Beggar's Banquet. After meeting Parsons, Kaufmann agreed to be the road manager for Parsons' band at the time, The Flying Burrito Brothers, although he had no previous experience at this. The two developed a close friendship, and made a pact with each other that if one of them was to die, the other would give them a "Norse Funeral', which involved burning the body of the deceased on a pyre. In Parson's case, particulars involved doing this in Joshua Tree National park (where he had begun frequently vacationing), and spreading his ashes over Cap Rock, a prominent feature in the park.
When Parsons died of an overdose of drugs and alcohol in a motel room near Joshua Tree, Kaufman chose to honor their pact, resulting in the now-legendary story as depicted in the movie "Gram Theft Parsons", that involved Kaufman stealing Parson's body, when Parson's stepfather decided to have a private ceremony in New Orleans- allegedly because proving that Parsons was a citizen in that state would allow him to inherit Parson's share of his grandfather's estate. Borrowing a hearse from Emmylou Harris, Kaufman took the body from the Los Angeles National Airport and headed to Joshua Tree to fulfill his friend's wishes. When he attempted to cremate the body, however, (by dousing it in gasoline and throwing a lit match into it) he was largely unsuccessful. The police had been alerted to the theft and arrested them shortly afterwards- but since there is no law against stealing a body, they were only charged with stealing the coffin. (Parsons' remains were eventually buried in Garden Of Memories Cemetary in Metairie, Louisiana.)
Kaufman will be talking about his friendship with Parsons and answering questions from the audience on September 19, 2019 at The Great Escape's West Nashville location at 5400 Charlotte Avenue.
THE GREAT ESCAPE CHARLOTTE AVENUE SUPERSTORE
(Buying-Selling-Trading: DVDs, CDs, Video Games, Comics, Toys, CCG, Gaming, Books, Magazines, Memorabilia & more!)
5400 Charlotte Ave. (Across from New Life Record Store, by Pep Boys, Burger King, Goodwill & Sir Pizza.)
615-385-2116
contactus@thegreatescapeonline.com
Open Monday-Saturday 10 a.m. - 9 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m. - 7 p.m.
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