Gp

Gram Parsons hated the term “country rock.” He thought it was too limiting. Gram’s vision of “Cosmic American Music” (a self-coined phrase he preferred to country rock) came to fruition on GP as he successfully fused the lyricism of folk and rock with the burning urgency of blues and soul alongside the melodies and heartache of country music. And with a studio arsenal comprising A-list musicians like James Burton on guitar, Byron Berline on fiddle, Al Perkins on pedal steel, Ronnie Tutt on drums and Glen D. Hardin on piano, songs like the lilting “She” and the impassioned “A Song for You” left Gram with plenty of room to stretch out his vocal chords or hold back with tense restraint. GP also introduced Emmylou Harris, whose high-lonesome harmonies were so congruent with Gram’s that they eerily sounded like siblings and lovers at once, especially on “The New Soft Shoe” and the more upbeat boogie-rocker “Big Mouth Blues.”