So we are in Joshua Tree, California, September 1973. And a young musician, who is deeply intoxicated, is hanging out at the Joshua Tree Inn. He overdoses and dies at the age of 26.

The Byrds had already proven with Mr. Tambourine Man that they could take a folk rock song, electrify it, add harmonies, and dominate the charts. So this band is riding high on their reputation as the premier folk rock group in America.

• But what happens after his death is arguably the wildest funeral story in rock history
• They literally steal his body and set it on fire in the desert
• Today, we are going to trace Gram Parsons’ journey from a troubled southern childhood through his invention of cosmic American music
• He grew up incredibly wealthy in Waycross, Georgia
• He essentially forces the Byrds, who are an established folk rock band, into a hard country direction