Gram Parsons Says Hay

One hundred and fifty-six miles east of Los Angeles, in the high desert country of Joshua Tree National Monument, a two-story tall outcrop of quartz monzonite, solidified perhaps 150 million years ago, casts a wide shadow alongside the two-lane road. The pile of stone is known as Cap Rock because of the flat, ten-foot, oblong boulder that rests at a slightly cocky angle at the peak of the formation. At the base of its north side, Cap Rock’s light gray coloring is charred black, and visible in a patch of sand are bits and pieces of burnt wood the size of barbecue briquettes.

The debris is the remains of a coffin that contained the body of Gram Parsons, who died September 19th while vacationing at a Joshua Tree motel. The singer-songwriter-guitarist, a former member of the Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers, was 26 years old. The San Bernardino County coroner’s office said Parsons apparently died of heart failure due to natural causes, but the exact nature would not be known until after a toxicology report was received… read more >