Rarely has an album managed to disappoint, and in many cases actually alienate, almost everyone who heard it and it would be much later before it was recognised as the iconic piece of work that it is. At its best, the album shows why country music moved Parsons' troubled soul.Following hot on the heel of the detailed work a few weeks ago by my esteemed colleague Martin Johnson with his excellent piece on ‘ Ballad of Easy Rider’, it seemed like an ideal opportunity to follow up with The Byrds effort from a year earlier, ‘ Sweetheart of The Rodeo’. Hillman and McGuinn admit "Sweetheart of the Rodeo's" flaws. Hartford, who wrote the classic "Gentle on My Mind," gained widespread recognition on Cash's Nashville-based show. Influenced by Parsons, who joined them briefly as a guitarist, the Rolling Stones gave their music a country flavor with "Honky Tonk Women" and other songs.Ĭountry star Johnny Cash guided the blending of the country and rock worlds, inviting Dylan to perform on his legendary TV show. While initially dismissed, "Sweetheart" led to the widespread acceptance of country among rock fans, leading to the late-career success of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and other "outlaw country" stars.Įarlier recording "Blonde on Blonde" and "John Wesley Harding" in Nashville, Dylan recorded his country-influenced "Nashville Skyline" in 1969. While Parsons' original songs are among the best of his generation, he and Harris' covers of "Streets of Baltimore" and the Louvins' "Cash on the Barrelhead" are themselves pure country classics.Īnother "Sweetheart" alum, Clarence White, gained fame playing with his family's seminal bluegrass band, "The Kentucky Colonels." An acoustic master, White stands among the era's best guitarists, if not at the top. Great guitarist James Burton also shapes Parsons' "Return of the Grievious Angel" and the posthumous "GP." Before his death, Parsons also recorded two all-time great solo albums, upon which Emmylou Harris gives angelic harmony. ![]() The original "Cosmic Cowboy" left the band after recording "Sweetheart," teaming with Hillman to form the Flying Burrito Brothers. The album also features a hallmark recording of Parsons' "Hickory Wind." His singing survives on that song other of his vocals on "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" were overdubbed by McGuinn because of a contract dispute with Parsons' previous record label. Parsons's aching singing on "I Love the Christian Life" is ironic, considering his early death from a drug overdose. Several songs on the album stand as classics, including the Byrds' cover of Dylan's "You Ain't Going Nowhere." The recordings of traditional songs "I Am a Pilgrim" and the Louvin Brothers' "I Love the Country Life" are not campy or condescending. The Byrds' departure from folk-inspired psychedelia was a commercial failure, unaccepted by country fans who hated rock music and rock fans who hated country. "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" is uneven, not a masterpiece like the Band's Big Pink. White, Parsons and Hartford are among the rock martyrs who died too young. Parsons persuaded McGuinn to travel to Nashville to record the album, backed by Music City studio musicians such as Roy (Junior) Husky and steel guitar master Lloyd Green.Īlong with Parsons, McGuinn and Hillman, two other seminal musicians played on the album: master guitarist Clarence White and songwriter/banjo player John Hartford. "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" marks the emergence of one of rock's most influential musicians/songwriters, Gram Parsons, who joined the Byrds after the dismissal of David Crosby and Gene Clark. Both albums shone with covers of Bob Dylan classics.īyrds stalwarts Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman are marking the album's 50th anniversary with a tour along with country traditionalist Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives.Ī feature article by the Los Angeles Times' Randy Lewis previews the tour and gives an excellent retrospective of the album's legacy. While the Band covered a multitude of genres, "Sweetheart of the Rodeo," released on Aug. ![]() Like the Band's 1968 "Music From Big Pink," the Byrds' album saluted traditional American music. The Byrds' "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" is yet another influential rock album released in the tragic but creatively fertile year of 1968.
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