Gene Parsons

Gene Parsons
Born (1944-09-04) September 4, 1944
Morongo Valley, Mojave Desert, California, U.S.
Genres Rock, Country rock, Bluegrass, Country
Occupation(s) Musician, Songwriter, Engineer
Instruments Guitar, Drums, Banjo, Harmonica, Pedal steel, vocals, percussion
Years active 1966–present
Labels Bakersfield International, Columbia, Warner Bros., Sierra, Stringbender
Associated acts Nashville West, The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Parsons Green
Website http://stringbender.com/

Gene Victor Parsons is an American drummer, banjo player, guitarist, singer-songwriter, and engineer, best known for his work with The Byrds from 1968 to 1972. Parsons has also released solo albums and played in bands including Nashville West, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Parsons Green. Parsons is credited with inventing the B-Bender (also known as the StringBender) along with Clarence White and the device is often referred to as the Parsons/White B-Bender, a trademarked name.[1]

History

Gene Parsons was born on September 4, 1944 on his family's farm in Morongo Valley in the Mojave Desert, California.[2][3] His professional musical career began when he joined up with guitarist and Fiddle player Gib Guilbeau in the duo Guilbeau & Parsons.[4] Later the duo was joined by Clarence White, former guitarist with the Kentucky Colonels, and bassist Wayne Moore to form the band Nashville West, named after a club where the band often performed. [5]

After the dissolution of Nashville West, Parsons was brought in to The Byrds by his friend Clarence White, who had recently become the band's guitarist, to replace previous drummer Kevin Kelley.[6] Parsons remained with the band for four years, principally as a drummer but he also contributed guitar, banjo, harmonica and a number of his own songs to the albums Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde, Ballad of Easy Rider, (Untitled), Byrdmaniax and Farther Along.[3][7]

His first solo album, Kindling, was released in 1973 on Warner Bros. Records, after the disbandment of The Byrds.[4] Although Kindling received positive reviews in music publications such as Rolling Stone, it failed to reach the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart.[3][8] Following this, Parsons joined The Flying Burrito Brothers, like other ex-Byrds Chris Hillman, Gram Parsons (no relation) and Michael Clarke had done before him.[3][9] While he was a member of The Flying Burrito Brothers with Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Chris Ethridge, Skip Battin, Joel Scott Hill and Gib Gilbeau, Parsons contributed a number of songs to the band's Flying Again and Airborne albums, including "Wind and Rain", "Sweet Desert Childhood" and "Out of Control".

After his tenure with The Flying Burrito Brothers ended in 1978, Parsons released a second solo album in 1979 entitled Melodies.[3] Since the mid-1980s, he has also released two albums with his wife, California based folk musician Meridian Green, under the moniker of Parsons Green.[10] A third solo album, this time a live recording, entitled In Concert - I Hope They'll Let Us In was released by Parsons in 2001 on his own Stringbender record label.[4]

As well as his work with Nashville West, The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, Parsons has also played on records by Arlo Guthrie, The Everly Brothers, Randy Newman, The Gosdin Brothers, and Elliott Murphy.[4] He also played on the soundtrack album of the 1970 film Performance, contributing both drums and guitar.[11] His work on the album included playing drums on the track "Memo From Turner", which would end up being Mick Jagger's first single release as a solo artist. During 1994, he was a member of The Byrds Celebration, a tribute band formed by guitarist Terry Rogers that had originated with former Byrds' drummer Michael Clarke, who had died in 1993, and which also included fellow ex-Byrd Skip Battin.[12] Parsons was also part of the band Haywire (not to be confused with the Canadian band of the same name), along with Joe Craven, Bill Douglass and Will Siegel, and features on the band's 1998 album, Bluegrass Christmas.[4] In 2002, Parsons collaborated with British singer-songwriter Julian Dawson, on the album Hillbilly Zen.[4]

Gene Parsons currently lives in Caspar, California, spending much of his time running his StringBender company and customizing guitars with his B-Bender device in his machine shop.

Selected album discography

The Byrds

Gene Parsons

The Flying Burrito Brothers

Nashville West

Parsons Green

Haywire

Guilbeau & Parsons

References

  1. ↑ "Parsons-White String Bender". Vintage Guitar. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
  2. ↑ Rogan, Johnny (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited. Rogan House. p. 268. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Gene Parons - This Byrd Has Flown". Triste Magazine. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Gene Parsons-related records". Byrds Flyght. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
  5. ↑ "Nashville West". ByrdWatcher: A Field Guide to the Byrds of Los Angeles. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
  6. ↑ Rogan, Johnny (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited. Rogan House. p. 276. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
  7. ↑ Rogan, Johnny (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited. Rogan House. p. 585. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
  8. ↑ "Gene Parsons chart data". Ultimate Music Database. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
  9. ↑ "The Flying Burrito Brothers Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
  10. ↑ "Gene Parsons Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
  11. ↑ "Performance (1970) credits". Screenonline. British Film Institute. Retrieved 2014-02-26.
  12. ↑ Rogan, Johnny (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited (2nd ed.). Rogan House. p. 538. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
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