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Death of Gram Parsons

September 01, 2023

Gram Parsons died on September 19, 1973, in room eight of the Joshua Tree Inn, near Joshua Tree National Park. Encouraged by his road manager Phil Kaufman, Parsons again visited the park after completing his latest recording sessions. Earlier, he had confessed to Kaufman his wish to be cremated and his ashes scattered in the park in case he died.

Death of Gram Parsons
Makeshift memorial dedicated to Parsons in Joshua Tree National Park
DateSeptember 19, 1973; 49 years ago (1973-09-19) (official record)
Time00:15 (official record)
LocationJoshua Tree Inn, near Joshua Tree National Park
Cause"Drug toxicity, days, due to multiple drug use, weeks"
Burial1973 at Garden of Memories Cemetery, New Orleans, Louisiana

Parsons traveled to Joshua Tree with Michael Martin (his assistant), Margaret Fisher (Parsons' high school girlfriend), and Dale McElroy (Martin's girlfriend). Parsons spent time in the desert during the day and at local bars at night, consuming barbiturates and alcohol every day. On September 18, after being injected with morphine, Parsons overdosed. On September 19, he was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.

Following Parsons' death and in order to fulfill his desires, Kaufman and Martin arrived at Los Angeles International Airport in Martin's personal Cadillac Hearse impersonating mortuary workers. Under the impression that the pair had been hired by the Parsons family, Western Airlines released the body to them. They then took it to Joshua Tree and set it on fire. The burning casket was reported by campers to the local authorities, who investigated the incident and identified both perpetrators.

Parsons' body was partially cremated. His charred remains were recovered and returned to his family. Meanwhile, Kaufman and Martin were accused of grand theft and fined for burning the casket, while they also had to pay for Parsons' funeral. Parsons' remains were later buried in New Orleans at Garden of Memories on Airline Highway.

Background and Parsons' death Edit

 
Gram Parsons in 1972

During the 1960s, as a member of the Flying Burrito Brothers, Gram Parsons became fascinated by Joshua Tree National Monument. The singer visited the park several times.[1] During the recording sessions held in the summer of 1973 (later released on the album Grievous Angel, in 1974), Parsons had reduced his use of heroin but retook the habit as the recording finished.[2] Incited by his road manager, Phil Kaufman, Parsons went on a trip to Joshua Tree in September 1973. He was accompanied by Margaret Fisher (his high school girlfriend, with whom he had recently resumed his relationship); assistant Michael Martin and his girlfriend Dale McElroy. Parsons drove Martin and McElroy in his new Jaguar, while Fisher flew from San Francisco.[3]

Kaufman later declared that Parsons' attorney was preparing divorce papers for him to serve them to Parsons' wife, Gretchen Burrell, while the singer was in Joshua Tree on September 20.[4] The travelers stayed at the Joshua Tree Inn, room eight. During the trip, Parsons often retreated to the desert, while at night the group would visit local bars, where he sat in with the bands. Excepting McElroy, he and his companions consumed alcohol and barbiturates in high amounts. On September 18, Martin drove back to Los Angeles to resupply the group with marijuana.[5] Parsons purchased liquid morphine that night from an unknown girl, who injected him and Fisher.[6] Parsons overdosed in Room 1. Fisher gave Parsons an ice-cube suppository and later sat him in a cold shower. Instead of moving him around the room, she put him to bed back in Room 8 and went out to buy coffee to try and wake Parsons, leaving McElroy to watch over him.[7] As his respirations became irregular and later ceased, McElroy attempted resuscitation. As she failed, Fisher tried again upon her return. After more failed attempts, they called an ambulance. Parsons was declared dead on his arrival at High Desert Memorial Hospital, at 00:15 on September 19, 1973, in Yucca Valley, California.[8]

Body-theft incident Edit

Initially, the San Bernardino County coroner declared Parsons' death to be from "natural causes, pending autopsy".[9] An inconclusive autopsy was later performed.[10] Fisher called Kaufman, who arrived at Joshua Tree on September 19. Fisher had cleared room 8 of all of the drugs soon after Parsons' death, while Kaufman searched Parsons' car upon his arrival. Kaufman then drove Fisher and McElroy back to Los Angeles in Parsons' Jaguar, to evade the police in case they were looking for the two women.[11]

Kaufman then proceeded to make phone calls to the San Bernardino Coroner's office and found out that the body was being moved to Los Angeles International Airport to be transferred to Western Airlines. He then called the company and was told that the body was to be shipped to New Orleans for the funeral.[12] The embalmed body of Parsons was reported as stolen on September 20.[10]

Kaufman and Martin had arrived at Los Angeles International Airport in McElroy's 1953 Cadillac Hearse and impersonated workers of a funeral parlor, claiming that Parsons' family had arranged for them to take the body to New Orleans via a chartered flight departing from Van Nuys Airport. The cargo manager could not find the transfer request among his papers but assumed that it was a last-minute change and decided to release the body to the two men. Kaufman signed the papers as "Jeremy Nobody", and proceeded to request a patrolman who parked behind the hearse to move his car away so he could load the casket. The patrolman helped Kaufman and Martin, who were struggling to move the coffin. As a result of his nervousness in the presence of the patrolman and his previous consumption of alcohol, Martin drove the car into a wall of the hangar, in front of the officer. The patrolman evidently did not suspect them of any illegal activity, and the two left with Parsons' body.[13]

Earlier that year, Kaufman and Parsons had attended Clarence White's funeral. After singing an impromptu rendition of the song "Farther Along" while the casket was lowered, Parsons told Kaufman "don't let this happen to me" and explained to him his desire to be cremated and his ashes scattered in Joshua Tree.[14] When they arrived at Joshua Tree, Kaufman opened the casket and poured in five gallons of gasoline, set the body on fire, and left.

On their way back to Los Angeles, the two stopped to sleep off their drunkenness.[15] When they woke up, the hearse did not start and Kaufman had to hike to reach a mechanical shop. The hearse started again after a few repairs and the two returned to the road, where they were later involved in a car pile-up on the highway and rear-ended another car. A police officer handcuffed them both when several beer cans fell from the vehicle as one of the doors opened. While the officer went to assure no other drivers were hurt in the accident, Martin slipped his hand out of the cuffs and fled with Kaufman. Since the officer did not take the driver's license of either one or even the license plate number, he could not identify them.[16]

Following the report of the body theft, the casket was sighted burning by campers, who alerted park authorities. A green Western Airlines body bag was found beside the casket.[10] The body was not thoroughly cremated, as 35 pounds remained.[15] Witnesses reported seeing a hearse speeding away from the scene, recalling that other vehicles had been forced off the road.[17] After mugshots of the believed perpetrators were shown to witnesses from the airport, Investigator Joe E. Hamilton declared that the police were close to the identification.[18] Kaufman and Martin were identified from the mugshots, arrested, and charged with grand theft.[19] While the two awaited judgment, the San Bernardino County Coroner declared to the press that Parsons' death was caused by "multiple drug abuse, in part due to overdose of whiskey, barbiturates, and cocaine".[20]

Kaufman and Martin were given thirty-day suspended jail sentences, fined $300 each for misdemeanor theft, and charged $708 for funeral home expenses ($2,055 and $4,850 in 2023).[21] Kaufman threw a benefit party to raise funds to pay the fines.[22] The event was called "Kaufman's Koffin Kaper Koncert". Doctor Demento was the featured disc jockey and beer bottles with the figure of Parsons on the label and the inscription "Gram Pilsner: A stiff drink for what ales you" were served.[23]

Aftermath Edit

A small family service was organized for the burial of Parsons in New Orleans. Shocked by the theft, failed cremation, and the fundraiser, the family regarded it all as a Kaufman publicity stunt and denied there could have been any promise between Parsons and his manager. He was buried at Memorial Lawn Cemetery with the epitaph "God's Own Singer".[24] Kaufman wrote about his experience stealing the body of Parsons in his autobiography, Road Mangler Deluxe. The events were loosely depicted in the 2003 film Grand Theft Parsons, starring Johnny Knoxville.[23]

Joshua Tree National Park does not officially recognize Parsons' link to the park, and his memorial does not appear on the maps. Rangers are given the option to tell the story, but it does not appear on brochures either.[25] While Parsons was incinerated a quarter-mile away from Cap Rock, that location is often confused with the actual place where it happened. Makeshift memorials and inscriptions are found around the rock and cleared by the park caretakers. Tourists and fans of Parsons visit the site, as well as the Joshua Tree Inn, where a guitar-shaped statue dedicated to Parsons can be found outside. Room 8 is reserved by the current owner for people who ask specifically to stay there for its relation to Parsons, and it is not offered to walk-in guests. The only remaining furniture from the time is a mirror found near the bed.[26]

Parsons' former Burritos bandmate Bernie Leadon, who was in The Eagles at the time of Parsons' death, objected to the disrespectful way Kaufman cremated him in Joshua Tree, describing it as "a partial, unattended burning" and "not a proper cremation."[27]

Footnotes Edit

  1. ^ Zarki, Joseph 2015, p. 116.
  2. ^ Meyer, David 2008, p. 414.
  3. ^ Meyer, David 2008, p. 415.
  4. ^ Meyer, David 2008, p. 416.
  5. ^ Meyer, David 2008, p. 418-19.
  6. ^ Meyer, David 2008, p. 419.
  7. ^ Meyer, David 2008, p. 420-22.
  8. ^ Meyer, David 2008, p. 423.
  9. ^ UPI staff 1973, p. 2.
  10. ^ a b c Associated Press staff 1973.
  11. ^ Meyer, David 2008, p. 425.
  12. ^ Meyer, David 2008, p. 426.
  13. ^ Kannard, Brian 2009, p. 79.
  14. ^ Kannard, Brian 2009, p. 80.
  15. ^ a b Kannard, Brian 2009, p. 82.
  16. ^ Kannard, Brian 2009, p. 83.
  17. ^ UPI staff 2 1973, p. 20.
  18. ^ Van Nuys News staff 1973, p. 23.
  19. ^ UPI staff 3 1973, p. 48.
  20. ^ UPI staff 4 1973, p. 4.
  21. ^ Associated Press staff 2 1973, p. 3.
  22. ^ Hundley & Parsons 2009, p. 252.
  23. ^ a b Kannard, Brian 2009, p. 84.
  24. ^ Meyer, David 2008, p. 435.
  25. ^ Billboard staff 2001.
  26. ^ Fulton, Robert 2013.
  27. ^ "Terrell's Tune-Up: Out with the Truckers and the Kickers and the Fallen Angels".

References Edit

  • Associated Press staff (1973). "Body Stolen From Airport". Standard-Speaker. Associated Press. Retrieved May 4, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. 
  • Associated Press staff 2 (1973). "Men Fined in Burning". Statesville Record and Landmark. Associated Press. Retrieved May 4, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. 
  • Billboard staff (2001). "Park Service Mulls Gram Parsons Memorial". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  • Fulton, Robert (2013). "The Cult of Gram Parsons Lives on in Joshua Tree". L.A Weekly. LA Weekly, LP. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  • Hundley, Jessica; Parsons, Polly (2009). Grievous Angel: An Intimate Biography of Gram Parsons. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-7867-3795-6.
  • Kannard, Brian (2009). Skullduggery: 45 True Tales of Disturbing the Dead. ISBN 978-0-9829128-2-9.
  • Meyer, David (2008). Twenty Thousand Roads: The Ballad of Gram Parsons and His Cosmic American Music. Random House. ISBN 978-0-345-50786-0.
  • UPI staff (1973). "Singer Dies". The Lowell sun. UPI. Retrieved May 4, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. 
  • UPI staff 2 (1973). "Stolen, Body Cremated". Wisconsin State Journal. UPI. Retrieved May 4, 2014 – via Newspapers.com. 
  • UPI staff 3 (1973). "Body-theft suspect surrenders". Long Beach, California: Independent. UPI. Retrieved May 4, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. 
  • UPI staff 4 (1973). "Theft and Cremation of Body Investigated". Simpson's Leader-Times. UPI. Retrieved May 4, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. 
  • Van Nuys News staff (1973). "Police Continue Probe of Casket-Theft Incident". The Van Nuys News. Los Angeles Times Company. Retrieved May 4, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. 
  • Zarki, Joseph (2015). Joshua Tree National Park. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4671-3281-7.

September 01, 2023
death, gram, parsons, gram, parsons, died, september, 1973, room, eight, joshua, tree, near, joshua, tree, national, park, encouraged, road, manager, phil, kaufman, parsons, again, visited, park, after, completing, latest, recording, sessions, earlier, confess. Gram Parsons died on September 19 1973 in room eight of the Joshua Tree Inn near Joshua Tree National Park Encouraged by his road manager Phil Kaufman Parsons again visited the park after completing his latest recording sessions Earlier he had confessed to Kaufman his wish to be cremated and his ashes scattered in the park in case he died Death of Gram ParsonsMakeshift memorial dedicated to Parsons in Joshua Tree National ParkDateSeptember 19 1973 49 years ago 1973 09 19 official record Time00 15 official record LocationJoshua Tree Inn near Joshua Tree National ParkCause Drug toxicity days due to multiple drug use weeks Burial1973 at Garden of Memories Cemetery New Orleans LouisianaParsons traveled to Joshua Tree with Michael Martin his assistant Margaret Fisher Parsons high school girlfriend and Dale McElroy Martin s girlfriend Parsons spent time in the desert during the day and at local bars at night consuming barbiturates and alcohol every day On September 18 after being injected with morphine Parsons overdosed On September 19 he was declared dead on arrival at the hospital Following Parsons death and in order to fulfill his desires Kaufman and Martin arrived at Los Angeles International Airport in Martin s personal Cadillac Hearse impersonating mortuary workers Under the impression that the pair had been hired by the Parsons family Western Airlines released the body to them They then took it to Joshua Tree and set it on fire The burning casket was reported by campers to the local authorities who investigated the incident and identified both perpetrators Parsons body was partially cremated His charred remains were recovered and returned to his family Meanwhile Kaufman and Martin were accused of grand theft and fined for burning the casket while they also had to pay for Parsons funeral Parsons remains were later buried in New Orleans at Garden of Memories on Airline Highway Contents 1 Background and Parsons death 2 Body theft incident 3 Aftermath 4 Footnotes 5 ReferencesBackground and Parsons death Edit nbsp Gram Parsons in 1972During the 1960s as a member of the Flying Burrito Brothers Gram Parsons became fascinated by Joshua Tree National Monument The singer visited the park several times 1 During the recording sessions held in the summer of 1973 later released on the album Grievous Angel in 1974 Parsons had reduced his use of heroin but retook the habit as the recording finished 2 Incited by his road manager Phil Kaufman Parsons went on a trip to Joshua Tree in September 1973 He was accompanied by Margaret Fisher his high school girlfriend with whom he had recently resumed his relationship assistant Michael Martin and his girlfriend Dale McElroy Parsons drove Martin and McElroy in his new Jaguar while Fisher flew from San Francisco 3 Kaufman later declared that Parsons attorney was preparing divorce papers for him to serve them to Parsons wife Gretchen Burrell while the singer was in Joshua Tree on September 20 4 The travelers stayed at the Joshua Tree Inn room eight During the trip Parsons often retreated to the desert while at night the group would visit local bars where he sat in with the bands Excepting McElroy he and his companions consumed alcohol and barbiturates in high amounts On September 18 Martin drove back to Los Angeles to resupply the group with marijuana 5 Parsons purchased liquid morphine that night from an unknown girl who injected him and Fisher 6 Parsons overdosed in Room 1 Fisher gave Parsons an ice cube suppository and later sat him in a cold shower Instead of moving him around the room she put him to bed back in Room 8 and went out to buy coffee to try and wake Parsons leaving McElroy to watch over him 7 As his respirations became irregular and later ceased McElroy attempted resuscitation As she failed Fisher tried again upon her return After more failed attempts they called an ambulance Parsons was declared dead on his arrival at High Desert Memorial Hospital at 00 15 on September 19 1973 in Yucca Valley California 8 Body theft incident EditInitially the San Bernardino County coroner declared Parsons death to be from natural causes pending autopsy 9 An inconclusive autopsy was later performed 10 Fisher called Kaufman who arrived at Joshua Tree on September 19 Fisher had cleared room 8 of all of the drugs soon after Parsons death while Kaufman searched Parsons car upon his arrival Kaufman then drove Fisher and McElroy back to Los Angeles in Parsons Jaguar to evade the police in case they were looking for the two women 11 Kaufman then proceeded to make phone calls to the San Bernardino Coroner s office and found out that the body was being moved to Los Angeles International Airport to be transferred to Western Airlines He then called the company and was told that the body was to be shipped to New Orleans for the funeral 12 The embalmed body of Parsons was reported as stolen on September 20 10 Kaufman and Martin had arrived at Los Angeles International Airport in McElroy s 1953 Cadillac Hearse and impersonated workers of a funeral parlor claiming that Parsons family had arranged for them to take the body to New Orleans via a chartered flight departing from Van Nuys Airport The cargo manager could not find the transfer request among his papers but assumed that it was a last minute change and decided to release the body to the two men Kaufman signed the papers as Jeremy Nobody and proceeded to request a patrolman who parked behind the hearse to move his car away so he could load the casket The patrolman helped Kaufman and Martin who were struggling to move the coffin As a result of his nervousness in the presence of the patrolman and his previous consumption of alcohol Martin drove the car into a wall of the hangar in front of the officer The patrolman evidently did not suspect them of any illegal activity and the two left with Parsons body 13 Earlier that year Kaufman and Parsons had attended Clarence White s funeral After singing an impromptu rendition of the song Farther Along while the casket was lowered Parsons told Kaufman don t let this happen to me and explained to him his desire to be cremated and his ashes scattered in Joshua Tree 14 When they arrived at Joshua Tree Kaufman opened the casket and poured in five gallons of gasoline set the body on fire and left On their way back to Los Angeles the two stopped to sleep off their drunkenness 15 When they woke up the hearse did not start and Kaufman had to hike to reach a mechanical shop The hearse started again after a few repairs and the two returned to the road where they were later involved in a car pile up on the highway and rear ended another car A police officer handcuffed them both when several beer cans fell from the vehicle as one of the doors opened While the officer went to assure no other drivers were hurt in the accident Martin slipped his hand out of the cuffs and fled with Kaufman Since the officer did not take the driver s license of either one or even the license plate number he could not identify them 16 Following the report of the body theft the casket was sighted burning by campers who alerted park authorities A green Western Airlines body bag was found beside the casket 10 The body was not thoroughly cremated as 35 pounds remained 15 Witnesses reported seeing a hearse speeding away from the scene recalling that other vehicles had been forced off the road 17 After mugshots of the believed perpetrators were shown to witnesses from the airport Investigator Joe E Hamilton declared that the police were close to the identification 18 Kaufman and Martin were identified from the mugshots arrested and charged with grand theft 19 While the two awaited judgment the San Bernardino County Coroner declared to the press that Parsons death was caused by multiple drug abuse in part due to overdose of whiskey barbiturates and cocaine 20 Kaufman and Martin were given thirty day suspended jail sentences fined 300 each for misdemeanor theft and charged 708 for funeral home expenses 2 055 and 4 850 in 2023 21 Kaufman threw a benefit party to raise funds to pay the fines 22 The event was called Kaufman s Koffin Kaper Koncert Doctor Demento was the featured disc jockey and beer bottles with the figure of Parsons on the label and the inscription Gram Pilsner A stiff drink for what ales you were served 23 Aftermath EditA small family service was organized for the burial of Parsons in New Orleans Shocked by the theft failed cremation and the fundraiser the family regarded it all as a Kaufman publicity stunt and denied there could have been any promise between Parsons and his manager He was buried at Memorial Lawn Cemetery with the epitaph God s Own Singer 24 Kaufman wrote about his experience stealing the body of Parsons in his autobiography Road Mangler Deluxe The events were loosely depicted in the 2003 film Grand Theft Parsons starring Johnny Knoxville 23 Joshua Tree National Park does not officially recognize Parsons link to the park and his memorial does not appear on the maps Rangers are given the option to tell the story but it does not appear on brochures either 25 While Parsons was incinerated a quarter mile away from Cap Rock that location is often confused with the actual place where it happened Makeshift memorials and inscriptions are found around the rock and cleared by the park caretakers Tourists and fans of Parsons visit the site as well as the Joshua Tree Inn where a guitar shaped statue dedicated to Parsons can be found outside Room 8 is reserved by the current owner for people who ask specifically to stay there for its relation to Parsons and it is not offered to walk in guests The only remaining furniture from the time is a mirror found near the bed 26 Parsons former Burritos bandmate Bernie Leadon who was in The Eagles at the time of Parsons death objected to the disrespectful way Kaufman cremated him in Joshua Tree describing it as a partial unattended burning and not a proper cremation 27 Footnotes Edit Zarki Joseph 2015 p 116 Meyer David 2008 p 414 Meyer David 2008 p 415 Meyer David 2008 p 416 Meyer David 2008 p 418 19 Meyer David 2008 p 419 Meyer David 2008 p 420 22 Meyer David 2008 p 423 UPI staff 1973 p 2 a b c Associated Press staff 1973 Meyer David 2008 p 425 Meyer David 2008 p 426 Kannard Brian 2009 p 79 Kannard Brian 2009 p 80 a b Kannard Brian 2009 p 82 Kannard Brian 2009 p 83 UPI staff 2 1973 p 20 Van Nuys News staff 1973 p 23 UPI staff 3 1973 p 48 UPI staff 4 1973 p 4 Associated Press staff 2 1973 p 3 Hundley amp Parsons 2009 p 252 a b Kannard Brian 2009 p 84 Meyer David 2008 p 435 Billboard staff 2001 Fulton Robert 2013 Terrell s Tune Up Out with the Truckers and the Kickers and the Fallen Angels References EditAssociated Press staff 1973 Body Stolen From Airport Standard Speaker Associated Press Retrieved May 4 2015 via Newspapers com nbsp Associated Press staff 2 1973 Men Fined in Burning Statesville Record and Landmark Associated Press Retrieved May 4 2015 via Newspapers com nbsp Billboard staff 2001 Park Service Mulls Gram Parsons Memorial Billboard Nielsen Business Media Inc Retrieved May 7 2015 Fulton Robert 2013 The Cult of Gram Parsons Lives on in Joshua Tree L A Weekly LA Weekly LP Retrieved May 7 2015 Hundley Jessica Parsons Polly 2009 Grievous Angel An Intimate Biography of Gram Parsons Da Capo Press ISBN 978 0 7867 3795 6 Kannard Brian 2009 Skullduggery 45 True Tales of Disturbing the Dead ISBN 978 0 9829128 2 9 Meyer David 2008 Twenty Thousand Roads The Ballad of Gram Parsons and His Cosmic American Music Random House ISBN 978 0 345 50786 0 UPI staff 1973 Singer Dies The Lowell sun UPI Retrieved May 4 2015 via Newspapers com nbsp UPI staff 2 1973 Stolen Body Cremated Wisconsin State Journal UPI Retrieved May 4 2014 via Newspapers com nbsp UPI staff 3 1973 Body theft suspect surrenders Long Beach California Independent UPI Retrieved May 4 2015 via Newspapers com nbsp UPI staff 4 1973 Theft and Cremation of Body Investigated Simpson s Leader Times UPI Retrieved May 4 2015 via Newspapers com nbsp Van Nuys News staff 1973 Police Continue Probe of Casket Theft Incident The Van Nuys News Los Angeles Times Company Retrieved May 4 2015 via Newspapers com nbsp Zarki Joseph 2015 Joshua Tree National Park Arcadia Publishing ISBN 978 1 4671 3281 7 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Death of Gram Parsons amp oldid 1172457940, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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