Emmylou Harris Reflects On Loss Of Mentor

Emmylou Harris

June 2, 2008 — Emmylou Harris was officially inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame during a medallion ceremony five weeks ago, but she grew up a fan not of country, but of folk music. Gram Parsons, a former member of the Byrds, enlisted her as a vocal partner, and he was an important link in steering her into country.

A mystery has always surrounded them. He died of an overdose in 1973. Many, including his wife at the time, believed Emmylou had a romantic relationship with Gram, which she denies. But the widow refused to let Emmy attend the memorial service in New Orleans, and that left Emmy flailing emotionally.

"I didn’t have any chance to grieve in the traditional way," she told The London Times. "I was left running away from my grief. I just got in my little car and drove all over America for months, looking for people who knew Gram who could comfort me, looking for any piece of that time I could hold onto."

Some 35 years later, Emmylou still harbors guilt for not intervening more in his self-destructive path. As much as she revered their working relationship, she is not convinced that she did everything a friend should do.

"The most dismaying thing to me," she observed, "is that I was too self-absorbed in what I was getting from Gram musically to notice what was happening to him. I was too focussed on me and discovering this incredible music."

Oddly enough, Emmylou’s continued success has led more people to become familiar with Gram now than knew of him when he was here. She’s certainly carried on his reverence for country in all its forms, from bluegrass to Americana. And she has a new album on the way: All I Intended To Be arrives in stores June 10. It features a number of self-penned songs, plus material written by Merle Haggard, Billy Joe Shaver, Patty Griffin and Tracy Chapman.