Gene Parsons

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Gene Parsons
Born (1944-09-04) September 4, 1944 (age 79)
Warner Bros., Sierra, Stringbender
Websitehttp://stringbender.com

Gene Victor Parsons (born September 4, 1944, in

Parsons Green. Along with guitarist Clarence White, he is credited with inventing the B-Bender (also known as the StringBender)—a device which allows a guitarist to emulate the sound of a pedal steel guitar.[1] The device is often referred to as the Parsons/White B-Bender, a trademarked name.[1]

Early career and the Byrds

Gene Parsons was born on September 4, 1944, on his family's farm in

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 into the Byrds by White (who had recently become the band's guitarist), to replace 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]

Post-Byrds career

His first solo album,

Warner Bros. Records, after the Byrds broke up.[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 Burritos, with Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Chris Ethridge, Skip Battin, Joel Scott Hill and Gib Guilbeau, 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 entitled Melodies in 1979.

Parsons Green.[10]

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.[11] 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 2001, Parsons released a third solo album, this time a live recording, entitled Gene Parsons in Concert – I Hope They Let Us In, which was released on his own StringBender record label.[4] He also collaborated with British singer-songwriter Julian Dawson on the 2002 album Hillbilly Zen.[4] Parsons teamed with David Hayes in 2016 to release the Gene Parsons & David Hayes album,[12] and, in 2017, the pair formed the Mendocino Quartet with Gwyneth Moreland and Steven Bates, releasing the album Way Out There.[13]

Other work

As well as his work with Nashville West, the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers, Parsons has also played on records by

Memo From Turner", which would end up being Mick Jagger's first single release as a solo artist.[citation needed
]

Gene Parsons currently lives in Caspar, California, spending much of his time in his machine shop and customizing guitars with the StringBender device.

Selected album discography

The Byrds

Gene Parsons

  • Kindling (1973)
  • Melodies (1979)
  • Gene Parsons in Concert – I Hope They Let Us In (2001)

The Flying Burrito Brothers

Nashville West

  • Nashville West (a.k.a. The Legendary Nashville West Album) (1976)

Parsons Green

  • Birds of a Feather (1988)
  • Live From Caspar (2001)

Haywire

  • Nature Quest: Bluegrass Christmas (1998)

Guilbeau & Parsons

  • Louisiana Rain (2002)

Gene Parsons & David Hayes

  • Gene Parsons & David Hayes (2016)

The Mendocino Quartet

  • Way Out There (2017)

References

  1. ^ a b "Parsons-White String Bender". Vintage Guitar. Archived from the original on June 15, 2009. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
  2. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X
    .
  3. ^ a b c d e "Gene Parsons - This Byrd Has Flown". Triste Magazine. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Gene Parsons-related records". Byrds Flyght. Archived from the original on June 8, 2017. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
  5. ^ "Nashville West". ByrdWatcher: A Field Guide to the Byrds of Los Angeles. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
  6. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X
    .
  7. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X
    .
  8. ^ "Gene Parsons chart data". Ultimate Music Database. Retrieved January 3, 2010.
  9. Allmusic
    . Retrieved January 3, 2010.
  10. Allmusic
    . Retrieved January 3, 2010.
  11. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X
    .
  12. ^ Hayes, Kate. "Gene Parsons and David Hayes". musicofmendocino.com. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  13. ^ Hayes, Kate. "The Mendocino Quartet". musicofmendocino.com. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  14. ^ "Performance (1970) credits". Screenonline. British Film Institute. Retrieved February 26, 2014.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gene_Parsons&oldid=1187979574"