Dead man walking...away

The singer/songwriter <a class="taxInlineTagLink" id="PECLB003378" title="Gram Parsons" href="/topic/entertainment/music/gram-parsons-PECLB003378.topic">Gram Parsons</a> - a solo act but also a member of The International Submarine Band, the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers - died on Sept. 19, 1973 at the age of 26 of a drug overdose in a hotel room in Joshua Tree, Calif. He had expressed his desire to be cremated at Joshua Tree and have his ashes scattered over Cap Rock, but his stepfather instead arranged for a private ceremony in New Orleans.<br>
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To fulfill what he believed to be Parsons' wishes, producer Phil Kaufman and a friend stole the musician's body from LAX and drove it to Joshua Tree in a borrowed hearse. They tried to cremate Parsons by dousing the coffin with gasoline. The resulting fireball attracted police, and the two were arrested several days later and ultimately fined for stealing the coffin. In the end, Parsons was buried in Metairie, La.

The singer/songwriter Gram Parsons - a solo act but also a member of The International Submarine Band, the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers - died on Sept. 19, 1973 at the age of 26 of a drug overdose in a hotel room in Joshua Tree, Calif. He had expressed his desire to be cremated at Joshua Tree and have his ashes scattered over Cap Rock, but his stepfather instead arranged for a private ceremony in New Orleans.

To fulfill what he believed to be Parsons' wishes, producer Phil Kaufman and a friend stole the musician's body from LAX and drove it to Joshua Tree in a borrowed hearse. They tried to cremate Parsons by dousing the coffin with gasoline. The resulting fireball attracted police, and the two were arrested several days later and ultimately fined for stealing the coffin. In the end, Parsons was buried in Metairie, La.

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