The Flying Burrito Brothers

Classic era (1968-1972)[edit]

Though Hillman and Roger McGuinn had fired Parsons from the Byrds in July 1968, the bassist and Parsons reconciled later that year after Hillman (who would switch to rhythm guitar in the new ensemble) left the group. Parsons had refused to join his Byrds bandmates for a tour of South Africa, citing his disapproval of the apartheid policy of that nation's government. Hillman doubted the sincerity of Parsons' gesture, believing instead that the singer merely wanted to remain in England with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, whom he had recently befriended.^[6]


The Flying Burrito Brothers recorded their debut album, The Gilded Palace of Sin (containing originals by Parsons, Hillman, and Ethridge alongside covers of two songs by the venerable Southern soul songwriting duo of Dan Penn and Chips Moman), without a regular drummer. Hoh proved to be unable to perform adequately due to a substance abuse problem and was dismissed after recording two songs, leading the group to employ a variety of session players, including former International Submarine Band drummer Jon Corneal (who briefly joined the group as an official member, appearing on a plurality of the tracks) and Popeye Phillips of Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show. Before commencing their first tour, the group ultimately settled upon original Byrd Michael Clarke (who had recently been working with fellow country rock pioneers and Byrds spinoff The Dillard and Clark Expedition) as a permanent replacement. He remained the band's permanent drummer until 1971.


Despite widespread critical acclaimed upon its release in February 1969 (as exemplified by Stanley Booth's laudatory review in Rolling Stone and positive press remarks by Bob Dylan) for its pioneering amalgamation of country, soul music, and psychedelic rock, The Gilded Palace of Sin stalled at No. 164 on the Billboard album chart.^[7] Although the band declined an invitation to perform at Woodstock, a comprehensive train tour of the United States (necessitated by Parsons' fear of flying) ultimately ended in disaster due to drug and alcohol use.^[8] Dissatisfied by the band's lack of success and unable to fully reconcile his predilection for R&B with the more conservative tastes of Parsons and Hillman, Ethridge departed the group in the autumn of 1969. Hillman reverted to bass after the band hired lead guitarist Bernie Leadon, a Dillard and Clark veteran who had also played with Hillman in the early 1960s bluegrass scene. This iteration of the band performed at the ill-fated Altamont Free Concert in December 1969, as documented in the film Gimme Shelter. The audience remained largely peaceful throughout their performance.


With mounting debt incurred from the first album and tour and a failed single ("The Train Song," written on the tour and produced by 1950s R&B musicians Larry Williams and Johnny "Guitar" Watson), A&M Records hoped to recoup some of their losses by marketing the Burritos as a straight country group. To this end, manager Jim Dickson instigated a loose session where the band recorded several traditional country staples from their live act (including songs by Merle Haggard and Buck Owens), contemporary pop covers in a countrified vein ("To Love Somebody", "Lodi", "I Shall Be Released", "Honky Tonk Women"), and Williams's rock and roll classic "Bony Moronie." This effort was soon scrapped in favor of a second album of originals on an extremely reduced budget. Several of the tracks from the abandoned sessions would eventually see the light of day in 1976 on Sleepless Nights, which also featured outtakes from Parsons's post-Burritos solo career.


Released in April 1970, Burrito Deluxe juxtaposed the band's inability to develop compelling new material (partially exacerbated by Parsons' hedonistic streak; his "Lazy Days" dated from 1967) with prominent covers of the Rolling Stones's hitherto unreleased "Wild Horses," Dylan's "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" and the Southern gospel standard "Farther Along." Unlike Gilded Palace, the album failed to chart entirely.^[9] A month later, Parsons showed up for a band performance only minutes before they were to take the stage. Visibly intoxicated, he began singing songs that differed from what the rest of the band were performing. A furious Hillman (already incensed by the singer's penchant for showing up at $500 concerts in a limousine and increasingly Jagger-influenced showmanship) fired him immediately after the show, to which Parsons responded, "You can't fire me, I'm Gram!" According to Hillman, this incident was merely the final straw; Parsons' desire to hang out with the Rolling Stones rather than focus on his own band's career was also a significant factor, mirroring his 1968 dismissal from The Byrds.^[8]


Now fronted by Hillman and Leadon, the band appeared in June–July 1970 on the Festival Express rail tour of Canada with Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, The Band, and other notable groups of the era. Parsons would eventually be replaced by guitarist/songwriter Rick Roberts. The new lineup released The Flying Burrito Bros in June 1971. Like its predecessors, it was not a commercial success, peaking at No. 176 in the United States. Shortly thereafter, Kleinow left to work as a session musician, while Leadon departed to co-found The Eagles.^[10] Al Perkins and Kenny Wertz replaced them for a final tour in autumn of 1971; during these performances, veteran bluegrass musicians Roger Bush (acoustic bass, vocals) and Byron Berline (fiddle) of Country Gazette participated as guests during an acoustic interlude. The band released Last of the Red Hot Burritos, a well-received live album culled from the tour, in May 1972.^[11]


The band dissolved immediately thereafter when Hillman and Perkins joined Stephen Stills's Manassas. Berline, Bush and Wertz continued with their own band, Country Gazette. Roberts assumed corporate ownership of the band from Hillman in October 1972 and assembled a makeshift lineup to fulfill contractual commitments for some 1973 European live shows. He briefly initiated a solo career before forming Firefall with Clarke.