Gene Parsons
Gene Parsons ( born September 4, 1944 in Los Angeles as Gene Victor Parsons ) is an American country musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist ( singer, drummer, guitarist, banjo, mandolin and harmonica player). Parsons was a member of several influential country rock bands like the Byrds, Nashville West and the Flying Burrito Brothers.
Career
The one in the Mojave Desert grown Parsons began his musical career in 1963 as the bass guitarist for the Castaways, where he replaced the retiring Ernie Williams. Here he met Gib Guilbeau and Wayne Moore, with whom he would collaborate again in the coming decades. The Castaways dissolved already after a few months. Parsons worked again in his previous job as a salesman until he again got in the music business along with Guilbeau as a duo Cajun Gib & Gene 1966, this time as a banjo player.
1967 Album Cajun Country was recorded, which contained predominantly composed of Guilbeu Cajun and country songs. That same year, the two founded the formation Nashville West, named after the club in which they stood as a house band under contract. Parsons served now as a drummer. Other members were guitarist Clarence White and again Wayne Moore. Although Nashville West released only one album, the group is now considered an important pioneer of country rock.
Nashville West detached itself in 1968 to, as initially White, and shortly thereafter Parsons were poached by the Byrds, who had to regroup after the departure of Gram Parsons. Gene Parsons remained until 1972 as a drummer with the Byrds. During this time the albums Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde (1969 ), Untitled (1970), Byrdmaniax (1971) and Farther Along (1972 ) were produced.
Gene Parsons in 1973 recorded his first solo album, Kindling on. A year later, there was a resurgence of the Flying Burrito Brothers. In addition to the founding members Give Gilbeau and Chris Ethridge had Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Joel Scott Hill and - as a guitarist, drummer, banjo and harmonica player - Gene Parsons. The Flying Burritos but were unable to match their previous successes. It came to the musical direction of disputes, and Parsons retired in 1979.
In the following years was Parsons of different bands, but excited little attention in the music scene. Only when he and his partner Meridian Green, whom he married in 1986, the folk duo Gene Parsons & Meridian Green founded the mid-1980s, is again presented a success. In 1988, the album Birds of a Feather was published in 1998 in the Heart of This Town. After the turn of the millennium, there was a joint project with the British musician Julian Dawson, from the 2002 album Hillbilly Zen emerged.
B- Bender
Parsons is considered along with Clarence White as the inventor of the so-called B -Bending or string -bending. This refers to the mechanical modification of an E or acoustic guitar, which allows the B string ( the B string equivalent ) in different manner by up to one and a half tones to increase ( two frets ) ( Bending), without this one having to reach different note. There are a number of technical approaches to realize this tone. The result is a sound that is very similar to that of a pedal steel guitar. The principle has been known under the name of Parsons / White B- Bender, and it meanwhile already available variants for G and E string.