When I was a teenager I discovered Gram Parsons's amazing music. He was still alive then, and he performed on Providence TV 12 just before he died. I saw him, propped up there at the mike, wasted and perfect...

His songs move me in ways that few others are or were capable of.

Ben Fong-Torres does an admirable job telling the story of this rich country boy, the boy who gave the Byrds their American Soul, the boy who invented Cosmic American Music. ( )