Gene Victor Parsons (born September 4, 1944, in Morongo Valley, California) is an American drummer,

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

player, guitarist, singer-songwriter, and engineer, best known for his work with

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...

from 1968 to 1972. Parsons has also released solo albums and played in bands including Nashville West,

the Flying Burrito Brothers The Flying Burrito Brothers are an American country rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1968, best known for their influential 1969 debut album, ''The Gilded Palace of Sin''. Although the group is known for its connection to band f ...

, and Parsons Green. Along with guitarist Clarence White, he is credited with inventing the

B-Bender A B-Bender is a guitar accessory that enables a player to fluidly alter the pitch of a guitar's B-string. This works by mechanically bending the B-string through the use of a series of levers and/or pulleys attached to an external lever that is ...

(also known as the StringBender)—a device which allows a guitarist to emulate the sound of a pedal steel guitar. The device is often referred to as the Parsons/White B-Bender, a trademarked name.

Early career and the Byrds

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

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

, California. His professional musical career began when he joined up with guitarist and

Fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

player Gib Guilbeau in the duo Guilbeau & Parsons. Later the duo was joined by Clarence White, former guitarist with the Kentucky Colonels, and bassist Wayne Moore to form the band Nashville West, named after a club where the band often performed. After the dissolution of Nashville West, Parsons was brought into

by White (who had recently become the band's guitarist), to replace drummer Kevin Kelley. 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''.

Post-Byrds career

His first solo album, '' Kindling'', was released in 1973 on Warner Bros. Records, after the Byrds broke up. Although ''Kindling'' received positive reviews in music publications such as ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', it failed to reach the ''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tapes chart. Following this, Parsons joined

, like other ex-Byrds

Chris Hillman Christopher Hillman (born December 4, 1944) is an American musician. He was the original bassist of the Byrds. With frequent collaborator Gram Parsons, Hillman was a key figure in the development of country rock, defining the genre through his w ...

, Gram Parsons (no relation) and Michael Clarke had done before him. 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. Since the mid-1980s, he has also released two albums with his ex-wife, California based folk musician Meridian Green, under the moniker of Parsons Green. During 1994, he was a member of "The Byrds Celebration", a

tribute band A tribute act, tribute band, tribute group or tribute artist is a Musical ensemble, music group, Singing, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the so ...

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. 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''. 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. He also collaborated with British singer-songwriter Julian Dawson on the 2002 album ''Hillbilly Zen''. Parsons teamed with David Hayes in 2016 to release the ''Gene Parsons & David Hayes'' album, and, in 2017, the pair formed the Mendocino Quartet with Gwyneth Moreland and Steven Bates, releasing the album ''Way Out There''.

Other work

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

Arlo Guthrie Arlo Davy Guthrie (born July 10, 1947) is an American folk music, folk singer-songwriter. He is known for singing protest song, songs of protest against social injustice, and storytelling while performing songs, following the tradition of his fa ...

the Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...

, the Gosdin Brothers,

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...

, and Elliott Murphy. He also played on the soundtrack album of the 1970 film ''

Performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...

'', contributing both drums and guitar. His work on the album included playing drums on the track " Memo From Turner", which would end up being

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

's first single release as a solo artist. Gene Parsons currently lives in

Caspar, California Caspar is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in Mendocino County, California, Mendocino County, California, United States. It is located on the Pacific Ocean, north of Mendocino, California, Mendocino, at an elevation ...

, spending much of his time in his

machine shop A machine shop or engineering workshop is a room, building, or company where machining, a form of subtractive manufacturing, is done. In a machine shop, machinists use machine tools and cutting tool (machining), cutting tools to make parts, usua ...

and customizing guitars with the StringBender device. In an 8/29/2024 radio interview with Daniel Jones (guitarist with 7th Order) on his "The Volcano Chronicles" radio show ( KNKR 96.1FM on the Big Island of Hawaii) - Parsons stated that he has been working on an autobiography, and that he is now considering publishing options at this point.

Selected album discography

The Byrds

* '' Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde'' (1969) * '' Ballad of Easy Rider'' (1969) * '' (Untitled)'' (1970) * '' Byrdmaniax'' (1971) * '' Farther Along'' (1971) * '' Live at the Fillmore – February 1969'' (2000) * '' Live at Royal Albert Hall 1971'' (2008)

Gene Parsons

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

The Flying Burrito Brothers

* '' Flying Again'' (1975) * '' Airborne'' (1976) * ''Red Album: Live Studio Party in Hollywood'' (2002)

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

External links

Gene Parsons Stringbender Custom Shop

Gene Parsons radio interview spring 2009

* * Gene Parsons KDRT radio interview, 60 minutes total
part one
an
part two
August 2016 * Gene Parson
KDRT radio interview on the Mendocino Quartet and ''Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde''
September 2018 {{DEFAULTSORT:Parsons, Gene 1944 births Living people People from Morongo Valley, California The Byrds members American rock drummers American session musicians American country drummers American country guitarists American male guitarists American banjoists American harmonica players American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Guitarists from Los Angeles 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American guitarists Nashville West members The Flying Burrito Brothers members Singer-songwriters from California Drummers from Los Angeles