The Flying Burrito Brothers

Q: Who were the original members of the Flying Burrito Brothers?

The original members of the American country rock band the Flying Burrito Brothers were Chris Hillman, “Sneaky” Pete Kleinow, Gram Parsons, and Chris Ethridge.

Q: How did Gram Parsons die?

Musician Gram Parsons died of a drug and alcohol overdose on September 19, 1973, in Yucca Valley, California . He was 26 years old. After his death his body was taken by his road manager, Phil Kaufman, and Michael Martin to be cremated in Joshua Tree National Park , reportedly according to Parsons’s wish. Kaufman and Martin drove to Los Angeles International Airport in a hearse and then convinced officials that they were supposed to transport the body to a private plane at a different airport. The two were given Parsons’s body, which they then took to the park. There they set the coffin containing Parsons’s corpse on fire, but the corpse was only partially burned before law authorities arrived. Parsons was later buried in New Orleans , and Kaufman and Martin were fined.

American music group

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Last updated

Nov. 13, 2026 •History

Who were the original members of the Flying Burrito Brothers?

How did Gram Parsons die?

The Flying Burrito Brothers, American popular musical group of the late 1960s and ’70s that was one of the chief influences on the development of country rock. The original members were Chris Hillman, “Sneaky” Pete Kleinow, Gram Parsons, and Chris Ethridge. To some degree, the group’s legacy has been overshadowed by the mythology surrounding Parsons’s hard-living lifestyle and his unusual burial after his death from a drug and alcohol overdose at age 26.

Original members

Chris Hillman (born December 4, 1942, Los Angeles, California, U.S.)
“Sneaky” Pete Kleinow (born August 20, 1934, South Bend, Indiana—died January 6, 2007, Petaluma, California)
Gram Parsons (original name Ingram Cecil Connor III; born November 5, 1946, Winter Haven, Florida—died September 19, 1973, Yucca Valley, California)
Chris Ethridge (born 1947, Meridian, Mississippi—died April 23, 2012, Meridian)

Later members

Michael Clarke (born June 3, 1944, New York City, New York—died December 19, 1993, Treasure Island, Florida)
Bernie Leadon (born July 19, 1947, Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Rick Roberts (born August 31, 1949, Clearwater, Florida)

Parsons and Hillman, former members of the Byrds, founded the Flying Burrito Brothers in Los Angeles in 1968, appropriating the name from a group of local musicians who gathered for jam sessions. Earlier that year, Parsons had been the driving force behind the Byrds’ pioneering country rock album, Sweetheart of the Rodeo. The Burritos’ first album, The Gilded Palace of Sin (1969), also displayed Parsons’s guiding hand: He contributed most of the songs and shaped its combination of classic country and western—punctuated by Kleinow’s pedal-steel guitar—and hard-driving southern California rock. Even after Parsons left the Burritos in 1970 (replaced by Rick Roberts), his songs continued to appear on the group’s albums, including the live Last of the Red Hot Burritos (1972), which also prominently featured bluegrass musicians.

Numerous other personnel changes—including the arrival and departure of Bernie Leadon, who helped found the Eagles—and the group’s limited commercial appeal outside a small, devoted following contributed to its dissolution by 1973. Kleinow and Ethridge re-formed the band in 1975, and there were other short-lived incarnations into the 1990s.

Parsons is often called the originator of country rock. Although he disdained that moniker, his work provided the link from straight-ahead country performers such as Merle Haggard to the Eagles, who epitomized 1970s country rock. Numerous performers have cited Parsons as a major influence, notably the singers Emmylou Harris (who collaborated with him in 1973) and Elvis Costello and the alternative rocker Evan Dando.

His close friendship with Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones resulted in that band’s exploration of country on their seminal 1972 album Exile on Main St. and in such songs as “Dead Flowers.” Both the Flying Burrito Brothers and the Rolling Stones recorded the dreamy country-infused track “Wild Horses” on the albums Burrito Deluxe (1970) and Sticky Fingers (1971), respectively. (Although rumors abounded that Parsons penned the song but was denied credit, both he and Richards debunked the story in various interviews.)

In 2026 Parsons was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.