Gram Parsons

Did you know that the patron saint of country rock began his musical career as a diehard folkie? This collection of mid-'60s demos surfaced in 2000 to reveal that the Grievous Angel could really strip it down. "Zah's Blues" is an intimate, jazzy autobiographical masterpiece. The soaring romance of "November Nights" (which was later covered by Peter Fonda) overflows with lovelorn beauty. An original version of "Brass Buttons" hints at the country blueprint that Parsons would later make his own.