The Gilded Palace of Sin
Encyclopedia
The Gilded Palace of Sin is an album
by the country rock
group The Flying Burrito Brothers
, released in 1969. It continued Gram Parsons
' and Chris Hillman
's pioneering work in modern country music, fusing traditional sources like folk
and country
with other forms of popular music like gospel
, soul
, and rock & roll.
The Gilded Palace of Sin is listed at number 192 in Rolling Stone
magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
.
' groundbreaking Sweetheart of the Rodeo
, Gram Parsons left The Byrds on the eve of a South African tour. Chris Hillman, the group's bass player, soon left as well and eventually joined Parsons in a new band, The Flying Burrito Brothers, as guitarist.
Their first album as The Flying Burrito Brothers was The Gilded Palace of Sin. Most of the songs were written by Parsons and Hillman at a house in the San Fernando Valley
dubbed "Burrito Manor." Parsons and Hillman delivered some of their most celebrated compositions. The two R&B standards covered on the album, "Dark End of the Street" and "Do Right Woman", are examples of a country-soul fusion that Parsons would often refer to as "cosmic American music."
"My Uncle" and "Hippie Boy" address then-contemporary countercultural concerns: the draft and the 1968 Democratic National Convention riots. Rather than playing in an orthodox fashion, pedal steel guitarist "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow
often utilized a fuzzbox and/or played the instrument through a rotating Hammond Leslie
amplifier, adding a psychedelic
touch to several songs.
has not certified it gold
. However, its impact on popular music has grown over the years, influencing, for example, the Eagles. During the 1980s, the New Traditionalist movement in mainstream country music was clearly influenced by The Gilded Palace of Sin, with artists such as Travis Tritt
, Vince Gill
, Alan Jackson
, Clint Black
and Randy Travis
.
Even today, the influence of The Gilded Palace of Sin remains within the alternative-country movement, often referred to as 'alt-country.' Bands like Wilco
, Son Volt
, Whiskeytown
, and the Jayhawks, Beat Farmers
, The Lonesome Strangers, and Country Dick and the Snuggle Bunnies, as well as individuals as Dwight Yoakam
, Lucinda Williams
, Emmylou Harris
(Parsons' one-time singing partner), and Steve Earle
all have recorded music that bears traces of The Gilded Palace of Sin. Even non-country artists like Elvis Costello
have cited the album as a particular favorite, with Costello covering several cuts during his career.
For many years, the album was never re-issued in its entirety on compact disc in the United States. However, in 2000 the complete album was finally re-issued as part of a two-disc set, Hot Burritos! The Flying Burrito Bros. Anthology 1969-1972. In 2002, a new mastering was issued on a single-disc two-fer, Sin City: The Very Best of the Flying Burrito Brothers, which packaged The Gilded Palace of Sin with its successor, Burrito Deluxe, as well as a few outtakes from the same period. In 2003 the album was ranked number 192 on Rolling Stone
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
.
with
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by the country rock
Country rock
Country rock is sub-genre of popular music, formed from the fusion of rock with country. The term is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with Bob Dylan and The Byrds; reaching its greatest...
group The Flying Burrito Brothers
The Flying Burrito Brothers
The Flying Burrito Brothers was an early country rock band, best known for its influential debut album,The Gilded Palace of Sin . Although the group is most often mentioned in connection with country rock legends Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, the group underwent many personnel changes.-Original...
, released in 1969. It continued Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
' and Chris Hillman
Chris Hillman
Christopher Hillman was one of the original members of The Byrds which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, and Michael Clarke....
's pioneering work in modern country music, fusing traditional sources like folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
with other forms of popular music like gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, and rock & roll.
The Gilded Palace of Sin is listed at number 192 in Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
.
Album details
After the release of The ByrdsThe Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
' groundbreaking Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Sweetheart of the Rodeo is the sixth album by American rock band The Byrds and was released on August 30, 1968 on Columbia Records...
, Gram Parsons left The Byrds on the eve of a South African tour. Chris Hillman, the group's bass player, soon left as well and eventually joined Parsons in a new band, The Flying Burrito Brothers, as guitarist.
Their first album as The Flying Burrito Brothers was The Gilded Palace of Sin. Most of the songs were written by Parsons and Hillman at a house in the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
dubbed "Burrito Manor." Parsons and Hillman delivered some of their most celebrated compositions. The two R&B standards covered on the album, "Dark End of the Street" and "Do Right Woman", are examples of a country-soul fusion that Parsons would often refer to as "cosmic American music."
"My Uncle" and "Hippie Boy" address then-contemporary countercultural concerns: the draft and the 1968 Democratic National Convention riots. Rather than playing in an orthodox fashion, pedal steel guitarist "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow
Sneaky Pete Kleinow
Peter E. "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow was an American country-rock musician, songwriter, and a motion picture special effects artist...
often utilized a fuzzbox and/or played the instrument through a rotating Hammond Leslie
Leslie speaker
The Leslie speaker is a specially constructed amplifier/loudspeaker used to create special audio effects using the Doppler effect. Named after its inventor, Donald Leslie, it is particularly associated with the Hammond organ but is used with a variety of instruments as well as vocals. The...
amplifier, adding a psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
touch to several songs.
Influence
Like Sweetheart of the Rodeo, The Gilded Palace of Sin was not a commercial success - to date, the RIAARecording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
has not certified it gold
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
. However, its impact on popular music has grown over the years, influencing, for example, the Eagles. During the 1980s, the New Traditionalist movement in mainstream country music was clearly influenced by The Gilded Palace of Sin, with artists such as Travis Tritt
Travis Tritt
James Travis Tritt is an American country music singer from Marietta, Georgia. He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In the 2000s, he released two albums on Columbia Records and one for the defunct...
, Vince Gill
Vince Gill
Vincent Grant "Vince" Gill is an American neotraditional country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman to the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s, and as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his talents as a...
, Alan Jackson
Alan Jackson
Alan Eugene Jackson is an American country music singer, known for blending traditional honky tonk and mainstream country sounds and penning many of his own hits. He has recorded 13 studio albums, 3 Greatest Hits albums, 2 Holiday albums, 1 Gospel album and several compilations, all on the Arista...
, Clint Black
Clint Black
Clint Patrick Black is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and occasional actor. Signed to RCA Records in 1989, Black made his debut with his Killin' Time album, which produced four straight Number One singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country...
and Randy Travis
Randy Travis
Randy Travis is an American country music singer and actor. Since 1985, he has recorded 20 studio albums and charted more than 30 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, 22 of which were number one hits...
.
Even today, the influence of The Gilded Palace of Sin remains within the alternative-country movement, often referred to as 'alt-country.' Bands like Wilco
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John...
, Son Volt
Son Volt
Son Volt is an alternative country group formed by Jay Farrar in 1994 after the breakup of the band Uncle Tupelo.-History:The group formed after Farrar met Jim and Dave Boquist during the final Uncle Tupelo tour. Together with former Uncle Tupelo drummer Mike Heidorn, the band rehearsed and...
, Whiskeytown
Whiskeytown
Whiskeytown was an alternative country band formed in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1994. Fronted by Ryan Adams, other members included Caitlin Cary, Phil Wandscher, Eric "Skillet" Gilmore, and Mike Daly. They disbanded in 2000, with Adams leaving to pursue his solo career...
, and the Jayhawks, Beat Farmers
Beat Farmers
The Beat Farmers were a cowpunk band who formed in San Diego, California, in August 1983, and enjoyed a cult following throughout the 1980s and early 1990s before the premature death of lead singer and drummer Country Dick Montana...
, The Lonesome Strangers, and Country Dick and the Snuggle Bunnies, as well as individuals as Dwight Yoakam
Dwight Yoakam
Dwight David Yoakam is an American singer-songwriter, actor and film director, most famous for his pioneering country music...
, Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams is an American rock, folk, blues and country music singer and songwriter. She recorded her first albums in 1978 and 1980 in a traditional country and blues style and received very little attention from radio, the media, or the public. In 1988, she released her self-titled album,...
, Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
(Parsons' one-time singing partner), and Steve Earle
Steve Earle
Stephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
all have recorded music that bears traces of The Gilded Palace of Sin. Even non-country artists like Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
have cited the album as a particular favorite, with Costello covering several cuts during his career.
For many years, the album was never re-issued in its entirety on compact disc in the United States. However, in 2000 the complete album was finally re-issued as part of a two-disc set, Hot Burritos! The Flying Burrito Bros. Anthology 1969-1972. In 2002, a new mastering was issued on a single-disc two-fer, Sin City: The Very Best of the Flying Burrito Brothers, which packaged The Gilded Palace of Sin with its successor, Burrito Deluxe, as well as a few outtakes from the same period. In 2003 the album was ranked number 192 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
.
Side One
- "Christine's Tune" (ParsonsGram ParsonsGram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
, HillmanChris HillmanChristopher Hillman was one of the original members of The Byrds which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, and Michael Clarke....
) - 3:04 - "Sin City" (Parsons, Hillman) - 4:11
- "Do Right WomanDo Right WomanDo Right Woman is the debut solo album by Barbara Dickson.Barbara Dickson's first two solo albums were on Decca Records. They won critical praise but poor sales. They show the repertoire that she had at that time as a singer in folk clubs...
" (Chips MomanChips MomanLincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman is an American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter. As a record producer, Moman is known for recording Elvis Presley, Bobby Womack, Carla Thomas, and Merrilee Rush, as well as guiding the career of the Box Tops in Memphis, Tennessee during the 1960s...
, Dan PennDan PennDan Penn is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and sometime guitar player who co-wrote many soul hits of the 1960s including "Dark End of the Street" and "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" and "Out of Left Field" & "Cry Like A Baby"...
) - 3:56 - "Dark End Of The StreetThe Dark End of the Street"The Dark End of the Street" is a 1967 soul song written by Muscle Shoals songwriters Dan Penn and Chips Moman and first performed by James Carr...
" (Chips MomanChips MomanLincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman is an American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter. As a record producer, Moman is known for recording Elvis Presley, Bobby Womack, Carla Thomas, and Merrilee Rush, as well as guiding the career of the Box Tops in Memphis, Tennessee during the 1960s...
, Penn) - 3:58 - "My Uncle" (Parsons, Hillman) - 2:37
Side Two
- "Wheels" (Hillman, Parsons) - 3:04
- "Juanita" (Hillman, Parsons) - 2:31
- "Hot Burrito #1" (EthridgeChris EthridgeChris Ethridge is an American country rock bass guitarist. He was a member of the International Submarine Band and The Flying Burrito Brothers, and co-wrote several songs with Gram Parsons.-Career:...
, Parsons) - 3:40 - "Hot Burrito #2" (Ethridge, Parsons) - 3:19
- "Do You Know How It Feels" (Parsons, Barry GoldbergBarry GoldbergBarry Goldberg is a blues and rock keyboardist, songwriter and record producer.-Career:As a teenager in Chicago, Goldberg sat in with Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, and Howlin' Wolf. He played keyboards in the band supporting Bob Dylan during his 1965 'electrified' appearance at the Newport Folk Festival...
) - 2:09 - "Hippie Boy" (Hillman, Parsons) - 4:55
Personnel
- Gram ParsonsGram ParsonsGram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
: lead vocal, rhythm guitar, piano, organ - Chris HillmanChris HillmanChristopher Hillman was one of the original members of The Byrds which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, and Michael Clarke....
: harmony and lead vocals, rhythm guitar, mandolin - "Sneaky" Pete KleinowSneaky Pete KleinowPeter E. "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow was an American country-rock musician, songwriter, and a motion picture special effects artist...
: pedal steel guitar - Chris EthridgeChris EthridgeChris Ethridge is an American country rock bass guitarist. He was a member of the International Submarine Band and The Flying Burrito Brothers, and co-wrote several songs with Gram Parsons.-Career:...
: electric bass, piano
with
- Jon Corneal: drums (tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 7)
- Popeye Phillips: drums (tracks 8, 9, 11)
- Eddie Hoh: drums (tracks 2, 10)
- Sam Goldstein: drums (track 6)
- David CrosbyDavid CrosbyDavid Van Cortlandt Crosby is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of three bands: The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash , and CPR...
: backing vocals (track 3)