Parsons superbly evokes the tumultuous musical era that he worked in, his personal mystique and, above all, the magic of his music - and is the only Gram biography to adequately explain why the legend lives on. This is a new edition - including a new epilogue from the author - of a work that is rightly regarded as a classic of its kind.

Blessed with fabulous riches, charisma, good looks, a wealth of music business contacts and a unique songwriting gift, Gram Parsons still somehow ended his life overdosing in a motel, his charred remains scattered in the desert and his music virtually unknown. However, nearly 50 years on from his untimely demise, the man, the myth and the music endure. Ben Fong-Torres's Hickory Wind is the landmark biography of perhaps the greatest enigma in American music, combining meticulous research, perceptive criticism and key testimony from Gram's contemporaries - including Chris Hillman, Emmylou Harris and Keith Richards.