Died On This Date (April 23, 2012) Chris Ethridge / International Submarine Band; Flying Burrito Brothers
themusicsover Chris Ethridge
1947 – April 23, 2012
Chris Ethridge was an American musician who is best remembered for playing in the International Submarine Band and the Flying Burrito Brothers. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, Ethridge was already playing in local bands by the time he moved to Los Angeles at 17. It was there that he joined the International Submarine Band, playing alongside with Gram Parsons. The year was 1967, and Ethridge played on that year’s release, Safe At Home. Parsons left ISB the following year and Ethridge followed suit. He worked with Parsons on solo projects even co-writing several of his songs. In 1968, Ethridge co-founded the Flying Burrito Brothers with Parsons, Chris Hillman, and Sneaky Pete Kleinow. Although Ethridge played on just the band’s first album, The Gilded Palace Of Sin before leaving in 1969, it can’t be denied that he played a role in the birth of country rock while influencing the likes of the Eagles, Wilco, and Ryan Adams. In 1975, he participated in a reformed version of the Burrito Brothers for the recording of Flying Again. Over the course of his career, Ethridge played on records by such acts as Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Randy Newman, and Ry Cooder. He also spent more than seven years playing in Willie Nelson’s live band. Chris Ethridge was 65 when he passed away on April 23, 2012. He was 65. Cause of death was not immediately released.
Thanks to Bruce Kilgour at Slipped Disc Entertainment for the assist.
What You Should Own
Clarence White started his professional career as founding guitarist for the Kentucky Colonels, a progressive bluegrass outfit formed with his brothers. The Colonels were making a name for themselves in the Los Angeles area in the early ’60s, but their dreams of fame were soon derailed by the one-two punch of the British Invasion, and Bob Dylan going electric. White quickly found plenty of session working on records by the likes of the Monkees, International Submarine Band, and the Flying Burrito Brothers, after which he landed with the Byrds. His tenure with the Byrds started in 1966 with the California-country years of 
Gram Parsons was a highly influential singer-songwriter who helped launch what would later be called country rock and then alt-country or Americana. Parsons began playing the guitar as a teenager to escape a less than ideal home life. The first group he played with, the Shilohs, were a folk band in the tradition of the Kingston Trio. When the band broke up, he and other Boston area folk musicians formed the International Submarine Band with whom he began to develop a sound the borrowed the best from country, folk and rock. They enjoyed moderate success, primarily getting airplay on the up-and-coming progressive radio stations. In 1968, Parsons was asked to join the Byrds as a replacement for David Crosby and Michael Clarke. He started on keyboards but soon switched to guitar, helping guide the group down a more country rock path. Parsons left the Byrds in the summer of 1968. He joined back up with the Byrds’ Chris Hillman soon after to form the Flying Burrito Brothers whose debut, The Gilded Palace of Sin would be a direct influence on the likes of the Eagles, Dwight Yoakam and later, Wilco and Ryan Adams. By the early ’70s, Parsons was working as a solo artist while recording and performing with good friend, Emmylou Harris. It was during this period that Parsons’ inner demons were taking control in the form of substance abuse. He was also spending more and more time in an area he had become fond of, Joshua Tree National Monument in the desert outside of Los Angeles. He liked to go there and take LSD while searching for UFOs. It was during one of these trips that Gram Parsons apparently overdosed on morphine and alcohol and died at the age of 26.