Proposed Gram Parsons Memorial

When country rocker Gram Parsons died of a drug overdose in 1973, friends snatched his body from Los Angeles and burned it in California's Joshua Tree National Park, the park he loved.  Later, fans illegally placed a marker in his honor.  Now, some say it's time for the National Park Service to recognize the counterculture musician as a part of park history.  After all, the park recognizes 19th-century rustlers, miners and ranchers who left their mark. Parsons has been cited as an influence on the Eagles, the Rolling Stones, and the modern alternative country music movement.   After he died at 26 in a motel a mile from the park, his road manager and a friend stole the casket and burned it in the park, as Parsons had wanted. (source: Chicago Sun-Times on July 25, 2001)