Gram Parsons: Fallen Angel

Thirty years after his untimely death, BBC Four presents the first-ever documentary film about the musical legend Gram Parsons. Over five years in the making, the 90-minute documentary film tells the story of the musician and heir to a million dollar fortune who died on 19 September 1973 aged just 26, under the influence of drugs and alcohol near his favourite place - the Joshua Tree National Monument in the Californian desert. As the founder of the Flying Burrito Brothers, a member of the hit-making, legendary Byrds, an important influence on the Rolling Stones and the man who discovered the singer Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons wrote music history in only a few years. The important role he played in the development of popular music and the bizarre circumstances of his early death are the major themes of this documentary. The film was made on location by director and musician Gandulf Hennig and American music journalist, musician and biographer Sid Griffin. Friends, contemporaries and devotees of Gram Parsons talk about the importance of his work and the bizarre circumstances of his early death. Rare footage of his performances shows why Parsons has become a legend. Interviewees include Gram's wife Gretchen, his sister and daughter, Keith Richards, Emmylou Harris, Chris Hillman and "Road Mangler" Phil Kaufman.