Gram Parsons was a mess, but he was a visionary mess. If you want to understand why country-rock exists as a billion-dollar industry today, you have to look at a specific moment in 1970. Specifically, you have to look at a piece of tape. Most people think "Wild Horses" is a Rolling Stones song. Technically, they're right. Jagger and Richards wrote it. But the version by The Flying Burrito Brothers Wild Horses actually hit the shelves first. It’s a weird bit of rock history that still confuses people at record stores.
It wasn't a cover in the traditional sense. It was a gift. Or maybe a theft, depending on who you ask in the inner circle of the 1970s L.A. music scene.
The Burrito Deluxe sessions and the Keith Richards connection
Gram Parsons and Keith Richards were basically inseparable in the late sixties. They were "cosmic partners in crime," as some biographers put it. They spent days playing old country records, getting high, and obsessing over the "High Lonesome Sound" of George Jones and Louvin Brothers. During these marathon sessions, the Stones were working on Sticky Fingers. Richards played a demo of "Wild Horses" for Parsons.
Gram flipped. He knew immediately that this wasn't just a rock ballad; it was a country song disguised in a leather jacket.
He begged Jagger and Richards to let his band, The Flying Burrito Brothers, record it. Surprisingly, they said yes. This almost never happens with A-list rock stars and their prime material. Because the Stones were caught up in legal battles with their former manager Allen Klein and various label disputes, Sticky Fingers was delayed. This gave the Burritos a window. They cut the track, put it on their second album, Burrito Deluxe, and released it in April 1970. The Stones version didn't see the light of day until a year later.
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Why the Flying Burrito Brothers version hits different
If you listen to the Stones' take, it’s polished. It’s a stadium anthem. Jagger sings it like a rock god contemplating mortality. But when you listen to The Flying Burrito Brothers Wild Horses, it feels like a guy falling apart in a dive bar at 2:00 AM.
Parsons’ voice wasn't "good" by technical standards. He cracked. He went flat. He sounded fragile. But in the context of "Wild Horses," that fragility is the whole point. He wasn't performing heartbreak; he was living it.
The Leon Russell Factor
A lot of people overlook the piano on this track. Leon Russell played on the session, and his gospel-inflected rolls give the song a spiritual weight that the Stones version lacks. Then you have "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow on the pedal steel guitar. That’s the secret sauce. The way the steel guitar weeps behind Parsons’ vocals turns the track into a "Cosmic American Music" masterpiece. It bridges the gap between the psychedelic 60s and the dusty Bakersfield sound.
It's raw. The production is thin, almost demo-like in spots, but that's why it stays under your skin.
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The Myth of the "First" Version
There is a persistent myth that Parsons wrote the song. He didn't. He might have influenced the arrangement— Richards has admitted that Parsons helped him understand the "inner mechanics" of country music—but the lyrics are pure Jagger. Most historians agree the song was written about Marianne Faithfull or Jagger's son, but when Gram sang it, he made it about his own demons.
The Burritos were a band in transition during these sessions. Chris Hillman, the rock-steady backbone of the band (and former Byrd), was increasingly frustrated with Gram’s lack of discipline. The band was hemorrhaging money. They were wearing $3,000 Nudie suits covered in marijuana leaves and pills while playing to half-empty clubs.
"Wild Horses" was the centerpiece of an album that many critics at the time panned. Burrito Deluxe was seen as a step down from their debut, The Gilded Palace of Sin. Yet, this one track stood out. It was the proof of concept for everything Gram believed in. He wanted to marry the counter-culture to the Opry.
How to listen to this track today
If you're coming to this from a modern perspective, you might find the recording quality a bit jarring. It isn't "loud" like modern Spotify-compressed tracks. You have to lean in.
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- Listen to the vocal phrasing: Notice how Gram hangs onto the word "wild" just a second longer than Jagger does.
- The Pedal Steel: Focus on Sneaky Pete’s solos. He used a fuzztone pedal on a pedal steel, which was unheard of at the time. It makes the instrument sound like a distorted cello.
- The Harmony: Chris Hillman’s harmony vocals are the unsung hero. Hillman provided the stability that allowed Gram to wander off-key and still make it sound intentional.
The Legacy of the 1970 recording
The Flying Burrito Brothers Wild Horses isn't just a cover. It’s a blueprint. Every "Alt-Country" band from Uncle Tupelo to Ryan Adams to Sturgill Simpson owes a debt to this specific recording. It proved that you could take a rock sensibility and apply it to a country structure without it becoming a joke or a parody.
Gram Parsons died three years after this album came out. He was 26. The tragedy of his death—the overdose at the Joshua Tree Inn and the subsequent theft of his body—often overshadows the work. But the music is what matters.
When you hear those opening chords on the Burritos' version, you aren't just hearing a song. You’re hearing the birth of a genre. You’re hearing a guy who knew he didn't have much time left, pouring everything into a song that someone else wrote, but that he understood better than anyone.
Honestly, the Stones version is great for a road trip. But the Burritos' version is for when you're sitting alone in the dark. It's the "real" version, even if the copyright says otherwise.
Actionable insights for music collectors and fans
To truly appreciate the depth of this era, don't just stop at the digital stream. The nuances of the pedal steel and the vocal bleed in the studio are much more apparent on older formats.
- Find the 1970 Vinyl: If you can hunt down an original A&M Records pressing of Burrito Deluxe, do it. The analog warmth does wonders for the mid-range of Gram's voice.
- Compare the Mixes: Listen to "Wild Horses" from the Burritos and then immediately play "Wild Horses" from the Stones' Sticky Fingers. Notice the tempo difference. The Burritos play it slightly slower, which emphasizes the "ache" in the lyrics.
- Trace the Lineage: After listening, check out the 1973 version by Old & In the Way (Jerry Garcia’s bluegrass band). You can see how the Burritos' "country-first" approach influenced the bluegrass community's acceptance of rock songs.
- Explore the Outtakes: There are several bootlegs and "Hot Burritos" compilations that feature alternate takes of the 1970 sessions. These reveal how much of the "shambolic" feel was actually a choice made in the editing room to preserve the emotional honesty of the performance.
The impact of this track is permanent. It remains the gold standard for how to interpret someone else's work while maintaining your own artistic soul. Gram didn't just sing "Wild Horses"—he claimed it.