Flying Burrito Brothers

The Flying Burrito Brothers were best at taking country music and rock music to blend them together into one unique style. Although the band was never a huge commercial success, their music would go onto influence many musicians.
Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, who were formerly in the Byrds, were the most notable members of the Flying Burrito Brothers. They took their pop-rock music that they perfected in the Byrds and mixed it with country music when they formed the Flying Burrito Brothers. Their sound consisted of slide guitars and vocals presented with a country twang. The band often used the instrumentation of the rock and roll genre, but they touched on styles and themes of country music. Their live music was always performed with great energy and had every person in the audience grooving to their tunes. The Flying Burrito Brothers are also known for playing the highly infamous Altamont Speedway Free Festival in 1969 that included other acts such as Santana, The Rolling Stones, and Jefferson Airplane. The Flying Burrito Brothers had a huge influence on many bands that would blend together country and rock music. Dinosaur Jr. paid homage to the Flying Burrito Brothers by covering their song “Hot Burrito #2”. Other acts such as Son Volt and Wilco are also highly influenced by the Flying Burrito Brothers. On Wilco’s self titled album cover you can see the members of the band dressed in suits similar to the suits Nudie Cohn designed for the Flying Burrito Brothers. The Flying Burrito Brothers was truly a unique band with a huge impact on music history. Their album, The Gilded Palace of Sin, was voted in Rolling Stones list as one of the top 500 albums of all time. Although most of the members of the Flying Burrito Brothers are no longer in the band, there is still a band touring under the name that is trying to keep their great music alive. The Flying Burrito Brothers should always be remembered for their unique performances that included them dressed in their eccentric suits, singing beautiful harmonies, and the twangy sound of their slide guitar.