Bob Kealing – författare

On September 19, 1973, Gram Parsons became yet another rock-and-roll casualty in an era of excess, a time when young men wore their dangerous habits like badges of honor. Unfortunately, his many musical accomplishments have been overshadowed by a morbid fascination with his drug overdose in the Joshua Tree desert at the age of twenty-six.

Known as the father of country rock, Parsons played with the International Submarine Band, The Byrds, and the Flying Burrito Brothers. In the late 1960s and early 70s, he was a key confidante of Keith Richards. In 1972, he gave Emmylou Harris her first big break. When Tom Petty re-formed his Florida garage band Mudcrutch, he invoked the name of Gram Parsons as an inspiration. Musicians as diverse as Elvis Costello, Dwight Yoakam, Ryan Adams, Patty Griffin, and Steve Earle have also paid homage to alt-country''s patron saint.

In Calling Me Home, Kealing traces the entire arc of Parsons''s career, emphasizing his Southern roots. Drawing on dozens of new interviews as well as rare letters and photographs provided by Parsons''s family and legendary photojournalist Ted Polumbaum, Kealing has uncovered facts that even the most stalwart Parsons fans will find revealing.

Travelling from Parsons'' boyhood home in Waycross, Georgia, to the southern folk mecca of Coconut Grove, Florida, from the birthplace of outlaw country in Austin, Texas, to the Ryman auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee Kealing celebrates Parsons''s timeless and transformative musical legacy.

The musical and cultural impact ofthe Fab Four in Florida 

In 1964,Beatlemania flooded the United States. The Beatles appeared live on the EdSullivan Show and embarked on their first tour of North America—and they spentmore time in Florida than anywhere else. GoodDay Sunshine State dives into this momentous time and place, exploring theband’s seismic influence on the people and culture of the state.

Bob Kealing sets the historicalstage for the band’s arrival—a nation dazed after the assassination of John F.Kennedy and on the precipice of the Vietnam War; a heavily segregated,conservative South; and in Florida, recent events that included the CubanMissile Crisis and the arrest and imprisonment of Martin Luther King Jr. in St.Augustine. Kealing documents the culture clashes and unexpected affinities thatemerged as the British rockers drew crowds, grew from fluff story to thesubject of continual news coverage, and basked in the devotion of a young and idealisticgeneration.

Through an abundance of letters,memorabilia, and interviews with journalists, fellow musicians, and fans,Kealing takes readers behind the scenes into the Beatles’ time in locationssuch as Miami Beach, where they wrote new songs and met Muhammad Ali. In thetropical environs of Key West, John Lennon and Paul McCartney experiencedmilestone moments in their friendship. And the band dodged the path ofHurricane Dora to play at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, where they famouslyrefused to perform until the city agreed to integrate the audience.

Kealing highlights thehopeful futures that the Beatles helped inspire, including stories of iconicrock-and-rollers such as Tom Petty who followed the band’s lead in their ownpaths to stardom. This book offers a close look at an important part of themusical and cultural revolution that helped make the Fab Four a worldwidephenomenon.

Funding for this publication was provided through a grantfrom Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for theHumanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed inthis publication do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities orthe National Endowment for the Humanities.