Joshua Tree, California: Gram Parson's Death Hotel
On September 19, 1973, rock/country singer-songwriter-musician Gram Parsons OD'd from a lethal quantity of morphine and alcohol in Room 8 of the Joshua Tree Inn.
Joshua Tree Inn
- Address:
- 61259 Twentynine Palms Hwy, Joshua Tree, CA
- Directions:
- Joshua Tree Inn, just west of town on south side of Hwy 62.
- Phone:
- 760-366-1188
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Gram Parson's Death Hotel The Joshua Tree Inn, one mile from Joshua Tree National Park, is where Gram Parsons drew his last breath in 1973 before dying of a drug overdose in Room 8. This inn has hosted many famous people since its construction in 1950, including Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg, John Wayne, Emmylou Harris, Donovan, and many more. Several of the rooms are named after the people who have stayed in them.
The death of Gram Parsons involves interesting rock-n-roll lore in which two of his good friends stole his dead body from LAX airport in Los Angeles to avoid having it sent back and buried in New Orleans. The friends then took the late Parsons on a drunken road trip back to Joshua Tree's Cap Rock to honor Parson's wish to be cremated in that location.
[Nikki Kreuzer, 11/26/2012]Nearby Offbeat Places
- Murtle The Turtle, Joshua Tree, CA - < 1 mi.
- Metal Dinosaurs, Joshua Tree, CA - 2 mi.
- Institute of Mentalphysics, Joshua Tree, CA - 3 mi.
- In the region: International Banana Museum, Mecca, CA - 47 mi.
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Parson's pals doused his corpse with gasoline and tossed on a match, then ran when the police came after them. His charred remains were ultimately shipped to Louisiana for burial.