Born to a wealthy Southern-Gothic family of alcoholics and suicides, Parsons possessed an outsized appetite for self-destruction and a singular genius for the American sound. He led the Byrds to create the first country-rock album, founded the acclaimed Flying Burrito Brothers, and taught the joys of American roots music to Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Emmylou Harris. His second solo album, Grievous Angel, remains a masterpiece of country soul. Before it was released, Parsons, aged 26, - brilliant, glamorous and doomed, died of a heroin overdose. Twenty Thousand Roads paints an unprecedented portrait of the man who brought together country music and rock and roll, dispelling the myths and telling a story even wilder than the mythology. Drawing on profound knowledge of the era's music and hundreds of interviews - many with friends, musical partners and lovers who have never spoken before - author David Meyer creates a compelling biography and a rich history of a crucial period in American style, drugs and rock music. Meticulously researched and masterfully told, Twenty Thousand Roads is a dazzling evocation of an artist, his music and his times.