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I read this article and thought it was worth sharing. It was a different time, for sure.
Dressed up at Disneyland
by Matt Munoz
During my interview with Rusty Young of Poco, he shared a story about a memorable visit to the "Happiest Place on Earth," where Buck Owens was appearing just prior to the formation of Poco:
"We were in rehearsals in Los Angeles, and Gram Parsons was rehearsing with us, because we thought he might fit into the band at that point.
"Buck Owens was playing at Disneyland. Richie Furay wanted to go, and so did Gram, who also knew Buck. We all met there. This was late '67 to '68, and Gram has just come back from hanging out in London with David Bowie and Keith Richards, so he was in an interesting place. Richie and I were at Disneyland with our wives, and there's this big commotion at the gate. We go down to see what it was about and it was Gram Parsons in a stand-off with this big security lady in uniform.
"At the time, Disneyland had a 'No Gays' policy. If they thought you were gay, they would not let you into Disneyland. Gram was wearing a dress. He had this big long white dress on and had very tasteful sandals on. And you know, he was a pretty guy with long hair. They told him, 'You can't come in, you're gay,' and he'd say, 'I'm not gay,' and they'd say, 'You're wearing a dress, you're gay then.'
"They had this big fight, and somehow Gram got hold of Buck, and Buck sent his road manager to vouch for him and got him in. Gram was with his wife pushing his first daughter in a stroller. The six of us are walking down Main Street in Disneyland, with Gram wearing a dress and pushing a baby buggy.
"The tourists from Iowa were just flabbergasted. We got to the show, Buck did a great show, we went backstage after the show, and everyone was there -- Johnny Cash and few people like that. Everybody started giving Gram a hard time about wearing a dress. Gram says, 'I just got back from Europe, and mark my words, this time next year you're all going to be wearing dresses.'"
"The best part happened when Cash walks over with a completely straight face and says, 'Well, do they make 'em in black?'"
Dressed up at Disneyland
by Matt Munoz
During my interview with Rusty Young of Poco, he shared a story about a memorable visit to the "Happiest Place on Earth," where Buck Owens was appearing just prior to the formation of Poco:
"We were in rehearsals in Los Angeles, and Gram Parsons was rehearsing with us, because we thought he might fit into the band at that point.
"Buck Owens was playing at Disneyland. Richie Furay wanted to go, and so did Gram, who also knew Buck. We all met there. This was late '67 to '68, and Gram has just come back from hanging out in London with David Bowie and Keith Richards, so he was in an interesting place. Richie and I were at Disneyland with our wives, and there's this big commotion at the gate. We go down to see what it was about and it was Gram Parsons in a stand-off with this big security lady in uniform.
"At the time, Disneyland had a 'No Gays' policy. If they thought you were gay, they would not let you into Disneyland. Gram was wearing a dress. He had this big long white dress on and had very tasteful sandals on. And you know, he was a pretty guy with long hair. They told him, 'You can't come in, you're gay,' and he'd say, 'I'm not gay,' and they'd say, 'You're wearing a dress, you're gay then.'
"They had this big fight, and somehow Gram got hold of Buck, and Buck sent his road manager to vouch for him and got him in. Gram was with his wife pushing his first daughter in a stroller. The six of us are walking down Main Street in Disneyland, with Gram wearing a dress and pushing a baby buggy.
"The tourists from Iowa were just flabbergasted. We got to the show, Buck did a great show, we went backstage after the show, and everyone was there -- Johnny Cash and few people like that. Everybody started giving Gram a hard time about wearing a dress. Gram says, 'I just got back from Europe, and mark my words, this time next year you're all going to be wearing dresses.'"
"The best part happened when Cash walks over with a completely straight face and says, 'Well, do they make 'em in black?'"
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