Hickory Wind - Authorship Controversy

Authorship Controversy

In 2002, an article on the website www.folklinks.com controversially claimed that "Hickory Wind" wasn't, in fact, written by Gram Parsons, but by Sylvia Sammons—a blind folksinger from Greenville, South Carolina—with Bob Buchanan later contributing an additional verse. Sammons' alleged authorship of the song was first made public by traditional musician Kay Justice during a performance at a small church concert in southwest Virginia. Additionally, L. Beatrice Hutzler, a former professor at Clinch Valley College (now the University of Virginia's College at Wise), recalled that she too had heard Sammons sing the song in person prior to its being recorded by The Byrds.

When interviewed in 2002, Sammons confirmed that she had written the song and claimed that she regularly performed "Hickory Wind" at coffeehouses and other folk venues in Greenville during 1963—a time when Parsons was also performing in Greenville with his band The Shilos—and that her song was stolen during this period. She further claims that in 1969 she reached a cash settlement with a music publisher for the rights to "Hickory Wind" and agreed to turn over a tape-recorded copy of the song, which was her only physical proof of authorship.

Sammons' claim to the song has been rebutted by both Bob Buchanan and Chris Hillman, with the latter stating "As far as I know Gram and Bob Buchanan did indeed write 'Hickory Wind'. As unstable as Gram was in my brief time with him on this earth, I sincerely doubt he was a plagiarist in any of his songwriting endeavors unless his co-writer Bob brought him the idea." Although many people have chosen to dismiss Sammons' claim, citing a lack of any physical proof on her part, the controversy surrounding the authorship of "Hickory Wind" remains.