The family of the late musician Chris Ethridge is planning an interactive memorial at his gravesite in Meridian so visitors can explore his life and musical career.

    John Christopher “Chris” Ethridge II, a Mississippi-born musician, bassist and songwriter who was a founding member of the 1960s country-rock band “The Flying Burrito Brothers,” died in April of pancreatic cancer. He was 65.

    Bill Arlinghaus, owner of Magnolia Cemetery, tells WTOK-TV that the memorial — the first of its kind at the cemetery — will allow anyone with a smart phone to see and hear Ethridge perform.

    “We’ll be able to hopefully scan with a smart phone, and up will pop on your smart phone his greatest hits such as “She,” “Hot Burrito (hash)1,” ”Hot Burrito (hash)2.” It’s whatever the family wants, but we’re giving them some ideas,” Arlinghaus said.

    He said as soon as the family decides the perfect way they want to honor Ethridge’s legacy, work will begin.

    “It’s still in the design process, so we don’t have a specific timetable, but it could happen in as few as a few months, or it could happen sometime over the next year,” Arlinghaus said.

    Born and raised in Meridian, Ethridge moved to Los Angeles when he was 17.

    Ethridge collaborated with another seminal Southern music figure, Gram Parsons, on several projects, including the Flying Burrito Brothers and the International Submarine Band, and he co-wrote several of Parsons’ solo tunes.

    Ethridge spent eight years on the road with Willie Nelson and can be heard on the country legend’s “Whiskey River.”

    With Joel Scott Hill and John Barbata, Ethridge recorded in the L.A. Getaway, which many rock critics hail as one of the great, lost 1970s rock albums.

    In later years, Ethridge played with many music luminaries, including Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt and Ry Cooder, both as a session musician and touring player.