Preface: You pick up a Byrds CD in your local record store and wonder what kind of music is contained within. Maybe you heard one of their songs on the radio and wonder what sort of musicians made that incredible music. You look at the CD or tape or possibly, the vinyl albums with the different faces on them. Where did they come from? Where did they get their inspiration from? Who are these guys?
The History: The Byrds started in Los Angeles, California in early 1964. Jim (later Roger*) McGuinn, Chicago born, had been playing folk music with a 'Beatle beat' in coffeehouses in New York City. Experienced on the 5-string banjo and 12-string guitar, he had gotten his start playing with The Limelighters and Chad Mitchell Trio, two of the bigger commercial folk groups of the time. He was hired by Bobby Darin, who had added folk music to his act in the wake of the late 50's/early 60's folk revival. Besides playing for Darin, he began writing songs, one of which, 'Beach Ball', was released as a unsuccessful single under the name 'City Surfers', with Darin himself playing drums.
Jim wound up doing some session work, playing and arranging for people like Judy Collins. One night at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, Gene Clark caught one of Jim's shows and suggested they write songs together. Gene was from Tipton, Missouri, and had put out his first single as part of a local band, The Sharks. He signed on with the New Christy Minstrels, one of the most commercial folk groups of the day. Hearing The Beatles on a jukebox while touring Canada opened Gene's mind, enamored him to the new sound and led to his fateful meeting with Jim McGuinn.
They were singing in a stairwell one night when out of the blue came a third voice, that of David Crosby, Gene loved the harmony, but Jim wasn't sure the personalities would mesh. David who had worked as part of Lex Baxter's Balladeers (a bandleader who added a folk segment to his shows), and had been recording remakes of folk tunes like 'Willie Gene' with Jim Dickson. The access to a recording studio sealed the deal, and the three began working on material. Jim Dickson brought in bluegrass mandolin player Chris Hillman, to play bass, which Crosby had been struggling with. Mike Clarke, who had played congas, but had no professional experience playing drums, was added at Crosby's suggestion.
Jim Dickson had a film and music background, and with accountant Eddie Tickner, managed the group. He also produced their earliest recordings and was instrumental in helping the group forge its sound. The band was signed to a 'single and option' deal with Elektra Records (released on the subsidiary Bounty label). They used session musicians for the rhythm section to ensure a steady beat. Jac Holzman labeled the band the Beefeaters on the record label. The single, 'Please Let Me Love You' (composed by McGuinn, Clark & Harvey Gerst**), backed with 'Don't Be Long', (later a Top 40 hit as 'It Won't Be Wrong' - by McGuinn & Gerst**) went nowhere.
The band continued to refine its sound, managed to secure electric instruments, and began to have some luck. When Jim Dickson had the McGuinn, Clark and Crosby sing along with a demo tape at Benny Shapiro's (a Broadway promoter) house, the reaction of his teenage daughter, caused Shapiro to call jazz great Miles Davis, who contacted Allen Stanton, head of A&R at Davis' record company, Columbia Records, and suggested the label give the group a chance.
The band had a deal like the one with Elektra, and they were given a young staff producer to work with, Terry Melcher, who's mom is actress and singer Doris Day (It is interesting that, in 1965 Columbia Records roster only had four youth-oriented acts: The Byrds, Bob Dylan, Paul Revere and the Raiders, and Simon & Garfunkle. The company had recently freed itself of the Mitch Miller sing-along sound, parodied so effectively in the opening credits of 'That Thing You Do').
Jim Dickson had received a acetate (lacquer disc) of a Dylan song that Dylan couldn't use. The band worked to reconstruct the song into something that would fit on radio playlists of the time. 'Mr. Tambourine Man' was recorded in January of 1965, and released the following April. For the second time session musicians were brought in to solidify the sound of the single and it's b-side, 'I Knew I'd Want You'. With the band's talents in play, tight backing musicians, McGuinn's skill as an arranger, Dickson's and Melcher's technical expertise, the song was a worldwide smash.
The band released an album's worth of material with group compositions, mostly by Gene Clark, and a number of Dylan covers. The press labelled the music 'folk-rock'. The Byrds recordings touched off a great interest in Dylan's songs by other artists, and many sub-par Dylanesque knock-offs. Some accused the band of relying to much on Dylan, which the group addressed via the liner notes on their second album.
'Turn! Turn! Turn!' was an even bigger hit for the group, which solidified the groups reputation as the premier folk-rock musicians. The band was apparently getting bored with the formula, which didn't stop them from accepting the rewards of their success, being praised as The Beatles favorite group, and stealing the Fab Four's press officer, Derek Taylor. But there were disappointments too, such as the disastrous tour of England.
That tour led to the composition of The Byrds next big hit, 'Eight Miles High'. Ostensibly about the flight to England and the tour, and musically fueled by exposure to sitar master Ravi Shankar and jazz innovator John Coltrane, the song was labeled a 'drug song' by an influential radio tip sheet, further hampering the bands career, and stalling the single at number 14 nationally. Primary songwriter Gene Clark also left during this period, forcing the other band members to write more material or find outside material. '5D (Fifth Dimension)' was a mix of old folk chestnuts and raga-styled Rickenbacker rave-ups.
Later that year, 1966, 'The Monkees', a made-for-television rock group appeared, inspiring McGuinn and Hillman to compose 'So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star', the lead-off cut on what many consider to be the bands best album, 'Younger Than Yesterday'. The group, which had never been especially fraternal, now simmered with unresolved internal frictions, which, in retrospect, may have been worsened by the dismissal of the Dickson/Tickner management team.
'Younger Than Yesterday' wound up being released near the same time of The Beatles 'Sgt. Peppers' album, and was overshadowed by it. In August of 1967 The Byrds played the 'Monterey International Pop Festival'. David Crosby, encouraged by Steve Stills, sat in with the Buffalo Springfield, subbing for a missing Neil Young. This infuriated Jim McGuinn, and the anger and tension was apparent to festival attendees. More to the point, David brought up his take on the conspiracy theories surrounding the John F. Kennedy assassination, and in general, was fairly obnoxious, ensuring the group, which was on a downward slide commercially, was virtually eliminated from the film (which began life as a tv movie - David can be seen saying "great sound system" to Chris Hillman during the opening minutes).
The tensions that were present at Monterey boiled over during the recording of The Byrds next opus, 'The Notorious Byrd Brothers'. Crosby refused to play on the 'commercial' Gerry Goffin/ Carole King songs, and basically made himself insufferable to the point that McGuinn & Hillman fired him (he later got a $10,000 settlement). The album got completed using session musicians, sometimes including drummer Jim Gordon, subbing for the unreliable Michael Clarke, who left the band at the albums completion. The manager that David Crosby had led the group to was reportedly ripping off the band at this time, although little information exists regarding this. Columbia Records, sensing the groups career as a singles band was over, released a 'Greatest Hits' album.
'Notorious' was well received by the rock press and audiences alike. Another similar album would have solidified the bands reputation as a progressive rock group, but fate (and talent) interveined. Roger McGuinn* had contemplated doing a double album's worth of 'American Music' from Appalachian songs to electronic jazz. Gram Parsons was hired on as a piano player, but he brought the group around to doing country music, something that Chris Hillman was also into. The group split sessions between Los Angeles and Nashville. The resulting album, 'Sweetheart of The Rodeo', was, on the surface, an odd mix of Dylan songs and honky-tonk, with a little white gospel and some Parsons originals thrown in for good measure. When it was discovered that an earlier contract would restrict the use of Parsons vocals, many of them were redone by McGuinn.
'Sweetheart' left record buyers perplexed and confused. The country music establishment resented the group, and its approach to their music. This was personified by the treatment that the band was given, during their appearance on the 'Grand Ole Opry (a/k/a Ryman Auditorium)', which was broadcast on WSM. DJ Ralph Emery verbally castigated the group, which led to Parsons and McGuinn composing the satiric 'Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man', which would appear on the next Byrds album. The morning of the bands departure for a tour of South Africa, Parsons flew the coup, and was impersonated by roadie Carlos Bernal. Chris Hillman left shortly thereafter.
As McGuinn and Hillman had re-signed the band with Columbia Records, Roger decided to soldier on. Guitarist Clarence White had been recording with the band for the last three albums, and joined up full time, along with his Nashville West cohort, drummer Gene Parsons. Session bassist John York rounded out the new lineup. Going for a more rock-oriented sound, the band recorded Dylan's 'This Wheels On Fire', the aforementioned 'Drug Store...', a brace of new originals, several of which were written for the movie 'Candy', and more traditional country. The resulting album was not a sales or critical success, although in retrospect, its reputation has markedly improved.
'Wasn't Born to Follow' from 'Notorious' was featured in the 1969 movie 'Easy Rider', along with a McGuinn-sung title track, which Dylan had an uncredited hand in writing. McGuinn also covered Dylan's 'It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)' for the soundtrack, and against all odds, The Byrds were again fashionable. The Byrds new album, 'Ballad of Easy Rider', while suffering a dearth of group-penned material, was very listenable in a laid-back sort of way. John York left the group at this point, reportedly due to his girlfriend not wanting him to tour.
1970 brought some changes to The Byrds camp. Skip Battin, former half of the late 50's duo Skip and Flip, was brought in to fill the spot on bass. The Byrds by this time had a reputation as a fine live group, which was brought to the fore on the live half of the new double album, '(Untitled)'. The studio side of the set featured songs from the unproduced C&W musical 'Gene Tryp' written by McGuinn with New York psychologist/lyricist Jacques Levy (who would later work with Dylan on material for the latter's 'Desire' album), along with traditional songs, and other group compositions. The album was reasonably popular, and 'Chestnut Mare' was a hit single in the United Kingdom.
While the band continued to tour, 1971's 'Byrdmaniax' was covered up in massive string, horn and choral overdubs by producer Terry Melcher. At one point the album was rumored to be called 'Expensive', perhaps because of all the studio hours spent by Melcher. The album, which charted well, received fairly awful reviews, leading to a decision by the band to produce their next album by themselves.
'Farther Along' was the last Byrds album, saving compilations, to be released by Columbia Records (CBS in the UK). To save money, it was recorded in London, England. The album features a rather neat, if restrained, mix of 50's-flavored rock and bluegrass. It was followed by a second, rather patchy 'Greatest Hits' album released in 1972. UK purchasers had the better-rounded, better-annotated 'History of The Byrds'.
The original group had reunited, electronically at least, for Gene Clark's 'Roadmaster' album. This time they got together at Wally Heider's studios in Los Angeles, and recorded together for the first time since the mid-60's. Each member brought songs that he'd written or chosen. The uneven production (credited to Crosby) was a group effort, and also reflected an unwillingness to step on each others toes. The material and performances, taken by themselves, were fine, but they didn't sound like The Byrds of yore. While most critics dismissed the album, a few like Stereo Review's Steve Simels compared it to 'Preflyte', the demos recorded prior to their initial success. While the album sold over 400,000 copies, and the single 'Things Will Be Better' was a 'Top 20' hit, the critical lambasting dashed any further reunion hopes.
While McGuinn, Clark, Hillman & Crosby did reunite for a show at the Boarding House in 1978 (the FM broadcast has been bootlegged on various labels), outside of the bonus tracks on the Byrds Box Set, there have not been any more legitimate Byrds recordings made since that time. Gene Clark passed away in 1991 of 'natural causes', which some might say was the result of years of hard living. Mike Clarke died in 1993 of liver failure, attributable to years of drinking. Gram Parsons passed on in 1973 reportedly due to a mixture of drink and drugs, and Clarence White was killed by a drunk driver, that same year, while loading equipment after a show he had performed with his brothers.
Roger McGuinn has a low-key but successful solo career, and has appeared on recordings by Peter Case, Aimee Mann and Elvis Costello. Chris Hillman has had success on the country charts with the Desert Rose Band, and is now involved in various solo and group projects. David Crosby, a fixture with Crosby, Stills and Nash, discovered, while waiting for a liver transplant that he had a son, keyboardist and composer James Raymond, who is a talent to be reckoned with in his own right. With guitarist Jeff Pevar, they formed the group CPR, which has done some touring and has recorded a CD. As for the Byrds - will they fly again? That's anybody's guess.
As a note of caution, you should be aware that there have been bands going around calling themselves 'The Byrds'. These occasionally have a Byrds-member (e.g., Skip Battin), but many times have no one who played in the group during it's various heydays. (*Jim McGuinn changed his name to Roger as part of a religious conversion - **Harvey Gerst was a member of 'The Men' which became 'The Association', he currently owns and operates 'Indian Trail Records' and 'Indian Trail Recording Studio').
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