Thursday 12th July
So many fabulous bands from the sixties, a time of musical creativity almost unmatched, and one of the most influential was ‘The Byrds’. Formed around a nucleus of Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Gene Clark and Chris Hillman they took folk and country and mixed it with pop and everything going to create their own special sound. And the defining element of that was always Roger’s jangling guitar sound. Formed in 1965 and broke up in 1971, but they had about ten albums and were constantly changing, both personnel and styles, but they always sounded fresh and exciting. They took a Bob Dylan song ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ and put a funky beat behind it and gentle harmonies and it was an instant hit, so much so that it surely impressed Bob to get rockier too. They kick-started the whole West Coast thing with groups like the Eagles and Tom Petty carrying on where they left off. The whole Americana scene that is now so popular has been widely influenced by The Byrds. And let us not forget the songs, 5D, Eight Miles High, Chestnut Mare and So You Wanna Be a Rock’n’Roll Star, which provided a counterpoint to the Beatles poppiness.. In fact it was Roger’s use of the sitar in many Byrds songs that inspired George Harrison to play it too. It was an incredibly fast moving scene and everyone influenced everyone else to some degree, but every time I put on a Byrds record I just feel like I have come home again. Most people have forgotten them now, but at one time they were up there with The Beatles and The Stones and The Beach Boys, and deservedly so too.
