Rewound 1

The

“It was Dylan meets the Beatles.”

That’s Roger McGuinn’s succinct explanation of the Byrds’ bold, brainy take on rock & roll. True enough: What the Byrds pulled off with 1965’s landmark “Mr. Tambourine Man” was a resonant synthesis of the Beatles’ charged pro forma precision and Dylan’s mythopoeic incantations.

^{They were easily one of my favourite ♥ 60s bands}

The Byrds were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole consistent member.

Although their time as one of the most popular groups in the world only lasted for a short period in the mid-1960s, the Byrds were considered by many critics to be among the most influential rock acts of their era.

I grew up listening to their 60s hits on the radio through the decade that followed and beyond, “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Turn Turn Turn” being the most obvious of these. Years later, I would explore their catalogue in-depth and happily uncovered a treasure trove of guitar-pop bliss. “Mr. Spaceman,” “Have You Seen Her Face” and “Eight Miles High” are but three of this band’s stellar singles output.

Author and musician Bob Stanley, writing in his 2013 book Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop, has called the Byrds’ music “a phenomenon, a drone, genuinely hair-raising and totally American.”

In The Great Rock Discography, music researcher Martin C. Strong describes the Byrds’ cover of “Mr. Tambourine Man” as “a timeless slice of hypnotic, bittersweet pop” and a record that “did nothing less than change the course of pop/rock history.”

Setlist for the 1965 Ed Sullivan Show:

Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season) (Pete Seeger cover)
Mr. Tambourine Man (Bob Dylan cover)

Then there’s the albums.

All Music Guide said this of The Byrds first long-playing offering:

‘One of the greatest debuts in the history of rock, Mr. Tambourine Man was nothing less than a significant step in the evolution of rock & roll itself, demonstrating that intelligent lyrical content could be wedded to compelling electric guitar riffs and a solid backbeat.’

I couldn’t have put it better if I tried. It didn’t stop there. The following six albums they gifted the world would continue to challenge and impress music lovers as the group evolved their sound and stylings, until The Byrd’s country record Sweetheart of the Radio in 1968.

1965

1966

1967

1968

Mr. Tamborine Man

Turn! Turn! Turn!

Fifth Dimension

Younger Than Yesterday

The Notorious Byrd Brothers

Sweetheart of the Radio

They produced another six albums up until 1973 – but nothing like the quality of the six pictured above. The group then disbanded and went their separate ways, each continuing with their own thing.

Most notably:

Roger McGuinn turned his attention to establishing his own career, releasing a series of solo albums between 1973 and 1977, and making a high-profile appearance with Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue.

Chris Hillman worked as part of the Souther–Hillman–Furay Band following the Byrds reunion and released a pair of solo albums entitled Slippin’ Away and Clear Sailin’ in 1976 and 1977 respectively.

David Crosby returned to the supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young for their 1974 tour and subsequently continued to produce albums with Graham Nash.

_{60s Byrds}

_{70s Byrds}

The Byrds signature blend of clear harmony singing and McGuinn’s jangly 12-string Rickenbacker guitar was “absorbed into the vocabulary of rock” and has continued to be influential.

Often described in their early days as a hybrid of Dylan and the Beatles, the Byrds in turn influenced Dylan and the Beatles almost as much as Dylan and the Fab Four had influenced the Byrds.

The Eagles, Big Star, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, R.E.M., the Bangles, the Smiths, Teenage Fanclub, and innumerable alternative rock bands of the post-punk era all exhibit signs of their influence.

classic line-up

Roger McGuinn– lead guitar, banjo, Moog synthesizer, vocals (1964–1973, 1989–1991, 2000)
Gene Clark – tambourine, rhythm guitar, harmonica, vocals (1964–1966, 1967, 1972–1973, 1991)
David Crosby – rhythm guitar, vocals (1964–1967, 1972–1973, 1989–1991, 2000)
Michael Clarke– drums (1964–1967, 1972–1973, 1991)
Chris Hillman– bass guitar, rhythm guitar, mandolin, vocals (1964–1968, 1972–1973, 1989–1991, 2000)

_{The Byrds}

_{This 1991 performance of “Mr. Tambourine Man” (at the awful rock n roll hall of fame thing) is the last time the classic lineup of the Byrds performed together}