Byrds of a feather

The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964 (Not to be confused with The Birds, a British R&B band, formed in the same year).

The Byrds- Eight Miles High

The Birds – You’re On My Mind

From 1964 to 1973 the band’s lineup underwent many changes, with Roger McGuinn being the only consistent member from the day the band formed until the very last break. During that time the band released 12 studio albums and 29 singles. Although they only managed to attain the huge commercial success of band like the Beatles and the Rolling stones for a short period in the mid-1960s, the Byrds are today considered by critics to be nearly as influential as those bands.

When formed, the band pioneered the musical genre of folk rock, while influenced by The Beatles and other “british invasion” bands. The mix of the genres was prevalent in the bands first two albums, “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Turn! Turn! Turn!”.

In August 1964, the band managed to acquire an acetate disc of the then-unreleased Bob Dylan song “Mr. Tambourine Man”. Although the band was initially unimpressed with the song, they began rehearsing it with a rock band arrangement, changing the time signature to a rockier configuration in the process. In an attempt to bolster the group’s confidence in the song, The band’s record company invited Dylan himself to hear the band perform “Mr. Tambourine Man”. Impressed by the group’s rendition, Dylan enthusiastically commented, “Wow, man! You can dance to that!”. His endorsement erased any doubts that the band had over the song’s suitability.

The Byrds and Bob Dylan – Mr. Tambourine Man

The single “Turn! Turn! Turn!” was an adaption of the original song by the same title, which was written by Pete Seeger in the 1950’s. The Byrds’ single is the most successful recorded version of the song, having reached number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

The rendering of the originally folk song, came out sounding not like a folk song but more like a rock/folk hybrid, perfectly in keeping with the Byrds’ status as pioneers of the folk rock genre. Years later McGuinn explained: “It was a standard folk song by that time, but I played it and it came out rock ‘n’ roll because that’s what I was programmed to do like a computer. I couldn’t do it as it was traditionally”.

Music journalist William Ruhlmann has pointed out that the song’s plea for peace and tolerance struck a nerve with the American record buying public as the Vietnam war escalated.

“A time of love, a time of hate

A time of war, a time of peace

A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing

To Everything (Turn, turn, turn)

There is a season (Turn, turn, turn)

And a time to every purpose, under Heaven”

Following those albums, the band shifted their genre towards psychedelic rock and raga rock with their following three albums, and played a big role in introducing the genre of country rock. Author and Musician Peter Lavezzoli wrote in his book “The Dawn of Indian Music in the west”: “like it or not, terms like ‘folk rock’, ‘raga rock’ and ‘country rock’ were coined for a reason: the Byrds did it first, and then kept moving, never staying in the ‘raga’ or ‘country’ mode for very long. This is precisely what made the Byrds such a rewarding band to follow from one record to the next.”

The Byrds -I am a pilgrim

The Byrds – Mr. Spaceman

The original five-piece lineup of the Byrds consisted of Jim McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke. By early 1966, not long after the band was formed, Gene Clark had left due to problems associated with anxiety (including a chronic fear of flight, which was an issue while touring) and his increasing isolation within the group, which was brought on from resentment by other band members about the extra income he derived from his songwriting. Gene was later signed as a solo artist in the same record company as the band, Columbia records.

Gene Clark – No Other

The Byrds continued as a quartet until late 1967, when Crosby and Clarke also departed. McGuinn and Hillman decided to recruit new members, including country rock pioneer Gram Parsons, but by late 1968, Hillman and Parsons had also exited the band. Between 1968 and 1973, McGuinn created a new incarnation of the Byrds, and disbanded it in early 1973 to make way for a reunion of the original quintet. The Byrds’ final album was released in March 1973, with the reunited group disbanding later that year

Several former members of the band went on to successful careers of their own, either as solo artists or as members of such groups as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. In 1991, the Byrds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an occasion that saw the five original members performing together for the last time.

The Byrds Perform “Mr. Tambourine Man” at the 1991 Inductions

The influence of the Byrds on successive generations of rock and pop musicians has grown steadily over the years, with acts such as the Eagles, Big Star, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, R.E.M., the Bangles, the Smiths, and innumerable alternative rock bands of the post-punk era all exhibiting signs of their influence. Lavezzoli described the Byrds as “one of the few bands to exert a decisive influence on the Beatles”.