Who
are the Byrds?
The
Byrds were a pop music group that
started in Los Angeles. They were:
Jim McGuinn, David Crosby, Chris
Hillman, Gene Clark and Michael
Clarke.
What
were their musical backgrounds?
McGuinn
had been an accompanist for the Limeliters, the Chad
Mitchell
Trio, Bobby Darin (recorded as the City Surfers with Darin)
and
musical director for Judy Collins' third album before forming the
Byrds
with Clark and Crosby.
Gene
Clark had been a member of the New Christy Minstrels.
David
Crosby had been a member of Les Baxtre's Balladeers.
Chris
Hillman had been a member of the Hillmen. Michael
Clarke had been a conga player in San Francisco.
How
and when did they get together?
The
Byrds formed in 1964. Jim McGuinn was doing a solo act at
the
Troubadour folk club in L.A.
Gene
Clark, who had just left a folk group called the New Christy
Minstrels,
was in the audience and liked the combination of folk
and
rock that McGuinn was playing. After the show they discussed
writing
some songs together.
The
next day they finished some songs and were playing them in
the
front room of the Troubadour.
They
liked the sound they were creating but when David Crosby
walked
in and began singing a wonderful high
harmony
part, it was magical.
McGuinn
had met Crosby before and wasn't sure he wanted to
work
with him but when David said he had a
friend
who had a recording
studio they could use free of charge, McGuinn had no
objections.
Crosby's
friend was Jim Dickson, a producer at World Pacific
Studios
on Third Street. Dickson would let the trio
record
late every night
on some old tape that wasn't good enough to use for a record
but
was fine for rehearsal.
Dickson
promptly became their manager. They called themselves
the
Jet Set but when Elektra Records signed them, their name was
changed
to the Beefeaters. The Elektra single "Please Let Me
Love
You" wasn't a hit, so Dickson suggested that they get a bass
player
and a drummer.
Dickson
invited Chris Hillman, a bluegrass mandolin player, to the
studio
to audition as bass player. Chris was such a good musician
that
he was able to learn the bass quickly.
Crosby
and McGuinn were standing in front of the Troubadour when
they
spotted a man coming toward them who looked like a
combination
of two of the members of the Rolling Stones. Michael
Clarke
was hired on the spot for just looking the part. Clarke didn't
know
how to play the drums but that didn't matter.
How
did the Byrds get their name?
The
band was having Thanksgiving dinner at Ed Tickner's house.
Ed
was Jim Dickson's partner in management. They all tried
coming
up with new names for the band. Gene Clark offered "The
Birdsies."
Nobody
liked that name and Ed said, "How about the Birds?
"Birds"
was slang in England for girls at the time and the band
didn't
want to be called "the Girls."
Tickner
asked, "What if you changed the spelling? how about B-U-R-D-S?"
Everyone
hated that one.
Then
McGuinn came up with B-Y-R-D-S.
Dickson
loved it because it had the magic "B" sound as in Beatles
and
Bobby. He thought little girls liked the "B" names because they
felt
less threatened by them. So the group was called "the Byrds" .
What
instruments did they play?
The
Byrds were a folk based band. McGuinn, Crosby and Clark all
played
12-string acoustic guitars. Hillman was learning on a cheap
Japanese
bass. Michael didn't have a drum kit, so he learned on a
set
of cardboard boxes with a tambourine taped to the top. He did
have
real drum sticks.
The
first practice recordings they made sounded very primitive.
Dickson
decided to get a loan so that the band could get some real
instruments.
They
all went to see the Beatles' movie "A Hard Day's Night," and
studied
the instruments the Beatles were using. With a borrowed
$5000.00
and with the trade-in of McGuinn's banjo and guitar they
bought
a Rickenbacker 12-string electric guitar, a Gretsch 6-string
guitar,
a Gibson bass, a set of Ludwig drums and three small
Epiphone
amplifiers.
They
also got some black suits with velvet collars just like their
heroes
the Beatles.
Did
Gene Clark actually play any guitar in the Byrds?
Before
Hillman arrived, Gene was to have been the rhythm guitar
player
and Crosby was to have played bass. But David found that
playing
bass and singing at the same time was rather like rubbing
your
head in one direction and your stomach in another.
Crosby
convinced Gene Clark to give up his guitar and play the
tambourine.
From that point on Gene didn't play much guitar in the
Byrds.
What
record company did they record for?
Thanks
to intervention by Jazz man, Miles Davis, the Byrds signed
a contract
with Columbia Records to record one single. If the single
was
not a success, they would be back on the street.
What
songs did the Byrds make popular?
Dickson
had heard of a Bob Dylan song that Dylan wasn't going to
use
on his next record because someone was singing out of tune
on
the track. The song was a folk style tune in 2/4 time with four
verses.
It ran about five minutes long.
Dickson
made the Byrds line up in front of the studio monitor and
listen
to "Mr. Tambourine Man."
Crosby
said, "I don't like it man! It's too folksy with that 2/4 time and
all
those verses. Radio will never play a song like that!"
David
was right. Radio wanted what sounded like Beatles' songs
and
had a strict time limit of two minutes and thirty seconds for a
single
record.
McGuinn
had an idea for a new arrangement. He added a
Bach-like
intro on his Rickenbacker 12-string guitar and changed
the
time signature to 4/4 time like a Beatles' song. Then they all
auditioned
for the lead vocal part.
First
Gene sang it, then David and finally McGuinn.
Dickson
liked the way McGuinn sounded on the lead and gave him
the
part. McGuinn
also suggested that they use only one verse to cut down
he
overall length of the song. They picked the verse with "Boot
heels
wandering." Because it reminded them of "Beat poet," Jack
Kerouac.
They
recorded "Mr. Tambourine Man" in the winter of '65 at
Columbia's
studio "A," in Hollywood. The record sounded good but
Columbia
wasn't sure when it should be released. The tape sat in
the
box for what seemed like an eternity. Then on June 5, 1965,
"Mr.
Tambourine Man" was released. By June 26, 1965 it had
climbed
to the number one spot on Billboard's top 40 charts.
After
that the Byrds were allowed to record more singles and
albums.
They had hits with "All I Really Want To Do," released
August
21, 1965 and "Turn Turn Turn," released November 6,
1965.
By December 4, 1965, Turn Turn Turn reached number one
on
the Billboard top 40 charts, where it remained for three weeks.
Then
there were hits with, "Eight Miles High," released April 30,
1966,
"Mr.Spaceman," released October 22, 1966 "So You Want
To
Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star," released February 18,1967 and "My
Back
Pages," released April 29,1967
Who
were the session musicians on their first hit single?
The
first session for "Mr. Tambourine Man" was too important to
leave
to the musical skills of this fledgling band. Terry Melcher the
producer
(Doris Day's son) hired the hit-making "Wrecking Crew"
to
play the band track for the song. Hal Blaine on drums, Larry
Knechtel
on Bass Jerry Cole, and Bill Pitman on electric guitar,
Leon
Russell on electric piano. Jim McGuinn was the only Byrd
allowed
to play on the session. He played his Rickenbacker electric
12-string.
After
the first single, the Byrds played on all their own tracks.
Who
took folk music electric first, the Byrds or Bob Dylan?
The
Byrds were the first to combine the elements of folk, rock and
electric
instruments with Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man." This, then
unknown
folksong was recorded by the Byrds in January of 1965,
(see
contract) and had reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts
before
Dylan shocked the folk community later that year by plugging
in
at the Newport Folk festival.
How
did the Byrds get their sound?
The
Byrds sound came about naturally. First there was the blend of
folk
and rock styles. Then there were the harmonies. Crosby was
largely
responsible for the innovative combination of fourth and fifth
high
harmony parts. Clark and McGuinn sang in unison.
The
guitar sound was a blend of Gretsch 6-string and
Rickenbacker
12-string parts with an occasional acoustic guitar in
the
background.
At
first the Rickenbacker didn't have the sound the Byrds were
looking
for. One of the engineers at Columbia came up with the
idea
of recording the guitar directly through the board and not
through
an amplifier, using tube type electronic compressors, in
series,
to sustain the guitar sound and give it an even quality.
That
direct, compressed 12-string guitar sound combined with
Crosby's
unusual harmonies made the Byrds recordings sound
distinctive
and different.
Did
the Byrds meet the Beatles, and who wore those funny little
glasses
first?
The
Byrds met the Beatles in England while on a tour in July of
1965.
Derek Taylor had been the Beatles press secretary and was
now
working in that capacity for the Byrds. Derek arranged the
meeting
to take place after a show at "Blazes," a club in London.
Only
John, George and Ringo were there.
John
was immediately, extremely interested in Jim McGuinn's little
rectangular
sun glasses. He liked them so much that he began
wearing
a round version, later, himself. Lennon had been
nearsighted
and these new glasses gave him a way to see the
audience
from the stage for the first time.
The
Beatles also invited the Byrds to visit them at their house in
Los
Angeles in 1966 and they maintained an ongoing
correspondence,
through Derek Taylor, for many years.
Did
the Byrds ever work with Bob Dylan?
No.
The Byrds and Dylan never worked together. At one time there
were
plans to record an album together in New York but due to lack
of
communication, the Byrds flew back to Los Angeles and the
project
was never begun.
Dylan
did get on stage and sang a few songs with the Byrds in
1965
at "Ciro's," a Los Angeles club. The picture of that event is on
the
back cover of the "Mr. Tambourine Man" album. Dylan also
gave
his approval to the Byrds doing his material.