By Hunter60
Roger McGuinn once described The Byrds as "Dylan meets The Beatles" which is likely to be one of the most accurate description of the band you'll find. Although considered to be a footnote in the annals of critical music history, The Byrds were immensely influential on the architecture of Rock and Roll of the late 60's and beyond. With their rich, almost liquid L.A. style harmonies and McGuinn's guitar work on his yellow 12 string Rickenbacker, the band invented their own distinctive style and tone and were considered the fore-fathers of the genres of folk, psychedelic, and country rock.
The formation of The Byrds is really the story of band leader Jim "Roger" McGuinn. McGuinn, as a child, spent his youth following his parents, both writers of a child parenting book entitled "Parents Can't Win," around the country on various book tours. While in his teens, he became hooked on music, taught himself the guitar and began to work in and around the Los Angeles area as a folk singer.
Immediately following his graduation from high school, he was hired to play guitar for the folk group. The Limeliters (the same group that created the Coca-Cola jingle "Things Go Better with Coke"). After the Limeliters, McGuinn worked with The Chad Mitchell Trio and well as with Bobby Darin ("Mack The Knife") as a guitarist and a banjo player.
McGuinn moved to New York at the urging of Darin and took a job for TM Music in the infamous Brill Building writing songs. He and co-writer Frank Gali scored a hit for Darin with "Beach Ball." During this time he also served as musical director for Judy Collins' third album. But after hearing The Beatles while working at the Brill Building, McGuinn was captivated. He began playing Beatles songs at New York City coffee houses, spinning his own interpretation on the songs.
He returned home to Los Angeles and began working at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. One night after a set where McGuinn had opened for Hoyt Axton, he was approached by Gene Clark (formerly with The New Christy Minstrels). The pair hit it off and decided to start writing songs and performing together at the now legendary club. Shortly after the pair had begun working together, David Crosby, also a Los Angeles based folk singer, walked into the club and began singing harmony with the pair and the result was almost magical.
Apparently McGuinn had met Crosby before and was hesitant to work with him but when Crosby announced that he had a friend that had a recording studio and would allow them to record after hours at no charge, McGuinn relented and the trio formed a group called The Jet Set. The friend that Crosby had was James Dickson who was a recording engineer at World Pacific Studios and he allowed the group to record using old tape that was not good enough for masters but decent enough for rehearsal. When Dickson heard the three singers, he immediately signed on to became their manager.
Jet Set was signed by Elektra Records who promptly suggested a name change. The band renamed themselves The Beefeaters and recorded one single, "Please Let Me Love You," but it failed to register any notice. Dickson suggested that the trio add a bass player and a drummer. Dickson invited folk and bluegrass mandolin player Chris Hillman to audition as a bass player despite the fact that he never played bass. Hillman learned the instrument quickly and eased himself easily into the band.
Still needing a drummer, Crosby and McGuinn were standing in front of the Troubadour one night when they spotted a man walking towards them who looked like "two of the Rolling Stones." The man, Michael Clarke, was enlisted as a drummer for the band even though he had never played the drums before in his life.
Once the band was in place, the first order of business was to change the name yet again. Over a thanksgiving dinner, it was agreed that they needed something different. Their shared obsession with The Beatles spurred the thought of naming the band "something with the letter B" and Clarke offered the name The Birdsies which was promptly dismissed by the group. Someone else offered The Birds but the group didn't want to call themselves something that might be considered The Girls in England (it was British colloquialism at the time where "birds" meant "girls"). Someone else threw out the The Burds which was resoundingly shot down. McGuinn is credited with coming up with The Byrds and the name stuck.
Next time, the Byrds take flight.
[FONT=Tahoma]"All I can do is be me ... whoever that is". Bob Dylan [/FONT]
