Byrds

**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 are today considered by critics to be among the most influential rock acts of their era. Their signature blend of clear harmony singing and McGuinn's jangly twelve-string Rickenbacker guitar was "absorbed into the vocabulary of rock" and has continued to be influential.

Initially, the Byrds pioneered the musical genre of folk rock as a popular format in 1965, by melding the influence of the Beatles and other British Invasion bands with contemporary and traditional folk music on their first and second albums, and the hit singles "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!". As the 1960s progressed, the band was influential in originating psychedelic rock and raga rock, with their song "Eight Miles High" and the albums Fifth Dimension (1966), Younger Than Yesterday (1967) and The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968). The band also played a pioneering role in the development of country rock, with the 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo representing their fullest immersion into the genre.

## Links to Kershaw

On the No Off Switch blogsite, Kershaw mentioned that the group were important to him, not just for their own music but for the musical directions in which they pointed him to:

> *"Shamefully, I just plain forgot to mention in my autobiography – and I don’t know why – the importance to me of The Byrds, not just for their own fabulous music but for the musical directions in which they pointed me. Hearing their 1968 LP, Sweetheart Of The Rodeo, in my teens in the mid 1970s, alerted me to the possibility that there was more to country music than the deadly dull George Hamilton IV, who was a fixture on UK television at the time."* [1]
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He also praised further their Sweetheart Of The Rodeo album:

> *"SOTR was a genuinely groundbreaking album – an established “pop” group defying the prejudices and hostility of its own audience by making a record celebrating the band members’ country enthusiasms. It created the genre of “country-rock”.* [2]
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## Shows Played

1985
* 20 July 1985: unknown

1986
* 03 April 1986: You're Still On My Mind
* 28 October 1986 (John Peel): So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star

1987
* 04 June 1987: So You Want To Be A Rock'n Roll Star (LP - Younger Than Yesterday) Edsel

1988
* 04 August 1988: Wasn't Born To Follow (LP - The Notorious Byrd Brothers) Edsel

1991
* 29 September 1991: Pretty Boy Floyd

1992
* 25 April 1992: Hickory Wind (4xCD Compilation - The Byrds) Columbia

1997
* 24 March 1997: Wasn't Born To Follow

2005
* 24 July 2005: Draft Morning (CD - The Notorious Byrd Brothers) Columbia
* 24 July 2005: Wasn't Born To Follow (CD - The Notorious Byrd Brothers) Columbia

2006
* 01 January 2006: Wasn't Born To Follow (CD - The Notorious Byrd Brothers) Columbia
* 05 February 2006: Draft Morning (CD - The Notorious Byrd Brothers) Columbia

2022
* Andy Kershaw Podcast Episode 11: Wasn't Born To Follow (album - The Notorious Byrd Brothers) Columbia
* Andy Kershaw Podcast Episode 12: Nashville West / Pretty Boy Floyd (album - Live At The Fillmore - February 1969) Columbia
* Andy Kershaw Podcast Episode 16: Chimes Of Freedom (album - Live At The Fillmore - February 1969) Columbia

2023
* Andy Kershaw Podcast Episode 20: Draft Morning (album - The Notorious Byrd Brothers) CBS

## External Links

* Wikipedia
* Discogs