Recommendations of the Editorial team
The Byrds are immortal because they flew so high. And for me they are still far, high. They left deep traces. On the one hand, they were the first really good answer to the British Invasion. And every kind of folk rock – to name it – comes from the music that the Byrds made. In any case, they were the first to introduce country elements into rock music. As if all of this wasn’t enough, they also contributed significantly to Bob Dylan becoming popular. And I don’t want to be superficial, but – they were also the best -backed band. That already played a role back then.
I will never forget how I heard “Mr. Tambourine Man” on the radio for the first time-the sound of the 12-string Rickenbacker guitar and the incredible choral singing. Roger McGuinn told me that he had the guitar sound from “A Hard Day’s Night”, but he was a banjo player, and that’s why he played the Rickenbacker in this rolling finger picking style.
George Harrison admitted that “IF I Needed Someone” was his variant of “The Bells of Rhymney” by the Byrds. They were the only band with which the Beatles exchanged. The Byrds in original cast did not exist for long, but in this short time they changed the world. And that they became rock stars didn’t really suit them at all. Chris Hillman came from Bluegrass. McGuinn had played in folk groups and with Bobby in it.
In the beginning it was the basic idea of the Heartbreakers – we wanted to be a mixture of the Byrds and the Stones
David Crosby also came from the coffeehouse scene, and Gene Clark was with the New Christy Minstrels. McGuinn told me that the Byrds had to make really efforts to play rock’n’roll as a band. You had to learn it. Imagine: a bunch of folkies tries to get out how to make people dance.
The Byrd’s Los Angeles represented Los Angeles just like the Beach Boys, they were just the counterpart – read offset beatnik forces. They drew my attention to Los Angeles and were one of the reasons why I wanted to play in my own band. I saw her at the West Palm Beach Pop Festival, the Stones also played there. In the beginning it was the basic idea of the Heartbreakers – we wanted to be a mixture of the Byrds and the Stones. Because what could be cooler than that?