- Turn! Turn! Turn! · 1965
- Mr. Tambourine Man · 1965
- Mr. Tambourine Man · 1965
- Younger Than Yesterday · 1967
- Fifth Dimension (Bonus Track Version) · 1966
- Mr. Tambourine Man · 1965
- Forrest Gump (The Soundtrack) · 1965
- The Notorious Byrd Brothers · 1968
- Mr. Tambourine Man · 1965
- Mr. Tambourine Man · 1965
- Sweetheart of the Rodeo (Legacy Edition) · 1968
- Greatest Hits · 1967
- The Byrds · 1966
Essential Albums
- In 1968, Gram Parsons blew through The Byrds like a hickory wind, resulting in this country-rock touchstone. They adopted The Louvin Brothers’ God-fearing sentiments and country-gospel leanings on “The Christian Life” and fitted out Bob Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” with a crisp canter and whirring organ. Parsons provided a couple of gems with hay in their hair—the gentle cluck and twang of “One Hundred Years from Now” and “Hickory Wind,” where the pedal steel, the harmonies, and everything else sigh in plaintive waltz-time.
- The Byrds started recording this 1968 album with four members and ended up with two, but the internal turmoil isn’t reflected in the harmonious songs and adventurous spirit. While there’s a golden glow to the nostalgic reverie of “Goin’ Back” and country picking of “You Ain’t Going Nowhere,” the group also push boundaries: “Artificial Energy” soundtracks a drug trip with blaring horns and phased guitars. And on the anti-conscription song “Draft Morning,” tinkling instrumentation and gentle vocals run into careening brass and gunfire sound effects.
- If Fifth Dimension is The Byrds' Revolver, then the follow-up, Younger Than Yesterday, is their Sgt. Pepper. While songs like "Eight Miles High" were the band's entry point into psychedelia, YTY is a full-blown head trip. C.T.A.-102 is a tune about alien life, replete with spacy electronic effects. Backward tapes add a disorienting feel to the dreamy "Thoughts and Words" and the Eastern-influenced "Mind Gardens," and trippy lyrics abound throughout the album. But tracks like the country-rocker "Time Between" and the harmony-heavy Dylan cover "My Back Pages" keep the band in touch with their rootsy side.
- Working quickly after the success of “Mr. Tambourine Man” and their debut album, The Byrds confirmed their place in the new folk-rock vanguard with an equally confident follow-up. Adapted from Pete Seeger’s own adaptation of the Book of Ecclesiastes, “Turn! Turn! Turn!” provided a hopeful salve for listeners in troubled times. Two more Bob Dylan covers and originals like Gene Clark’s stately “If You’re Gone” saw The Byrds refine their signature mix of jangle and harmony while also providing a preview of country rock.
- By adding rock electricity to four Bob Dylan covers, The Byrds created a jangly new pop hybrid on their innovative 1965 debut album. Gene Clark's five bittersweet originals balance Dylan's poetics with dolorous Beatles-influenced tunes like "I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better" and the winning bonus track "She Has a Way." The Byrds' distinctive harmonies and Roger McGuinn's electric 12-string guitar generate a signature sound that has influenced everyone from Dylan himself to R.E.M.
- 1971
Artist Playlists
- Meet the founding fathers of folk-rock and country-rock.
- You'll find it's stranger than known.
- Jangly hits that turned on a generation.
- Building on the band's jangling guitars and soaring harmonies.
- Showcasing their serious songwriting chops.
- 1998
About The Byrds
The Byrds were the first important American band of the psychedelic era, integrating stateside folk and country traditions into rock’s rapidly expanding vocabulary. Formed in 1964 by Los Angeles-based singer-songwriters Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, and Gene Clark, the group typified the West Coast musical aesthetic of the time with bright, interlocking guitar lines, sumptuous vocal harmonies, and impressionistic lyrics. Their commercial apex came with their first single, a 1965 take on Bob Dylan’s song “Mr. Tambourine Man” that helped to broaden Dylan’s impact beyond folk circles. Mirroring the Fab Four abroad, Crosby and McGuinn experimented with Eastern musical styles, group improvisation, and state-of-the-art electronics on their trailblazing albums of 1966 through 1968. After Crosby’s departure from the band, McGuinn recruited aspiring singer-songwriter Gram Parsons for 1968’s Sweetheart of the Rodeo, a watershed classic of the country-rock genre. Parsons exited soon afterward, but the McGuinn-led group retained a sound steeped in roots music, drawing in ringer session guitarist and bluegrass specialist Clarence White as a full-time member until the band’s dissolution in 1973.
- ORIGIN
- Los Angeles, CA, United States
- FORMED
- 1964
- GENRE
- Rock