The Byrds Dylan Connection by Timeless Flyte-A Tribute To The Byrds

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What if the Byrds had never existed?

How would the course of popular music have unfolded had Kansas country boy Gene Clark, fleeing the narrow confines of the New Christy Minstrels’ homogenized folk-pop in early 1964, not chanced upon another ex-folk acolyte, Chicago-born Jim (Roger) McGuinn formerly with the Limeliters and Bobby Darin, at the Troubadour?

And if yet another folk music refugee, LA brat David Crosby, had not chipped in a harmony part to their Peter & Gordon-style duo? Or die hard bluegrass aficionado Chris Hillman had remained with The Hillmen, content to peel off rapid fire mandolin solos; or if Michael Clarke had not been walking down that street or that beach (depending on who’s telling the story) and not been spotted by Crosby?

How would the music world, both then and now, have suffered from the absence of this seminal California group?

While a handful of folkies had already begun testing the uncharted electric folk waters once the Beatles hit these shores, it was the Byrds who defined the signature sound universally identified as folk-rock – that chiming jingle-jangle Rickenbacker electric 12-string and rich harmonic blend. They were the avatars of a new style, direction and substance, popularizing a wholly original genre of rock music for the plethora of artists who followed in their wake. Their sterling electric Don’t Worry Baby-inspired rendition of Dylan’s rambling folk chestnut Mr. Tambourine Man gave courage to its creator to dive headfirst into the uncharted folk-rock waters himself.

With Mr. Tambourine Man and Turn! Turn! Turn! The Byrds shifted rock ‘n’ roll away from pedestrian boy-girl, cars, surfing and beach bunny themes giving it a truly literary sensibility, a marriage of poetry to a British Invasion beat. Theirs was the new sound of California, steeped in folk roots pumped through Fender Dual Showmans to gyrating patrons at Ciro’s on the Sunset Strip. In doing so they influenced the kingpins themselves, The Beatles, who were unabashed Byrds fans (just listen to If I Needed Someone).

Virtually every recording artist since (not just those who wear their Byrds influences on their sleeves like REM, the Stone Roses and Tom Petty) owes a debt of gratitude to the Byrds for turning rock ‘n’ roll into a true art form. “I remember a promotion guy asking me for the lyrics to Mr. Tambourine Man so he could give it to a disc jockey in San Francisco,” recalls CBS promo man Billy James. “It was poetry, it wasn’t She’s So Fine.”

Not content to rest on these extraordinary accomplishments, the Byrds turned folk-rock on its ear in 1966 with Eight Miles High, an aural assault on the senses like nothing heard or conceived before or since. This was music without context, without borders, and, like a year earlier with folk-rock, without a name or label. Boldly integrating John Coltrane freeform jazz with Ravi Shankar’s hypnotic Indian ragas in the fluid guitar lines of McGuinn’s Rickenbacker, once again it was the Byrds pointing the way to what would be known variously as raga-rock, acid-rock, and ultimately psychedelia a full year before all those San Francisco groups became synonymous with that epithet. “The guitar break was obviously a tribute to John Coltrane,” McGuinn acknowledges. “That’s one of my favorite guitar things I’ve done.”

Even before the psychedelic wave crested, it was the Byrds again at the forefront bringing it all back home to a simpler roots-based American music, daring to bridge the deep cultural divide that separated rock music and country music by embracing both Nashville and Bakersfield on an album that marks ground zero for country-rock and later alt.country and Americana: 1968’s landmark Sweetheart of The Rodeo. While others were content to wet their feet in country music, dabbling in its familiar textures, the Byrds dove in all the way.

With Sweetheart of The Rodeo and the albums that followed it, the Byrds became the first top echelon group to wholly embrace and legitimize country music making it hip for the hippies and leading the way for all the SoCal A&M/Asylum Records stable to follow. “It all begins with the Byrds,” asserts Hillman on the roots of country-rock, “and I will argue that point with anybody. We took the ball downfield and the Eagles took it into the end zone for ten touchdowns.”

This time though it wasn’t McGuinn’s Rickenbacker but newcomer Gram Parsons’ heart-on-his-sleeve voice and Clarence White’s distinctive stringbender twang defining an entirely fresh, innovative sound that propelled the group through several albums. Today’s crop of country music artists weren’t weaned on Hank, Lefty and Buck but on the Byrds and their many offshoots, and through them connected the dots back to their traditional roots.

So where would popular music be today without the Byrds? Folk-rock? Acid-rock? Psychedelic-rock? Country-rock? Alt. country? And all those inspired and influenced by their music, including the artists on this tribute? Enough said.

And what of the Byrds’ offspring? Without their success as his springboard Crosby might never have hooked up with Stills & Nash (and sometimes Young – and maybe no Stills and Young either as the Buffalo Springfield got their earliest breaks via the patronage of the Byrds). Master of the minor key melancholy ballad, Gene Clark would never have teamed up with Douglas Dillard in their trailblazing Expedition, nor duet with Carla Olson on their seminal ‘80s roots album. ‘New Country’ would not have been transformed by Chris Hillman’s hit making Desert Rose Band. Country-rock’s own ill-starred Hank Williams, Gram Parsons might have continued to toil in the woefully neglected International Submarine Band. Nor would he and Hillman have hitched their wagons as revered country-rock renegades the Flying Burrito Brothers. Clarence White may have remained a respected yet largely anonymous session player; not to mention Firefall, McGuinn, Clark & Hillman, CPR, Thunderbyrd, Firebyrd and on and on.

The Byrds’ body of work remains both influential and essential, not preserved in amber or trapped in some nostalgia time warp, as vital today as it was some 40 years ago. Their music continues to resonate across generations, eras, timelines, and cultures. “That music is greater than any of us,” notes latter day Byrd John York on the band’s legacy, “because when we’re all gone people will still be playing Turn! Turn! Turn!”

“The thing that [manager] Jim Dickson drilled into our heads,” offers Hillman, musing on the enduring impact of the Byrds, “was, ‘Go for substance. Go for depth in your material.’ And he was absolutely right. He used to tell us, ‘Do something you’re going to be proud of in ten years.’ That’s a very important concept to instill in nineteen or twenty year old kids.”

McGuinn concurs. “I’m very proud of our work together. Like Dickson said we did work that not only stands up ten years later but forty years later.”

John Einarson is author of “Mr. Tambourine Man: The Life and Legacy of The Byrds’ Gene Clark” (Backbeat Books, 2005)

SOME LINER NOTES ON THE SONGS AND ARTISTS ON "THE BYRDS DYLAN CONNECTION""

ERIC SORENSEN, noted "jangle" rock journalist and Project Manager for this disc offers a track by track commentary for this Second Volume of TIMELESS FLYTE- A Tribute To The Byrds (The Byrds Dylan Connection):

“Mr. Tambourine Man” – Les Fradkin. RRO Entertainment label guru and Boomer Musician Extraordinaire Les Fradkin nails this version of the song that launched the Byrds’ into rock stardom. His version is so dead-on that it’s almost as if Les snuck into the Columbia studios in 1965 and he listened while the original Byrds toiled through the numerous studio takes of this song. Les’ version sets a very high standard for whoever records this song next! After hearing this song, pop/rock fans should stop referring to Les as the guy who played George Harrison in “Beatlemania!” Les has developed his own “signature” Rickenbacker 12-string sound, and he has few peers when it comes to recording Boomer music.

“All I Really Want To Do” – Walter Egan. What a great combination – a Dylan tune that charted twice as a Top Forty hit for both the Byrds and Sonny and Cher, and Walter Egan’s pop/rock tunefulness. Whether or not you were already a Walter Egan fan, you will certainly wish that Walter was recording more music more often after you hear his excellent version of this song!

"The Times They Are A Changin'" - Les Fradkin. Les Fradkin pulls out all the stops on his sonic production sound on this track - giving this Dylan tune an updated pop orchestral vibe, while still featuring Byrds-like harmonies in the chorus.

“Chimes Of Freedom” – Bill Lloyd. Veteran pop musician Bill Lloyd gives his usual exceptional treatment to a classic song about suffering, hope and freedom. Over forty years after it was written, this song remains a timeless anthem that reminds us of the plight of the oppressed.

“My Back Pages” – Jeffrey Foskett. A veteran of the touring Beach Boys lineup and now a member of the Brian Wilson Band, Jeffrey Foskett has a distinctive Southern California sound … and a penchant for sweet vocal harmony, which Jeffrey credits to mentor Carl Wilson. Foskett applies his signature sound to “My Back Pages,” and the vocals even remind me a bit of Marshall Crenshaw’s version of this song from the Bleecker Street compilation of several years ago.

"Lay Down Your Weary Tune" - JangleBox. The JangleBox pedal is a wonderful invention that gives any six-string electric guitar that chiming 60s sound that was popularized by the Byrds. A number of the artists featured on this compilation (including Executive Producer Les Fradkin) use a JangleBox for their studio recordings and live shows. JangleBox inventor Steve Lasko and his wife, Elizabeth, turn in a fine rendition of this under-heralded song from the Byrds first album.

“You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” – the Kennedys. When they were ready to submit this track, Pete and Maura Kennedy jokingly referred to their treatment of this Dylan tune as a rap, hip-hop version. It is neither, and they give this country-folk-rock gem a warm, contemporary interpretation. Pete and Maura both grew up with a fondness for folk-rock, and Dylan and Byrds songs (“Chimes Of Freedom,” “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “Eight Miles High,” “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better,” “Here Without You”) are staples in the Kennedys’ live shows. While their albums showcase their studio skills, their live shows best demonstrate their vocal and instrumental talents, their enthusiasm for entertaining … and their passion for the topic matter they sing about.

“Nothing Was Delivered” – Suzy Connolly’s solo vocalization of the powerful emotions in this song is quite impressive. Her track also benefits from the musicianship and production skills of our Australian project recruiter, Michael Carpenter!

“Wheels On Fire” – Last Train Home with Alice Despard. Last Train Home frontman Eric Brace and Alice Despard have performed and recorded together on and off over a two decade period. “Wheels On Fire” is one of several Dylan songs that the pair have performed together in the past, so this was a natural choice for the alt-country band and the D.C. area songstress.

"Just Like A Woman" - Les Fradkin. Les tones down some of his sonic qualities on this track - showcasing his piano work and Dylanesque vocal style on this ballad. However, when the listener gets to the chorus, that Fradkin "sonic pop" sound returns with a flourish!

“It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” – Alice Stuart and The Formerlys.

This stripped-down acoustic version harkens back to the era of Bleecker Street coffeehouses and struggling singer/songwriters. Alice’s voice gives this Dylan tune a haunting quality that reminds me of when folk-rock was in its infancy.

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