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The Byrds

The Byrds (/bɜːrdz/) were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964.[1] 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.[2] 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 considered by critics to be among the most influential rock acts of their era.[1][3][4] Their signature blend of clear harmony singing and McGuinn's jangly 12-string Rickenbacker guitar was "absorbed into the vocabulary of rock" and has continued to be influential.[1][5]

Not to be confused with The Birds (band).

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!"[6][7][8][9] 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).[1][10][11] The band also played a pioneering role in the development of country rock,[1] with the 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo representing their fullest immersion into the genre.[12]


The original five-piece lineup of the band consisted of McGuinn (lead guitar, vocals), Gene Clark (tambourine, vocals), David Crosby (rhythm guitar, vocals), Chris Hillman (bass guitar, vocals), and Michael Clarke (drums).[13] This version of the band was relatively short-lived and by early 1966 Clark had left due to problems associated with anxiety and his increasing isolation within the group.[14] The Byrds continued as a quartet until late 1967, when Crosby and Clarke also departed.[15] McGuinn and Hillman decided to recruit new members, including country rock pioneer Gram Parsons, but by late 1968, Hillman and Parsons had also exited the band.[1] McGuinn elected to rebuild the band's membership; between 1968 and 1973, he helmed a new incarnation of the Byrds that featured guitarist Clarence White, among others.[1] McGuinn disbanded that version of the band in early 1973 to make way for a reunion of the original quintet.[16] The Byrds' final album was released in March 1973, with the reunited group disbanding later that year.[17]


Several former members of the Byrds went on to successful careers of their own, either as solo artists or as members of such groups as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, the Flying Burrito Brothers, McGuinn, Clark & Hillman, and the Desert Rose Band.[1] In 1991, the Byrds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an occasion that saw the five original members performing together for the last time.[18][19] Gene Clark died of a heart attack later that year, while Michael Clarke died of liver failure in 1993.[20][21] Crosby died in 2023.[22] McGuinn and Hillman remain active.

– lead guitar, banjo, Moog synthesizer, vocals (1964–1973, 1989–1991, 2000)

Roger McGuinn

tambourine, rhythm guitar, harmonica, vocals (1964–1966, 1967, 1972–1973, 1991; died 1991)

Gene Clark

– rhythm guitar, vocals (1964–1967, 1972–1973, 1989–1991, 2000; died 2023)

David Crosby

– drums (1964–1967, 1972–1973, 1991; died 1993)

Michael Clarke

– bass guitar, rhythm guitar, mandolin, vocals (1964–1968, 1972–1973, 1989–1991, 2000)

Chris Hillman

Original members


Subsequent members


Membership timeline (1964–1973)

(1965)

Mr. Tambourine Man

(1965)

Turn! Turn! Turn!

(1966)

Fifth Dimension

(1967)

Younger Than Yesterday

(1968)

The Notorious Byrd Brothers

(1968)

Sweetheart of the Rodeo

(1969)

Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde

(1969)

Ballad of Easy Rider

(1970)

(Untitled)

(1971)

Byrdmaniax

(1971)

Farther Along

(1973)

Byrds

Rogan, Johnny, Byrds: Requiem for the Timeless, Volume 1, Rogan House, 2011,  0-9529540-8-7.

ISBN

Hjort, Christopher, So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star: The Byrds Day-By-Day (1965–1973), Jawbone Press, 2008,  1-906002-15-0.

ISBN

Menck, Ric, The Notorious Byrd Brothers (33⅓ series), Continuum Books, 2007,  0-8264-1717-5.

ISBN

Einarson, John, Mr. Tambourine Man: The Life and Legacy of the Byrds' Gene Clark, Backbeat Books, 2005,  0-87930-793-5.

ISBN

Unterberger, Richie, Turn! Turn! Turn!: The '60s Folk-Rock Revolution, Backbeat Books, 2002,  0-87930-703-X.

ISBN

Unterberger, Richie, Eight Miles High: Folk-Rock's Flight from Haight-Ashbury to Woodstock, Backbeat Books, 2003,  0-87930-743-9.

ISBN

Rogan, Johnny, The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited, Rogan House, 1998,  0-9529540-1-X.

ISBN

Scoppa, Bud, The Byrds, Scholastic Book Services, 1971.

The Byrds' Fan Site

Archived May 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine

Roger McGuinn's Official Byrds Homepage

The Byrds biography at Rollingstone.com

interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)

The Byrds

at IMDb

The Byrds