Harvey
Kubernik tells us about a brand new coffee table book coming out on The Byrds … BY The Byrds!!!
BMG has just announced The
Byrds: 1964 - 1967, a new large-format 400-page collectible art book
curated by the band’s three surviving founding members, and available in three
versions, including a Super Deluxe Limited Edition signed by Roger McGuinn,
Chris Hillman, and David Crosby.
It’s the definitive
visual history of the group and features rare and never-seen photos, and is
available in numbered and hand-signed limited editions.
The Byrds: 1964 - 1967 is available
at www.byrdsbook.com
(Oh
man, Wild Bill Cody would have gone CRAZY for this book!!!) kk
When the Byrds released
“Mr. Tambourine Man” on Columbia Records in 1965, they introduced Bob Dylan’s
songs to a new audience and launched a career that would see them grow to
become one of the most influential rock bands of all time and inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
photo by Jim Dickson (courtesy of the Henry Diltz Archives and Gary Strobl)
With their unmistakable
harmonies and Roger McGuinn’s innovative 12-string Rickenbacker guitar work,
the Byrds never stopped experimenting. They incorporated folk, country, jazz
and world beat influences into a fresh blend that helped define an era. “And
not to be too shallow,” Tom Petty once wrote, “but they also were just the
best-dressed band around. They had those great clothes and hairdos.”
The band’s three
surviving founding members — Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman, and David Crosby —
have come together to present The Byrds: 1964 - 1967, a large
format tabletop book that offers a unique visual history of their group with
vocalist / songwriter Gene Clark and drummer Michael Clarke.
Featuring more than 500
images from legendary photographers such as Henry Diltz, Jim Dickson, Barry
Feinstein, Curt Gunther, Jim Marshall, and Linda McCartney, the book also
includes restored images from the Columbia Records archives and the personal
archives from the band’s original manager, Jim Dickson.
Gary Strobl, archivist
and Diltz librarian, cleaned and scanned 180 images culled from original
negatives snapped by Diltz, and Dixon.
A dozen of the pictures
of the Byrds were first displayed in my 2009 book, Canyon of Dreams The
Magic and the Music of Laurel Canyon.
The Byrds: 1964 - 1967 is accompanied by a
running commentary featuring McGuinn, Hillman, and Crosby’s memories of the
group, the era, and their late compatriots Gene Clark and Michael Clarke, this
crafted volume is a groovy collector’s item for Byrds fans and anyone who digs
photography books spotlighting the pop culture of the 1960s.
“I loved being in the
Byrds,” volunteers Chris Hillman. “I absolutely loved it. And as crazy as we
all were at times, when we were on our game, we soared, we flew high and
mighty. I think we all shared a private belief and a strong faith that this was
going to work. And it worked so well.”
Adds Roger McGuinn:
“Being in the Byrds was a detour to my dream of being a folk singer. It was a
very special detour, and one I will always hold close to my heart.”
According to the BMG
news release, The Byrds: 1964 - 1967, is available in four
editions. Each is an oversized 10.5 x 13 inch large-format presentation with more
than 500 photographs across 400 pages. Printed in Italy on 200 gsm premium art
paper, all versions feature quality thread-sewn binding and a luxurious
quarter-bound casing. The standard edition retails for $125 and is limited to
only 3000 copies worldwide. Other options include:
Deluxe Edition
* Hand signed by Roger
McGuinn and Chris Hillman
* Comes in a custom
matching slipcase
* Limited to only 1600
copies worldwide
* Retail price of $350
Super Deluxe Edition
* Hand signed by Roger
McGuinn, Chris Hillman, and David Crosby
* Comes in a custom
clamshell case
* Features gold gilded
edges
* Limited to only 800
copies worldwide
* Retail price of $475
Super Deluxe Edition
with Fine Art Print
* Hand signed by Roger
McGuinn, Chris Hillman, and David Crosby
* Comes in a custom
clamshell case
* Features gold gilded
edges
* Limited to only 75
copies worldwide
* Retail price of $1700
* Includes a choice of
one of three exclusive 11 x 14 inch limited edition fine art prints (Roger
McGuinn photographed by Henry Diltz in 1967, Chris Hillman photographed by
Barry Feinstein in 1965, or David Crosby photographed by Jim Marshall in 1965).
The Byrds and Bob Dylan at Ciro's in Hollywood
Photo by Jim Dickson (courtesy of the Henry Diltz Archives and Gary Strobl)
This century I’ve
interviewed Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman and David Crosby. My first interview
with Roger was in 1974 for the now defunct Sounds magazine. Chris and I spoke a few times over the last
couple of decades. My brief Crosby interview was in 2021.
I remember when the
Byrds played Hollywood High School and Fairfax High School in 1965. They used
to have these $2.50 school assemblies. During ’65, I saw the Byrds taping an
episode of Shindig! at ABC-TV studios on Prospect Ave. in
Hollywood.
I followed the band from
1965 - 1975. I recall a May, 1968, benefit concert that the McGuinn and Hillman
helmed Byrds did for Robert F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign at the Los
Angeles Sports Arena. Professional football player Roosevelt Grier was
involved. Sonny & Cher were there along with Mahalia Jackson.
One marvelous Byrds’ gig
was in 1970 at the Ash Grove club in West Hollywood when guitarist Clarence
White was in the outfit. In 1988, I
worked on the benefit concert for the New Ash Grove at the Wiltern Theater in
Los Angeles where all five original members of the Byrds appeared.
The Byrds at the Hollywood Palladium (courtesy of Rodney Bingenheimer)
Harvey Kubernik and Roger McGuinn Interview:
Q: Your 12-string
Rickenbacker guitar sound integrated into the Byrds’ music since 1964 is
acknowledged as one of the most influential guitar roles in recorded rock ‘n’
roll history, alongside other pioneers like Chuck Berry and Jimi Hendrix. How
did this guitar enter your life?
A: I still use it. But it
wasn’t part of my arsenal back in the folk days ‘cause it hadn’t been invented
yet. F.C. Hall came up with the idea in the early Sixties, and I asked him,
‘Why did he do it?” And he said ‘For folk music.’ He didn’t realize that no
self-respecting folk singer would be caught dead with an electric guitar at
that time. So, he created the genre by creating an instrument by
misunderstanding the folk mentality since they didn’t like electric guitars, in
fact they hated them. And so he made this folk electric guitar which was perfect
for what I was doing. I did apply my banjo rolling techniques to the
Rickenbacker when I got it. I changed my whole picking style. I used to use a
thumb pick and two finger picks.
In
the Byrds I had to play lead lines with a flat pick so I started combining the
two styles by having a flat pick between my thumb and fore fingers and moving
the finger picks down one to middle and ring finger and then doing those banjo
rolls like that. That’s how I did my arpeggios in the Byrds like ‘Turn Turn
Turn,’ the jingle jangle sound. In the Byrds we used a lot of electronic
compression on the Rickenbacker and it gave it a sustain that it didn’t have as
a natural instrument. That was a really important thing.
Q: The Columbia studio had
staff engineers. I know you recorded with Ray Gerhard.
A: A funny, ironic story about how that came
about, Ray Gerhard was the engineer at Columbia Records when the Byrds started
recording. And at the time Columbia was a middle of the road record label, and
they were scared of rock ‘n’ roll. So, Ray, to protect his precious equipment
would put limiters on everything, compression, and double compress it for the
Rickenbacker, and that is what gave it the wonderful sound. When I heard the
sound for the first time, I could not believe we had done it. It knocked me
out. At the time I was on the band track with the ‘Wrecking Crew’ guys, and
that was fun, and we did the vocals, and it was all different parts. But when
it all came together on the playback it was bigger than the sum of its parts. I
couldn’t believe we had done it. It sounded so creamy, rich, big and full.
Well,
I did engineer my vocal, but it wasn’t to match the Rickenbacker but to get
between John Lennon and Bob Dylan’s vocal. I wanted to try and hit that niche
there between the two of them. With the Byrds we over dubbed with the
Rickenbacker, like the lead break on “Eight Miles High” and “Turn! Turn! Turn!”
They were not done with the band track. We just did a rhythm track and I would
go in and do the leads until I got it right.
Q: The Byrds’ unique vocal
blend?
A: We sang together well.
I give the credit to Crosby. He was brilliant at devising these harmony parts
that were not strict third, fourth or fifth improvisational combination of the
three. That’s what makes the Byrds’ harmonies. Most people think it’s
three-part harmony, and its two-part harmony. Very seldom was there a third
part on our harmonies.
Q: “My Back Pages,” the
Byrds’ cover song from Bob Dylan heard on Younger Than Yesterday, was
recorded in the first week of December in 1966, and garnered a lot of radio
airplay in the Summer of Love in 1967. Why did you get to record it? You had
done many Dylan songs in your repertoire.
A: I was driving my
Porsche up La Cienega, and got around to Sunset, and Jim Dickson, our former
producer and manager, he had been fired by the Byrds, shortly before that, he
still liked us, or some of us, and he pulled up in his Porsche, and signaled
for me to roll my window down. “Hey Jim. You ought to record Dylan’s “My Back
Pages.” I said, “OK. Thanks.” The light changed, I drove back up into Laurel
Canyon, and pulled out the Dylan album that had “My Back Pages” and learned it.
I
then took it to the studio and showed it to the guys. And Crosby hated it
because he was mostly upset because he wasn’t getting his own songs on the
album, and the reason why he left the band. There was a riff in the band, and
he wasn’t getting as many as some of us. So anyway, I liked “My Back Pages” and
don’t remember any resistance from anybody else in the band. Just David. And he
was just mad because he wasn’t getting his songs. And it was a hit and a good
tune. I’m really happy with it.
It
was Dickson’s suggestion and I hadn’t thought of it as a song for the Byrds
repertoire. I liked the wisdom of the song and it’s a very insightful song on
the thing that happens when you think you’re so knowledgeable and wise when you
are real young. And then when you get a little older you realize what you
didn’t know.
Dylan’s
stuff is brilliant. I coined the term that he was the “Shakespeare of Our
Time.” It was like knowing Shakespeare here. Dylan was carrying on Kerouac and
Ginsberg. The baton had been passed. I remember Ginsberg said I think we’re in
good hands. We did “Chimes of Freedom” at Monterey Pop. I loved the imagery.
You can’t pin it down as a peace song, or whatever, but it’s got overtones of
that. It’s brilliant. I just identified with it and could relate to it.
Q: I caught the Byrds
performing Dylan’s “All I Really Want to Do” at a Shindig! taping.
A: I love “All I Really
Want to Do.” It’s kind of a simple little love song, you know, but it’s got a
really sarcastic whimsical attitude. He doesn’t want to be hassled. He just
wants to be friends. We changed the arrangement from the 3/4 time to a 4/4
time. We became his “unofficial, official” band for his stuff. I remember when
Sonny & Cher got the hit with “All I Really Want to Do,” Dylan went, “On
man, you let me down…” Normally, a writer would be happy to get a hit with his
own songs. Who cares who did it? He was on our side.
Q: I really dug the
colored sunglasses you wore on Shindig!
A: I saw John Sebastian in Greenwich Village
and I said, ‘Wow. Cool shades.’ And, he said, “Yeah!” Somebody from Jim
Kweskin’s Jug Band had just given it to him. John said, “Here, try them on.
Look up at the streetlight and move your head back and forth. It’s really
groovy, man.” I tried them on. I was nearsighted.
Later,
in Hollywood I went to a clothing shop on Sunset Strip, De Voss, and got these
little wire frames and took them to the eye doctor and had him put in cobalt
blue rectangular lenses.
TV
producer Jack Good saw me, and said “Wow. What a great gimmick. Everybody needs
a gimmick. You gotta wear those all the time. Day and night.” I had been taking
them off, like to do TV, or whatever. Just wearing them around. He encouraged
me to wear them for everything. Onstage and offstage. So, I did. And it worked,
and it became a bit of a fashion style.
Q: Tell me about record
producer Gary Usher.
A: There were only a few
producers around at that time. Like Phil Spector and the Brill Building people
on the West Coast, along with the Beach Boys and the Wrecking Crew. Gary was
amazing when he was doing this. He was a 'tech head' for the time. Very
innovative. We had done this phase-shifting he had done with two tape machines.
And he took that idea, which was moving the machines closer together, after
recording them spread out, and then one would phase shift, and move them and
make a 16 track out of them. I was loving it. He was great. Gary and I were
kindred spirits and very creative. Gary was the shining light in that whole
thing.
The Byrds, 1965 Advertisement (courtesy of Gary Strobl)
Harvey Kubernik and Chris Hillman Interview:
Q:
I want
to ask about the longevity of the Byrds’ catalogue.
A: The sixties were wonderful. What does hold
up from that era were melody and lyric. In the Byrds, our manager Jim Dickson
drilled into our heads, the greatest advice we ever got, and he said, ‘Go for
substance in the songs and go for depth. You want to make records you can
listen to in forty years. That you will be proud to listen to.’ He was right.
I
think that’s as big part of it and it was real and so honest. Of course, I’m
preaching to the choir and telling you things you already know. But the record
companies were run by music people. People who loved music. It was not a
corporate monster. And they’d sign you and you’d be on the label for three or
four albums, you know.
What
holds up that era were melodies. When you heard a new song on the radio the
melody will catch you right away. You might hear a couple of lyrics then when
you hear the lyrics if they’re strong and really saying something, yes, we do
have songs that are sort of very catchy songs, but didn’t last long, like a
fast food meal. It was good when you ate it but wasn’t good later. That was it.
The Beach Boys. Melody, melody, melody. Even though ‘Help Me, Rhonda’ lyrics
fit the melody. It worked. It swung. That era… Of course, I’m preaching to the
choir and telling you things you already know. The sixties were wonderful.
But there was also that period from 1959 to the Beatles in late 1963, that was a dead period. That was when folk music was just jumpin’ on its hind legs there. And so, who comes out of folk music? The Byrds, John Sebastian and the Lovin’ Spoonful, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay, the Mamas and the Papas. Four bands that were really successful with hits on the radio. Came out of folk music.
And, of course, we were all emulating the Beatles to some degree at first. The Byrds certainly were. And then, I mean, my God, when I joined the Byrds they were still doing Beatlesque songs that Gene was writing. But then we got into doing other material. But interestingly enough, out of that folk era, and I’m the guy coming out of the real traditional bluegrass, the other guys are coming out of the New Christy Minstrels.
But those four bands took it and incorporated it and were successful but took it and incorporated it. And I think a lot had to do with the folk music emphasis on lyric. On a story. On that whole thing. And, the Beatles, when they became aware of Dylan and to some degree, listened to us a little bit, but they started to write deeper songs
Q: Lots of photos exist of
the Byrds. Visual documentation was important.
A: Before I was even in
the Byrds, the first record I ever did was with the Scottsville Squirrel
Barkers and we did the entire album in four hours. It was a good band. We went
out to Griffith Park in Hollywood. Here we are lined up in a color photo shoot
appropriate for our age. It still sells and is print from Ace Records.
When
the Byrds came along we did one of our very first publicity black and white
shots and we’re in suits. I remember us doing that photo in the daytime and it
might have been at Shelley’s Manne-Hole club in Hollywood. And there was an
older guy who was at that session doing photos. It was so early it might not
have been an (official) Columbia publicity photo.
Q: The Columbia recording
studio. I loved that place, knowing the history going back to radio broadcasts
with Fred Allen and Jack Benny.
A: I remember that
Columbia was a union room. The engineers had shirts and ties on. Mandatory
breaks every three hours. Record producer Terry Melcher was a good guy. I
didn’t really get to know him. I was shy. Columbia was comfortable to record in
there. Terry was good. I liked him. I will say this, and on the Byrds albums I
was not mixed back. Sometimes it worked. And I do have to say all five of us
were learning how to play. Once again, coming out of the folk thing and
plugging in. And we were all learning. Roger was the most seasoned musician,
and we all sort of worked off of Roger. He had impeccable great sense of time.
His style and that minimalist thing of playing that was so good. He played the
melody. Our first album cover was shot by photographer Barry Feinstein, who was
an old friend of Jim Dickson who was our manager.
I
know the time period when the only delivery method was an album with LP cover
art. The album cover meant a lot then. Jim Marshall was in San Francisco as was
Guy Webster in Southern California shooting, and then (Henry) Diltz came along
just a bit after and was the next generation. Guy was very good at his job.
And, of course, my time with him then I was so shy. I barely said four words
within an hour in the early days of the Byrds. He did a great job.
One
thing I’ve said before, melody and lyrics, and what our manager Jim Dickson
drilled into our heads, the greatest advice we ever got, and he said, ‘Go for
substance in the songs and go for depth. You want to make records you can listen
to in forty years that you will be proud to listen to.’ He was right.
The
Byrds do Dylan. It was a natural fit after “Mr. Tambourine Man” was successful.
Roger (then Jim) almost found his voice through Bob Dylan in a way. Literally a
voice through Bob Dylan in a sense. And then we start doing some Dylan stuff.
“Chimes of Freedom.” Great song. “All I Really Want to Do.”
We
did the Byrds’ Turn! Turn! Turn!
cover at Guy’s studio at his parents’ house in Beverly Hills. Terry Melcher at
Columbia knew Guy, and they had done some work previously. That’s where I first
really met Guy Webster.
There
we are. (David) Crosby is in his cape. McGuinn has got the glasses on, and the
ever so fashionable hounds tooth sport coat. And then Gene (Clark) and Michael
(Clarke) and I have our perfectly coiffed Beatle hair. It’s all in blue. Guy’s
father was a very famous songwriter. I knew that.
That
LP cover and the music on Turn! Turn!
Turn! was the breakthrough. The breakthrough record was ‘Mr. Tambourine
Man,’ but the breakthrough album was that. “Turn! Turn! Turn!” is the most
recognizable Byrds’ song way over “Mr Tambourine Man,” with all due respect.
That’s the Byrds’ song people always remember. It was the LP cover I
autographed the most.
Q: You really blossomed on
Younger Than Yesterday.
A: I started really writing songs after Crosby and I were on a Hugh
Masekela session that Hugh was doing with these South African musicians way
ahead of Paul Simon and one of them was a piano player named Cecil Bernard was
very inspirational. And, a gal, Letta Umbulu. A wonderful singer. All the
musicians were South African with the exception of Big Black. I played bass on
a demo session. And David was a good rhythm guitarist.
I
went home and wrote “Time Between” and “Have You Seen Her Face” influenced by a
blind date Crosby had set me up with along with other young ladies. There was
something that connected with me and that was where I came out of my shell with
that session. I came home and wrote songs that entire week after that session.
And Hugh we were working with Letta Mabulu, so some of that carried over to the
Monterey International Pop Festival.
Q: The Byrds and Hugh
Masekela played together at the 1967 Monterey festival.
A: Hugh Masekela at
Monterey was one of the highlights, and earlier recording with him was one of
the highlights of my life. At Monterey we did Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom.” I
didn’t realize how beautiful that lyric was until years later. And Jim Dickson,
and you gotta give ol’ Jim credit, he instilled in us the concept of depth and
substance.
He
said, “Do you think you’re gonna be able to listen to this 20 years later?”
And, here we are yelping about “Mr. Tambourine Man” when he brought it to us.
“Chimes of Freedom” and the reading, the version we did on that first album was
the band. We all knew it. And “Chimes of Freedom” is a killer. It’s just one of
Dylan’s beautiful songs and he was just peaking then.
The Byrds at Monterey (Jim McGuinn and Chris Hillman)
Photo by Henry Diltz (courtesy of Gary Strobl)
At
Monterey we played “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star.” It wasn’t personal
against the Monkees, it was against the process how contrived it was as a
takeoff on A Hard Day’s Night.
Nothing against those guys. Michael Nesmith was a damn good musician. Good
writer and good singer. And the rest of those guys could handle their chores.
Davy Jones was a song and dance guy.
The
idea and base line of the song came from playing with Hugh, and when I called
Roger, ‘I got a song.’ And he put the bridge there. And the bridge was really
from a Miriam Makeba song and he had history with her. Gene Clark has left. David
was going nuts and Roger and I were sorta bonding together as I came out of my
shell and learning how to write and sing. We got some good things out of it.
At
Monterey we did a repertoire that was currently involved in what we were
recording and other songs. Gene Clark had just left and had so many good songs
that lent themselves to the Byrds’ concept sound that when he was gone, we
continued to do those songs.
My
theory is like the Rolling Stones, when Bill Wyman left that band. they never
sounded the same to me. We recovered and did a lot of great things after Gene
left, but he was a very integral part of the original five people. Roger was a
great collaborator. He could write songs with myself, Gene, and David. “Old
John Robertson” was a silent movie film director.
I
was coherent, and relations with David were so strained at that time it was
getting to the cusp, the end of the deal. Here was this beautiful weekend, this
diverse lineup. Otis Redding to Ravi Shankar, our set was a disaster. Crosby,
you know, I mean you could almost see in the (film) footage where Roger and I
were walking away from him. He was ranting about the John Kennedy
assassination.
He
was so unconnected to Roger, Michael and I musically in that particular
performance because whatever he was going on, no groove, despite the ranting,
inappropriate, as it is now on stage when our peers get up there and start
politicalizing, or whatever they’re doing, shut up and sing. Do your music.
Don’t do that stuff.
However,
and Roger’s great quote was “We were a band of cutthroat pirates stabbing each
other in the back.”
We’ll
the reason we were a band of cutthroat pirates was that we didn’t have a
captain. McGuinn was strong enough to be the captain of the ship. You don’t go
into a platoon in combat without an officer. That’s where you get decimated. We
did that. We allowed that thing to happen.
Autographs from The Byrds First Concert, 1965 (courtesy of Gene Aguilera)
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