History Music / TheByrds

The Byrds were an American band active from 1964 to 1973, who were the {{Trope Maker}}s for the genre of [[FolkMusic Folk Rock]] (alongside Music/SimonAndGarfunkel), although they experimented with different genres throughout their career such as PsychedelicRock and CountryMusic. The band was formed initially as a duo comprised of Jim (later Roger) [=McGuinn=] and Gene Clark as guitarists and singers. Third guitarist Music/DavidCrosby soon joined up, followed by drummer Michael Clarke (recruited partly because of his resemblance to Music/BrianJones) and bassist Chris Hillman shortly afterward. Thus, the "classic" Byrds line-up was born. Thanks to their manager Jim Dickson's connections, they got signed to Creator/ColumbiaRecords.

** ''The Notorious Byrd Brothers'' includes a radio advertisement featuring RecordProducer Gary Usher, and a recording of an in-studio argument from the "Dolphin's Smile" sessions between Crosby and Clarke, with Gary Usher trying to get them to stop fighting.

* ConceptAlbum: [=McGuinn=]'s initial plan for what would become ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'' was to record a double album that would showcase a history of American popular music, starting with early bluegrass and Appalachian music, then moving through country, jazz, R&B, rock, and finally culminating in electronic music played on the Moog synthesizer. The concept led [=McGuinn=] to look for a pianist with a jazz background, which was how Gram Parsons was recruited into the band.

* CoolOldGuy: David Crosby was, for better or for worse, letting his freak flag fly all over Twitter literally right up to the day he died. He even managed to get involved in a memorable online feud with Music/PhoebeBridgers in 2021.

[=McGuinn=] and Hillman recruited drummer Kevin Kelley (who was Hillman's cousin) and set out on a college tour in support of the album as a trio, which highlighted the difficulty of reproducing their studio material as a three-piece and led them to seek out a new member. [=McGuinn=] had been planning their next album as a historical overview of 20th-century American popular music, so Gram Parsons was brought into the band initially as a keyboardist, but soon moved to guitar. Parsons, a devotee of country music, found common ground with Hillman and managed to persuade [=McGuinn=] that their next album should be a country album instead of his original ConceptAlbum idea, arguing that the stylistic change would broaden the group's audience after the internal turmoil had caused it to decline. This predictably attracted TheyChangedItNowItSucks from Byrds fans and hatred from the Nashville establishment once ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'' was released. The album, however, has since been VindicatedByHistory as the TropeCodifier, if not the TropeMaker, of Country Rock, and would also exert a major influence on AlternativeCountry. Parsons himself didn't last long, quitting the Byrds in the summer of 1968 in protest against a plan to tour UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica (then in the midst of UsefulNotes/TheApartheidEra) before the album was released, and going on to continue the country-rock direction of ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'' through a commercially unsuccessful but influential solo career and as part of The Flying Burrito Brothers, dying of a heroin overdose in 1973. The subsequent South African tour turned out to be disastrous, as the band hired one of their roadies, Carlos Bernal, as a rhythm guitar player on extremely short notice, found themselves being forced to play to segregated audiences despite having demanded that promoters not allow audience segregation, and turning in badly rehearsed, ramshackle performances marked by antagonism both between themselves and towards the apartheid regime, leaving in a cloud of bad publicity and death threats and being lambasted by the press in the UK and USA for playing in South Africa.

Regrouping in California after the album's release, [=McGuinn=] hired Clarence White as Parsons' replacement at Hillman's urging, as White was a session guitarist who had contributed countrified guitar work to all their albums since ''Younger Than Yesterday'' and Hillman felt he could handle both their older rock material and their new country-oriented direction. At White's urging, the two also replaced Kelley with drummer Gene Parsons (unrelated to Gram Parsons), who White had previously played with in the country band Nashville West. This line-up also disintegrated quickly, as Hillman had this point grown disenchanted with The Byrds thanks to the disastrous South African tour and their manager Larry Spector's mismanagement of band finances, and on 15 September 1968 an argument between Hillman and Spector backstage after a concert escalated into violence, ending with Hillman throwing his bass away and walking out to join Parsons in The Flying Burrito Brothers.

* CoverAlbum: ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'' comes close, with only two in-house songs, both by Gram Parsons ("Hickory Wind", "One Hundred Years from Now"). Along with the two requisite Dylan songs, it also featured covers of songs originally by Music/WoodyGuthrie ("Pretty Boy Floyd"), Music/GeorgeJones ("You're Still on My Mind"), Music/MerleHaggard ("Life in Prison"), Music/GeneAutry ("Blue Canadian Rockies"), The Louvin Brothers ("The Christian Life"), Creator/StaxRecords artist William Bell ("You Don't Miss Your Water") and the traditional "I am a Pilgrim".

* IconicItem: Roger McGuinn's trademark rectangular "Ben Franklin" sunglasses, which he wore in 1965 and the beginning of 1966. The Byrds' popularity led to the glasses quickly becoming emblematic of mid-60s fashion, with even the likes of George Harrison sporting a pair around the same time.

* InnocentAliens: "Mr. Spaceman".

* SelfRemake: On his 2017 solo album ''Biding My Time'', Chris Hillman recorded a new version of "Old John Robertson" (titled, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin appropriately enough]], "New Old John Robertson") in an acoustic bluegrass style. The redone version adds a new bridge in place of the string interlude that features on the original Byrds recording.

* MyspeldRokband: "Byrds" rather than "Birds." This actually caused controversy during their infamous first UK tour when the manager of an English band called the Birds sued the Los Angeles Byrds in attempt to get them to change their name (apparently, local fans of the Birds were disgruntled at being mistakenly sold copies of the Byrds' "Mr. Tambourine Man" single). The Birds drifted into obscurity, although their lead guitarist Ron Wood later found substantial success as a member of [[Music/JeffBeck the Jeff Beck Group]], [[Music/{{Faces}}the Faces]] and Music/TheRollingStones

* MyspeldRokband

** Music/EricClapton used a 12-string guitar on the Music/{{Cream}} track "Dance The Night Away," and in contemporary interviews cited the Byrds as one of his favorite American bands.

** Harold Eugene Clark went by the diminutive of his [[MiddleNameBasis middle name]].

* CoverSong: Usually several per album, particularly songs by Music/BobDylan.

** "Space Odyssey" is basically Creator/ArthurCClarke's story "The Sentinel" adapted into a futuristic sea shanty, with the title referencing Creator/StanleyKubrick's [[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey highly anticipated film adaptation]] of the story that was still in production at the time.

* FourManBand: The Byrds quartet that made ''Fifth Dimension'', ''Younger Than Yesterday'' and around half of ''The Notorious Byrd Brothers'' was this: Roger [=McGuinn=] was TheSmartGuy, David Crosby (compose of "Triad", of course) was the CasanovaWannabe, Chris Hillman was the OnlySaneMan, and Michael Clarke was the ButtMonkey (as evidenced by the in-studio argument during the recording of "Dolphin's Smile").
* FreudianTrio: The original Jet Set trio had bombastic AttentionWhore David Crosby as TheKirk, reserved GadgeteerGenius Roger [=McGuinn=] as TheSpock, and affable but [[BrokenHero emotionally turbulent]] Gene Clark as TheMcCoy.

* SignificantWardrobeShift: At the start of their career, the members of the band looked very similar to one another, as they dressed in jackets, turtlenecks, and dark jeans, and wore their hair in Beatles-esque moptops. In most of the promotional shoots the guys did in 1965, Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke in particular basically look like brothers. By 1967, however, they became a lot easier to distinguish, with one article from the time noting that "each Byrds has got his own bag".

* SignificantWardrobeShift: At the start of their career, the members of the band looked very similar to one another, as they dressed in jackets, turtlenecks, and dark jeans, and wore their hair in Beatles-esque moptops. In most of the promotional shoots the guys did in 1965, Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke in particular basically look like brothers. By 1967, however, they became a lot easier to distinguish: specifically, Crosby started wearing colorful and hippie-ish clothes (including an array of distinctive hats), stopped cutting his hair, and grew his now-iconic walrus mustache; [=McGuinn=]'s fashion became, conversely, more conservative and he sported a folksinger-esque goatee; and Hillman stopped straightening his natural curls.

* FourManBand: The Byrds quartet that made ''Fifth Dimension'', ''Younger Than Yesterday'' and around half of ''The Notorious Byrd Brothers'' was this: Roger [=McGuinn=] was TheSmartGuy, David Crosby (compose of "Triad", of course) was the CasanovaWannabe, Chris Hillman was the OnlySaneMan, and MichaelClarke was the ButtMonkey (as evidenced by the in-studio argument during the recording of "Dolphin's Smile").

* FreudianTrio: For the original Jet Set trio, bombastic AttentionWhore David Crosby was TheKirk, reserved GadgeteerGenius Roger [=McGuinn=] was TheSpock, and affable but [[BrokenHero emotionally turbulent]] Gene Clark was TheMcCoy.

* IntentionalMessMaking: Both Roger [=McGuinn=] and Chris Hillman have suggested that David Crosby had grown disinterested in the band by the summer of 1967, and was actively trying to get himself fired so that he could work with other musicians. Crosby has always denied this and still seems to be [[TheResenter quite hurt]] by his dismissal despite his later success with Music/CrosbyStillsNashAndYoung.

* TheNapoleon: David Crosby was the shortest member of the classic line-up, but he was also--by a substantial margin--the most extroverted, egotistical, and emotionally volatile. This contrasted particularly sharply with the icier temperament of Roger [=McGuinn=].

* OneSteveLimit: Having pairs of unrelated band members with the last names Parsons and Clark(e), as well as two who went by Gene, makes it a little confusing for folks being introduced to the band.

* RevolvingDoorBand: It was particularly nasty after Gene Clark left. When ''Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde'' was released in 1969, Roger [=McGuinn=] was all that remained of the original quintet.

** Gram Parsons' birth name was Ingram Cecil Conner. "Parsons" was the surname of his stepfather.

* TheCastShowoff: Chris Hillman's main musical experience prior to joining the Byrds was as a bluegrass mandolinist. He gets a couple of opportunities to showcase his skills on the instrument, namely on "Draft Morning" and "Pretty Boy Floyd."

For the first two decades of the twenty-first century, fans held out hope that the three remaining members of the classic lineup would re-unite. Although Crosby and Hillman expressed interest, [=McGuinn=] consistently shot the idea down, although he did participate in a 2018 tour with Hillman to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the ''Sweetheart of The Rodeo'' album, and both [=McGuinn=] and Crosby made contributions to Hillman's 2017 solo album ''Biding My Time.'' Crosby's death in January 2023 at the age of 81 has left [=McGuinn=], Hillman, Gene Parsons and John York as the band's surviving members.

Clark left the band in 1966 due to his fear of flying (though internal tensions caused by the other band members' resentment of the royalties he made from being the band's primary songwriter aided his decision), reducing the line-up to [=McGuinn=], Crosby, Hillman, and Clarke. The new line-up recorded the famous, bitter satire of the music industry "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star", allegedly after being irritated by the success of Music/TheMonkees, and a new album, ''Younger Than Yesterday'', which showcased continued experimentation with psychedelia, straight folk-rock, Indian influences and country (largely contributed by Hillman), though the loss of their primary songwriter was somewhat reflected in the uneven and disjointed, genre-hopping quality of the material.

Since then, there had been three separate reunions. The first was from 1989 to 1990 with [=McGuinn=], Crosby and Hillman. However, Michael Clarke had gained full legal ownership of "The Byrds" name and sued the 3 when they toured as The Byrds. In 1991, the original five Byrds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (with the rest of the former members such as Gram Parsons and Clarence White snubbed). The event was timely, as this would mark the last time the original five would reunite. Gene Clark, who was visibly ill at the reunion, died a few months later of a bleeding ulcer caused by his alcoholism. Then at the end of 1993, Michael Clarke succumbed to liver failure, again as a result of decades of alcoholism. There would be one final one-off reunion in 2000, this time with [=McGuinn=], Crosby, and Hillman. Since then, they have gone their separate ways, with Crosby gaining the rights of "The Byrds" name in 2002, Kevin Kelley dying of natural causes in 2002, and Skip Battin dying from Alzheimer's disease in 2003.

* BaldnessAngst: Look at any photo of the band taken in 1967 and it's a virtual guarantee that Crosby will be wearing a hat, likely due to the fact that his hairline had begun receding very visibly (which meant that the mop-top he'd worn in the band's early years was no longer feasible). Eventually, with [=CSNY=], he would embrace the long-haired but balding look.

* BorrowingTheBeatles: The Byrds were originally styled as a Beatles-style quartet with more pronounced folk influences. They became a quintet when Chris Hillman was brought in as a result of David Crosby being unable to play bass and sing at the same time.

* CoolOldGuy: David Crosby is, for better or for worse, still letting his freak flag fly all over Twitter, even managing to get involved in a memorable feud with Music/PhoebeBridgers in 2021.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: David Crosby was initially supposed to be the Byrds' bassist. His inability to play the instrument and sing at the time precipitated manager Jim Dickson's decision to involve Chris Hillman in the group. After Hillman joined, the line-up had Clark on rhythm guitar and Crosby as the non-instrumentalist. Depending on who is telling the story, either Clark willingly surrendered the instrument or Crosby bullied him out of it by undermining his confidence. At the end of the day, however, most fans feel that the instrumental re-structuring was an improvement, as Crosby was the stronger guitarist while Clark made a more visually striking frontman.

* FeudEpisode: The band's history is basically one of these after another. It's even continued to the present day when David Crosby blocked Roger [=McGuinn=] on Twitter. Apparently the two still haven't managed to work out their differences.

* FreudianTrio: For the original Jet Set trio, bombastic AttentionWhore David Crosby was TheKirk, reserved GadgeteerGenius Roger [=McGuinn=] was TheSpock, and affable but [[TrueArtIsAngsty emotionally turbulent]] Gene Clark was TheMcCoy.

* JerkAss: David Crosby has become almost as famous for his bridge-burning as he is for music.

** Ian [=McLagan=] of the Music/TheSmallFaces claimed that the line "in places, small faces unbound" was a tribute to his band from David Crosby, who was responsible for this section of the lyrics.

* SignificantWardrobeShift: At the start of their career, the members of the band looked very similar to one another, as they dressed in jackets, turtlenecks, and dark jeans, and wore their hair in Beatles-esque moptops. In most of the promotional shoots the guys did in 1965, Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke in particular look almost like they could be brothers. By 1967, however, they became more easy to distinguish: specifically, Crosby started wearing colorful and hippie-ish clothes (including an array of distinctive hats), stopped cutting his hair, and grew his now-iconic walrus mustache; [=McGuinn=]'s fashion became, conversely, more conservative and he grew a folksinger-esque goatee; and Hillman stopped combing down his natural curls.