The Byrds--Turn! Turn! Turn! (1965)

     By late 1965, The Byrds had two hits, one of them going to #1, and were looking for a song to release as their 3rd single. The group named, "The Jet Set" just a year before had crafted their electric mix of Beatles pop and Dylan folk into their own sound. Mixing in with this the beautiful harmonies of Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Gene Clark, and Chris Hillman and it looked like, at the time, a group that had staying power.
     They turned to a song that had been adapted by folk singer, Pete Seeger in 1959. "Turn, Turn, Turn" was taken from the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament of the Bible. Chapter 3, vereses 1--8 read like this:


1. To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, a time to reap that which is planted;
3. A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. 
5. A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time
    to refrain from embracing.
6. A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7. A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8. A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

     Seeger wrote the song in 59, but didn't record it himself until 1962, but his own recording was preceded a few months by a group called, "The Limelighters" who released their own version. A member of that group was one Jim McGuinn, who later changed his name to Roger. and brought the beauty of the song with him to The Byrds. Judy Collins would also have her own cover of the song for her third album in 1963.   
     It became the second number 1 of the year for The Byrds. They never reached the top 10 with a song again, and the members of the band shuffled constantly (except for McGuinn), but as opposed to hurting the group, it's focus would shift in another direction without a major loss in quality. This is why, looking over 40 years back, one could claim that The Byrds were one of a handful of 60's bands, who's influence can still be heard today not only in rock, but in folk, and country music. 

                                                                                                                                                                                      

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The Byrds: Mr. Tambourine Man (1965)

      The Byrds frontman Roger McGuinn is 69 today....

      Much of what we know as rock music today can be traced back eventually to just a handful of artists. The Byrds, led by Roger McGuinn became a touchstone for what would be folk rock, country rock, psychedelic rock, raga rock, and jangle pop. McGuinn's jangly Rickenbacker guitar became as distinctive a sound as any in rock history.

       His sound derived itself from folk music, but with the coming of the Beatles attempted to bring the two together. The resulting music attracted the attention of Gene Clark, and the two of them formed the early incarnation of the group. Many of rock music's influential artists came through the group. Clark, Chris Hillman, David Crosby, Michael Clarke, and Gram Parsons all spent time as a Byrd.  

      Bob Dylan wrote, "Mr. Tambourine Man" in 1964 and was released on his "Bringing It All Back Home" album in 1965. There has been many attempts to interpret the lyrical content, with Dylan himself saying that at least part of his inspiration came from Federico Felllini's movie "La strada". He has always firmly denied as well that the song had nothing to do with drugs. It took Bob over a year to find the right arraignment that would do it justice. 

      In the meantime, the Byrds had been working on their own version based on an acetate copy of the song that was acquired by their manager. Dylan was brought in after the song had been worked up and his enthusiasm about it's sound spurred them to record it as a single. An interesting note about it's recording. The single was recorded first, and at the time, producer Terry Melcher was not convinced on the rest of the group's ability to play their instruments, so Melcher brought in the famous group of studio musicians, "The Wrecking Crew" to play on the single (and it's B-side, "I Knew I'd Want You") along with McGuinn. By the time they began on the album, he felt they were sufficiently ready, so the rest of the album was recorded with the band.

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