Sing Me Back Home

The Byrds came on the scene in 1964 in Los Angeles, California. This was an American rock band that was formed by Roger McGuinn a.k.a. Jim McGuinn, who remained the band's constant member until they disbanded in 1973. If you would ask anyone about them today you would be informed that they are considered to be one of the most influential bands of the 1960s.

The Byrds has a blend of different types of music like folk rock, country rock, raga, rock and even psychedelic rock. It was their great harmony singing which drew fans to them and McGuinn and his twelve string Rickenbacker guitar made terrific music. Among their popular songs were ”Mr. Tambourine Man” written by Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger’s ”Turn, Turn, Turn” written by Peter Seeger and originals by the band such as ”I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better” and ”Eight Miles High”.

The Byrds consisted of five guys –lead guitar and vocals Jim McGuinn, tambourine and vocals Gene Clark, rhythm guitar and vocals David Crosby, bass guitar and vocals Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke on drums. However in early 1966 Clark left the band and they became a quartet. They remained so until late 1967 when both Clarke and Crosby left and they looked for new members. Their music can still be heard today on radio stations which play oldies and in January of 1991 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

During their folk music period they played at Ciro’s Le Disc nightclub on Sunset Strip on Hollywood in 1965. Columbia Records released their ”Mr. Tambourine Man” and it became a smash folk-rock hit skyrocketing up to number one on both the U.K. Singles Chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. After this came the folk-rock boom of 1965 and 1966. Their first album Mr. Tambourine Man included two singles the title song and “All I Really Want to Do.”

It was The Byrds second album that brought them another big hit Turn! Turn! Turn! with three singles the title song which became very popular, “Set You Free This Time,” and “It Won’t Be Wrong.” The album also included a song by Bob Dylan which I particularly liked from the album “The Times They Are A-Changing.”

The Byrds became very popular among teenage pop fans and their pictures and stories began appearing in teen magazines. The all had mop-top haircuts made famous by The Beatles and dressed unconventionally. One of their members Crosby used to dress in a striking green suede cape and McGuinn was known for wearing rectangular”granny glasses”. These types of glasses later became popular among hippies.

Their song ”Eight Miles High” came out during the period when they were into ”raga rock” which was influenced in part by Indian classical music. The song was included on their third album Fifth Dimension and the other singles were “5D Fifth Dimension” and “Mr. Spaceman.”

By the time they released their fourth album titled Younger than Yesterday The Byrds were mixing up psychedelia with folk-rock and country and western influences. Among the songs which became popular from The Byrds country and western period were ”Sing Me Back Home” and ”Hickory Wind”.

It was in 1967 that you could tell The Byrds were ready to fly in different directions. They had witnessed the successful rise of The Monkees and came out with the song “So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star” and this became their last song to chart. This became the song that was their last song before a permanent split although some members had already left the band.

They did come out with their fifth album in 1968 The Notorious Byrd Brothers with two members already gone. To complete the album original band member Gene Clark returned for a short while. The single from this album was a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King “Goin’Back.” It was also the time that band member David Crosby was fired from the band but had written songs that were included on this album.

The Byrds Greatest Hits album was released in August of 1967 and of all of their albums this one became the biggest seller and in October of 1971, the U.K released The Byrds’ Greatest Hits Volume II. In the period between 1965 and 1973, The Byrds had a total of 11 albums and performed various reunion concerts. Their music remains popular and fans still love to hear their songs.