Roger McGuinn turns 83 today. Before founding the predecessor to the Byrds with Gene Clark and David Crosby, McGuinn was a folk nut. He returned to his first musical love with Roger McGuinn’s Folk Den, where he posts new recordings of old songs monthly. He has posted new recordings to the Folk Den for 30 years now. No one told me arithmetic would be required, but I believe that means he has posted more than 350 songs at the Folk Den.
If you grew up in the American folk tradition, you undoubtedly know “Dink’s Song.” It’s the genuine article. In the video below, McGuinn plays it on his acoustic 12-string with Josh White Jr. singing on harmony. McGuinn posted this recording here in March 2000 along with a related excerpt of John Lomax’s account of the first recording of the song from “his remarkable book Adventures Of A Ballad Hunter, published by MacMillan in 1947[.]” Lomax’s “remarkable book” was restored to print in 2017 by the University of Texas Press.
Ernest Hemingway famously declared: “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn. It’s the best book we’ve had.” In the same Pickwickian spirit, I can say less categorically that for me all American music comes from one band founded by Roger McGuinn called the Byrds. It’s the best band we’ve had. He’s still working, still touring, still sounding pretty, pretty good. Long may he run.
The late Johnny Rogan is the unauthorized historian of the Byrds. He supplemented four editions of The Byrds: Timeless Flight with two volumes of Byrds: Requiem for the Timeless. Chris Hillman’s Time Between: My Life as a Byrd, Burrito Brother and Beyond tells their story from the inside for the duration of Hillman’s membership in the group at a length that does not require a lifetime commitment.
Roger took up music after hearing Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel.” He studied banjo and 12-string guitar at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago and took to playing in a big way. A few days after graduating from high school he joined the Limeliters as a sideman. He moved on to the Chad Mitchell Trio, Judy Collins, and Bobby Darin. In her memoir Sweet Judy Blue Eyes, Collins has a vivid account of the first time she saw McGuinn perform with Darin in Las Vegas. Suffice it to say she was impressed. She signed him up to back her on Judy Collins 3.
McGuinn was inspired by the Beatles to form the Byrds with Gene Clark and David Crosby. Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke rounded out the group and Hillman turned himself into an essential component, sticking with McGuinn through Sweetheart of the Rodeo. I want to hit a few highlights, mostly of McGuinn’s work with the Byrds, although his solo work is also rewarding.
The Byrds applied McGuinn’s jangly 12-string and Beatles harmonies to Dylan on Mr. Tambourine Man (1965). They sounded like the American Beatles on “You Won’t Have To Cry,” written by McGuinn with Gene Clark. Crosby’s impossibly high harmony adds to the beauty of the song.
The Byrds opened up the wide world of traditional American music to fans like me. On Turn! Turn! Turn! (1965). “Satisfied Mind,” by Red Hayes and Jack Rhodes, made me wonder what else I was missing.
I thought the Byrds his a peak on Fifth Dimension (1966). In addition to the trippy tracks and the jazz licks, the Byrds made genuine folk music new on “Wild Mountain Thyme.” McGuinn is all over this one.
“John Riley” is to the same effect. The folk tradition here goes back to Homer and his lyre.
The Byrds returned to Dylan with “My Back Pages” on Younger Than Yesterday (1967)
The Byrds performed the Goffin-King number “Goin’ Back” on the opening track of Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968). Gene Clark was in and out of the group during the recording of the album and David Crosby was let go over his objection to this song, among other things. McGuinn’s eloquent 12-string is not to be missed. “Thinking young and growing older is no sin.”
Hillman had recruited guitar virtuoso Clarence White to help in the recording of Notorious Byrd Byrd Brothers. He joined the group on the country-inspired Sweetheart of the Radio (1968). McGuinn took the lead vocal on Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere,” which I believe the Byrds were the first to record. Lloyd Green is on the pedal steel guitar.
McGuinn wrote “Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man” with Gram Parsons in response to the Byrds’ experience in Nashville recording Sweetheart. With the acetate of “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” in hand, McGuinn had appeared on Ralph Emery’s WSM radio show. The appearance did not go well. Chris Hillman writes about it in his memoir’s chapter 9 (“Devil In Disguise,” referring to Gram Parsons). Emery grudgingly played the acetate. “I don’t know if Ralph and maybe some of the other folks in Nashville thought we were making fun of their music,” Chris writes, “but nothing could have been further from the truth. We had nothing but reverence for it…” In Hillman’s telling, by the way, Skeeter Davis is the secret hero of their unhappy appearance on Grand Ole Opry that year.
In later years Emery hosted McGuinn on an uncomfortable segment of Emery’s Nashville Now cable show. The acid reflected in the lyrics of “Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man” is not of the “Eight Miles High” variety. McGuinn was a gentleman in response to Emery’s questions about the song, but Emery still seemed to want to tangle. You can look it up (on YouTube), as they say. The track is from Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde (1968). See the Variety story here along with the video.
Dylan gave Peter Fonda the opening two lines of “Ballad of Easy Rider” scribbled on a napkin with the instruction “Give them to McGuinn” (per Rogan). Roger took it from there for the movie’s theme song.
McGuinn wrote “Chestnut Mare” with Jacques Levy for an adaption of Peer Gynt that was not to be. It turned up on (Untitled) (1970). I take it as a fantasy that made for a crazy/beautiful song. It brings me up short every time I hear it.
I’ve heard McGuinn say he kept the Byrds going too long. I wouldn’t want to be without their final albums, but I think it’s fair to say they are inessential. Unsurprisingly, however, McGuinn showed up for work with the best number when McGuinn, Clark, and Hillman reunited in the late 1970s.
I first saw Roger perform live in Minneapolis at the old Guthrie Theater in support of his Back From Rio album in April 1991. He put on a terrific show along with the young backing band he had assembled. The show was full of Byrds’ numbers as well as the hit song by Elvis Costello from the new album.
I also saw him perform solo at the Ted Mann Concert Hall in 2002. I may be mistaken, but I recall seeing him perform solo for a benefit at Orchestra Hall as well, although he does not include it on his own log of solo dates. Among the highlights of the solo shows was his performance of “Eight Miles High” on his acoustic 12-string. He is a gifted and generous artist.
In 2018 McGuinn and Hillman revisited Sweetheart of the Radio in a 50th Anniversary Live recording and tour with a little help from Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives. The recording was just released last year. “Wasn’t Born to Follow” is another Goffin/King song from Notorious Byrd Brothers (and also featured in Easy Rider). Let’s take our leave with the note of freedom on the open road.
