![]() You’re cited as an influence by a lot of bands, yet Byrds albums didn’t always sell that well at the time… It wasn’t like, let’s put together a concert CD with a bonus DVD, it didn’t happen like that.” “It all fell together pretty naturally, it wasn’t a contrived thing. He likes to include some obscure material in his concerts, and he’s done some of my stuff over the years. I didn’t know Bruce Springsteen knew who I was! But it turned out he’d followed me since Mr Tambourine Man and had even done some of my songs on stage. “It’s some concert footage, but mostly anecdotes from people that have known me from hanging out and being musicians together – people like Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen. And then we had this DVD project that we were working on separately, but decided to include that in the package. ![]() But I listened to the recording, and thought it was worthy of releasing. And she lived to be 102 and three days, and then she passed away. So we recorded the concert with very high-quality equipment, so that she could hear it – that was the primary reason for the recording. I was playing in Tucson and I went along to see her for her birthday because she’d broken her hip, and she was bedridden. “It started out as a recording for my mother’s 102nd birthday. It’s kind of an autobiography, it tells the story of how I got into music and all the people I met along the way. “Okay, so Stories, Songs & Friends is my latest release, and it’s a live, two-CD set with a bonus DVD that has interviews with some of my friends. You’re touring the UK in September to promote your new album. But the dawn of the internet era would see him re-emerge as a standard-bearer for traditional American music with the launch of his Folk Den project, in which he releases recordings of traditional songs for free online.īut more about the Folk Den in part two… in this first part of our interview, Roger discusses his latest project Stories, Songs And Friends, his days in The Byrds and his songwriting techniques… Nevertheless, the ‘jingle-jangle’ sound of main man Roger (formerly Jim – he changed his name in 1967, having become a follower of the Subud spiritual movement) McGuinn’s 12-string Rickenbacker guitar would go on to influence countless artists, ensuring The Byrds’ place in the pantheon of rock greats.Īfter The Byrds finally disbanded – after numerous line-up changes – in 1973, McGuinn recorded a series of solo albums and toured with Tom Petty and Bob Dylan. In later years, their experiments in country music would alienate them from the prevailing ‘counter-culture’, while the ultra-conservative Nashville old guard remained unimpressed, and the hits dried up. Hits like Mr Tambourine Man and Eight Miles High saw the band achieve huge commercial success in the mid-60s, yet they were never really suited to being teen-scream sensations. Starting out as peddlers of Dylan-esque folk-rock, a career that spanned just nine years saw them whole-heartedly embrace psychedelia and then, as the 60s turned into the 70s, pioneering the country-rock sound. Long with the likes of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys and The Kinks, The Byrds were one of the most influential groups of the 60s. Pic: John Chiasson The legendary guitarist-songwriter discusses his new album, his days in The Byrds and why he prefers writing with a partner ![]() Byrds legend and folk hero Roger McGuinn. ![]()
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