another version of the instrumental jam ‘Eight Miles High’ by Dave Crosby here celebrating the double album ‘untitled’ which at the time struck me as the most brave and usual title (sic! guess you had to be there!) Instrumental I presume after it being banned in the USA and reaches the first verse after about 12 mins, poor Jim never looks quite at home to me but Skip Battin and Parsons (Gene), White and McGuinn are having fun with this and it went on to 16 minutes on the album so be grateful for small mercies. Not their best attempt of jazz and raga inspired jam version. The fifth member here is percussionist is their roadie Jimmy Seiter
Gosh this period and these sets really divide Byrds fans and jamming fans too! I grant you this isn’t the best version and I have posted better but the version on ‘untitled’ at 16 minutes and a full side of the double vinyl album was legendary at the time . . . .
In bleak times, the world needs heroes such as David Crosby.
I wasn’t going to share this but it is a good read and made me smile actually and despite his supposed ‘hatred’ of some bands, his comments about The Doors strikes me as solely about jealousy but maybe I would say that as a confirmed fan! His opinion about Manzarek is so far off mark it is merely ludicrous! The magnificence and ground breaking drummer in John Densmore fitting jazz licks into rock and the way they all fit together is a testament to a fine fine rock band with a poet of genuine creativity (ask Michael McClure!) as its figurehead. That Jim was a ‘juicer’ who could be an asshole is a given! But we understand the idiot savant that alcohol reveals. The same can be said of those chain smoking weed!
He did cop to his disgusting comments about Darryl Hannah and I guess the dope smoking make you as about opinionated as it possibly to get but he was undoubtedly a curmudgeon of stellar proportions and check him out on his release from prison to see how cool he was! That he posted one of the finest voices in rock music is a given and he didn’t have to work at it. Natural gifts make for arrogant egotists!
"Despite his many flaws, you’d be hard-pressed to find any culturally significant figure who doesn’t have serious pitfalls; this internal dichotomy produces both triumph and the obstacles that make their victories resound even more.
A folk-rock pioneer famed for his work in The Byrds, CSN, and CSNY, there can be no doubt regarding Crosby’s talent as a songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. From the early moments of The Byrds to their psychedelic classic Fifth Dimension and on to the defining opus of the countercultural era, CSNY’s Déjà Vu, he resoundingly showed his genius on many occasions. Furthermore, his unwavering creativity would later be heard with the jazz-rock outfit CPR and his solo work.
Yet, Crosby’s character afforded his many consequential musical efforts a different dimension. A divisive figure unafraid to make his opinions known, he would be fired from The Byrds for voicing those thoughts and later have strained relationships with his CSNY bandmates, particularly Neil Young. Crosby burned that particular bridge after Crosby felt compelled to offensively criticise the Canadian’s wife, actor Daryl Hannah.
Giving a taste of Crosby’s fire and his comical way with words, after things had reached boiling point with Young in 2021, he maintained: “Neil has got a genuine beef. I did say something bad about his girlfriend [Daryl Hannah]. I said I thought she was a predator. OK, he can be mad at me. That’s all right.”
If it wasn’t already clear, the late Californian was unafraid of making his opinions known. From interviews to Twitter – the latter encompassing taking down musical peers and judging fans’ joint rolling skills – he was a real one until the end. Even those he irked will certainly miss his impish character to some degree. Prone to providing challenging insight and pure comedy, bleak times such as the present are made that bit worse without figures as complex and perenially fascinating as he was.
Jim Morrison and The Doors had their fair share of detractors, many of whom were also key driving forces of the countercultural sound, including Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Grace Slick. Crosby was also a part of that set.
When asked to discuss The Doors on Twitter in 2019, the moustachioed weed-smoker was bold in his argument and added to his original assertion in a 1998 interview that frontman Morrison was “obnoxious” and that “I didn’t like him.” This time, though, the Croz attacked the entire group. He said they “Basically sucked …guitar and drums pretty ok …keyboard was awful ..his bass with left hand was abysmal, horrible …square wheel bad.”
After two decades, The Doors frontman was due another volley. “Morrison was no effing good as a singer or poet,” Crosby said, believing him nothing but a “poser.”
In 1998, his band CPR released ‘Morrison’, the track based on The Door’s vocalist, who died aged 27 in 1971. It paints a sympathetic image of the ‘Lizard King’ and only adds to the complexity of Crosby’s character. “He was lost and I don’t think / He wanted it that way,” Crosby sings, indicating compassion for the musician he deemed “mad and lonely”.
Of course, Crosby’s points about The Doors in 2019 attracted fury from their fans. In his classic style, when he was told he was wrong in his claims, he doubled down: “I’m not wrong …they sucked all the time.”
Another band with legions of critics are The Rolling Stones, one of the most successful outfits of all time and a vital part of the story of the 1960s. While Crosby’s views on Mick Jagger and Keith Richards’ group somewhat softened as time wore on, back in the day, the American absolutely hated the Dartford outfit.
A proponent of peace and love right until the very end – despite his numerous critiques of others – it seems that the Laurel Canyon dweller was at spiritual odds with the British rabble of hellraisers and inferred that they were partially at fault for the dream dying. It was the horrific tragedy of 1969’s Altamont Free Concert, where The Rolling Stones hired the Hells Angels as security, leading to fatalities, that was Crosby’s primary source of contempt. Furthermore, the doomed festival is the moment many have pinpointed as the start of the hippie dream fading to black.
Crosby asserted: “I think the major mistake was taking what was essentially a party and turning it into an ego game and a star trip of The Rolling Stones, who… qualify in my book as snobs. I think they’re on a grotesque, negative ego trip, essentially, especially the two leaders.”
He would later comment that while there was range to The Rolling Stones’ music, The Beatles were much better, including at vocal harmonies, which Jagger, Richards and the band couldn’t do “for squat”.
As a lifelong hippie, it makes much sense that David Crosby hated the entire punk genre despite its profoundly countercultural essence and the old saying that hippies are, in fact, punks. Alas, no amount of images showing Johnny Rotten, Joe Strummer and other notable genre names with long hair would change his mind.
Asked for his thoughts on the genre on Twitter in 2017, he simply said “no”. Then, when another fan listed an array of truly great punk acts, including The Clash, The Stooges, Buzzcocks, Ramones and Descendants, Crosby wasn’t having it. He disregarded punk as “Pretty much all dumb stuff,” with “no musical value at all and mostly childish lyrics.”
Following this, one bold user attempted to outline how the childish lyrics were the point of The Ramones, but Crosby chose to stay on his hill. “Yes, but dumb”, he corresponded. Elsewhere, even the lyrical power of the “punk poet laureate” Patti Smith wasn’t enough for Crosby to change his mind. “Not my thing”, he said after being asked for his opinion on her.
Mike Love has been a controversial figure for a long time. Recently, he took The Beach Boys’ name on the road, much to the chagrin of their mastermind, true leader, his cousin and nemesis, Brian Wilson. Notably, in 2020, he was criticised for dragging the group’s reputation through the dirt when he played a fundraiser for Donald Trump’s re-election campaign.
As Crosby was a left-wing legend, in 2020, he was asked about Love using the band’s name without original members Wilson and Al Jardine. He replied: “Those aren’t the Beach Boys, and I doubt they voted. Mike Love is, in the opinion of almost every musician I know, a shithead, most assuredly has no talent at all, and, as you can probably tell… I just don’t like him”.
Kanye West is another detestable figure, recently seeing his cultural value plummet due to his anti-semitism and seemingly sympathetic view towards Hitler, in which he told rightwing pundit Alex Jones, “I see good things about Hitler.” He also wore the “White Lives Matter” t-shirt in Paris.
While West’s politics and personality are the source of much rightful anger, Crosby was already a naysayer, taking issues with his lack of ability years before public opinion swayed.
“Music ?.. He’s an idiot and a poser….has no talent at all,” Crosby said on Twitter in 2015. The following year, he remained unmoved, asserting on Andy Cohen’s chat show Watch What Happens Live: “He can neither sing, nor write, nor play.”
Delivering his knock-out blow, Crosby added: “Somebody needs to drive him over to Stevie Wonder’s house right now so he understands what a real one is. Secondly, they should send him all of Ray Charles’s catalogue so he can learn how to sing.”
Can’t disagree with his comments on West here, nor pro-Trump Mike Love come to that . . . it’s a view!
✍️ Arun Starkey
Upon his release . . .
David Crosby ‘Long Time Gone’ Lowell Summer Music Series 6-14-18 Boarding House
Park
Arrested on drugs and weapons charges . . . . . Crosby look wrecked and no hippie this!
The Doors with the final word . . . . Riders on The Storm
this became a long jam showing off the guitar bass and drum techniques of the band as they were . . . . . . .interestingly the post on Facebook triggered almost universal disparagement! Ridicule even! Trolls to a man I love this piece and its roll in the Byrds canon as a classic but acknowledge it does high light maybe (sic) McGuinn’s shortcomings as anything other than a rhythm guitarist but so what?!
The Byrds, American band of the 1960s who popularized folk rock, particularly the songs of Bob Dylan, and whose changes in personnel created an extensive family tree of major country rock bands and pop supergroups. The principal members were Roger McGuinn (original name James Joseph McGuinn III; b. July 13, 1942, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.), Gene Clark (in full Harold Eugene Clark; b. November 17, 1941, Tipton, Missouri—d. May 24, 1991, Sherman Oaks, California), David Crosby(original name David Van Cortland; b. August 14, 1941, Los Angeles, California), Chris Hillman (b. December 4, 1942, Los Angeles), Michael Clarke (b. June 3, 1944, New York, New York—d. December. 19, 1993, Treasure Island, Florida), Gram Parsons (original name Ingram Cecil Connor III; b. November 5, 1946, Winter Haven, Florida—d. September 19, 1973, Yucca Valley, California), and Clarence White (b. June 6, 1944, Lewiston, Maine—d. July 14, 1973, Palmdale, California).
an all time favourite song and first heard it via a Byrds tribute album Time Between sung by Richard Thompson and band (with the peerless Christine Collister whose voice I adore here)
Taken from the Byrds tribute album on Imaginary records ILLCD 400 released in 1989
Here Without You - Richard Thompson, Clive Gregson and Christine Collister (from the same album)
again with thanks for the reminder of the Byrds' song from O My Soul
In early 1978, three of the founding members of the Byrds - Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, and Chris Hillman - were touring the West Coast with a show in which they each played short solo sets before concluding the show as a trio, performing a handful of Byrds classics. The shows were so well received that the trio would later land a record deal and record a pair of new albums, but on February 9, 1978, fans who came to see McGuinn, Clark & Hillman at the Boarding House in San Francisco got a special surprise.
David Crosby joined his former Byrds bandmates on-stage for eight numbers, delivering a memorable performance that was the closest thing to a reunion of the original Byrds most of the audience would ever see, with only drummer Michael Clarke missing on-stage. The show was recorded by a local radio station, and Live at the Boarding House: The Historic Radio Broadcast preserves this oft-bootlegged show…
Clark performs “Silver Raven” and “Release Me Girl,” followed by Hillman singing “Bound to Fail” and “It Doesn’t Matter,” while McGuinn tackles “The Ballad of Easy Rider” and “Jolly Roger.” Then the trio teams up for three songs before Crosby takes the stage, and the foursome performs a number of Byrds favorites, including “Turn! Turn! Turn!” “Mr Tambourine Man,” “Eight Miles High,” and “Feel a Whole Lot Better.”
If the performances are sometimes less than perfect, there’s a spontaneity and passion in this recording that makes it clear the artists really did feel something special was happening, and this was a stronger and more heartfelt reunion of one of the great American bands of the ’60s than the tremendously disappointing studio reunion that took place in 1973. - Mark Deming, AllMusic
YouTube audio - The Byrds Reunion 1978 So You Wanna Be A Rock 'n Roll Star
YouTube audio - The Byrds Reunion 1978 - I'll Probably Feel a Whole Lot Better (When You're Gone)
Gene Clark’s first epic? After he’d released his first LP with the Gosdin Brothers, he found himself without a label. He went into the studio to record some demos to shop around. He never revisited the songs and they weren’t released till 2018.
For though his mellow chrome-wheeled carriage glides The looking glass has shown her still another.
Fascinating item from Guess I'm Dumb . . . . . . who knew this about Gene Clark? Not me!
This song is lovely and very expressive as we all did back back them tbut that this should have stayed hidden until 2018 is crazy! Harold Eugene "Gene" Clark (November 17, 1944 – May 24, 1991) may have lasted only two years front the Byrds but his voice and ccretaivity is forever indelibly imprinted on the ear somewhat and yet the shelving of this demo album hints more at lack of self confidence than label interest surely? Heck this is the man who wrote 'Whole Lot Better' and Eight Miles High amongst others. Lovely stuff, much missed.
We played the fabulous version of Live Byrds doing Eight Miles High on YouTube the other day to celebrate the Truckers, Kickers and Cowboy Angels from Twilight Zone and then this set cropped up on So Many Roads which featured a nearly twenty minutes version that is well worth listening to on its own frankly but the text and this recording are really worth checking out. Thanks to Speedy as usual
Speedy says:
While 1967 may have been the Summer Of Love, that moniker most certainly did not apply to The Byrds. The band was wracked by tensions, especially between Roger McGuinn and David Crosby. Those tensions reached a boiling point at Monterrey Pop. First, Crosby angered all of his fellow band mates during their performance at the festival by rambling on between songs on a variety of controversial topics ranging from the assassination of JFK to the benefits of LSD. Then, he exacerbated the situation by sitting in with Buffalo Springfield (filling in for an absent Neil Young) during their set at Monterrey. Soon after the festival, McGuinn fired Crosby. Ironically, even as Crosby was being booted from the Byrds, the group's record label released The Byrds Greatest Hits, which of course, included tunes such as Eight Miles High which prominently featured the now dismissed singer. The album climbed all the way to #6 on the Billboard charts. making it the highest charting album in the band's history, tied with their debut disc. This soundboard recording from the Fillmore East on June 9, 1971, 51 years ago today features a very different line up from 1967. Only Roger McGuinn remained from the original roster of The Byrds. He was joined by Clarence White, Gene Parsons, and Skip Battin, comprising a foursome that came together in late 1969 and lasted until 1972. The quartet was group’s longest tenured configuration and the one which established the band’s reputation as dynamic live performers. By the way, after this performance by The Byrds, only 8 more concerts would take place at the Fillmore East, including the 3 final shows on June 25, 26 and 27 by the Allman Brothers. A week or so later, the Fillmore West would close as well, It was the end of an era, an era that had begun in 1967, the end of a time when a $5 dollar ticket would get your 3 bands in one night, who just might play until the sun came up.
Fillmore West aka - The Byrds Go West San Francisco, CA January 4, 1970
Early & Late Show Liberated Main Stream bootle
Early Show
01 You Ain't Going Nowhere 02 I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better 03 Old Blue 04 You All Look Alike 05 Positively 4th Street 06 Jesus Is Just Alright 07 Mr Spaceman 08 It's All Over Now Baby Blue 09 Soldier's Joy 10 Turn! Turn! Turn! 11 Mr Tambourine Man 12 Eight Miles High - improvisation 13 Eight Miles High 14 Hold It
Late Show
01 tune up 02 I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better 03 This Wheel's On Fire 04 Positively 4th Street 05 Roll Over Beethoven 06 Honky Tonk Medley 07 So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star 08 You Don't Miss Your Water 09 Jesus Is Just Alright 10 Nashville West 11 Turn! Turn! Turn! 12 Mr Tambourine Man (incomplete) 13 Eight Miles High 14 He Was A Friend Of Mine 15 Hold It
Happy birthday to Roger McGuinn, born as James Joseph McGuinn III in Chicago on this day in 1942. He'll climb that hill, no matter how steep, when he gets up to it.
You Ain't Going' Nowhere
Eight Miles High
My Back Pages
Turn, Turn, Turn
Thursday, June 27, 2019
The first time I heard this song like many others I would guess, was by this mysterious exotic band from America and the jingle jangle morning came a following me . . . . . . . ever after
On this day in music history: June 26, 1965 - “Mr. Tambourine Man” by The Byrds hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 1 week. Written by Bob Dylan, it is the first chart topping single for the Los Angeles, CA based folk-rock band. The hit single version of the song is actually the second version cut by the band, having previously recorded it in mid 1964. Producer Terry Melcher (son of actress/singer Doris Day) is initially unsure of the entire bands’ musicianship and hire members of The Wrecking Crew including Leon Russell, Glen Campbell, Hal Blaine, and Larry Knechtel to play along side Roger McGuinn (12-string electric guitar). McGuinn, Gene Clark and David Crosby sing on the track, recorded at Columbia Studios in Los Angeles, CA on January 20, 1965. Entering the Hot 100 at #87 on May 15, 1965, it leaps to the top of the chart six weeks later. “Mr. Tambourine Man” is also a huge hit on the other side of the Atlantic, hitting #1 on the UK singles chart. The Byrds sound make them pioneers of the burgeoning folk-rock movement, becoming highly influential with many acts that follow (We Five, The Mamas And The Papas, The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Turtles, The Grass Roots, Barry McGuire, Simon & Garfunkel) scoring hits reminiscent of or directly mimicking them. The Byrds version of “Mr. Tambourine Man” is inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 1998.
Help support the Behind The Grooves music blog with a donation by clicking on the link at:PayPal.Me/jharris1228
Thursday, December 06, 2018
Good-Bye Wrecking Crew!
The Byrds - Turn, Turn, Turn
I am not a fan of sourcing songs from The Bible but this one works here better than most. Despite being written by Pete Seeger it was transformed into the world of cool by McGuinn and the boys and there's the rub as you will see below this is where the Byrds found they had the power to say no to the Tin Pan Alley pressures to use session players par excellence 'The Wrecking Crew' so called. Now these guys fascinate me in their own right but here they needed to take a back seat and let the boys just get on with it and here's the result
On this day in music history: December 4, 1965 - “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season)” by The Byrds hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 3 weeks. Written by Pete Seeger, it is the second number one single for the Los Angeles, CA based folk/rock band. Legendary folk singer and songwriter Pete Seeger (The Weavers) writes “Turn! Turn! Turn! ” in 1959 and records his own version of it in 1962. The lyrics are adapted verbatim from the Book of Ecclesiastes in The Bible, giving the song the unique distinction of holding the record for being the number one hit with the oldest lyrics. Produced by Terry Melcher (The Rip Chords, the son of actress Doris Day), The Byrds are insistent that the entire band be allowed to play on their own records, after being replaced with members of The Wrecking Crew (except McGuinn and Crosby) on “Mr. Tambourine Man”. Melcher agrees after realizing the band are competent enough to cut their own tracks in the studio. Though the recording process is relatively slow, with their version of “Turn! Turn! Turn!” being recorded over five days in September 1965, and taking seventy eight takes to complete the final master. Released on October 1, 1965, it takes off quickly. Entering the Hot 100 at #80 on October 23, 1965, it climbs to the top of the chart six weeks later. During its time on the charts and after, the song becomes an anthem of the peace and anti-war movements in the US and abroad. The song is later used on television shows like “The Wonder Years”, “The Simpsons” and “Cold Case”, as well as in the films “Forrest Gump”, “Heart Like A Wheel” and “In America”. “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season)” is inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2001.
Friday, October 26, 2018
It's the early BIRD . . . . . .
THE BYRDS
We loved The Byrds. As soon as we heard that jingle jangle morning music and the covers of Uncle Bobby we knew something was happening . . . . . . .songs like 'Hey Mr Tambourine Man' almost before we hard Bobby's 'version', then 'So You Wanna Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star' mesmerised us. We loved Chris, Gene and Jim then Gram & Clarence and early on we hardly even noticed the departure of some funny looking little guy called David Crosby in '67 we DUG them. 'My Back Pages' shone like another beacon and we wondered if Bobby liked these covers. . . . . . . heck I adored and still rate 'Hickory Wind' by Gram Parson as one of favourite all time songs, we stuck with them until the legendary heavy duty double album 'untitled' superb stuff The Rockasteria has a really interesting article here about the early band around the time of 'Younger Than Yesterday' really worth a read its by John Kruth back in 02/06/17 Plain and Fancy article on the Byrds
Friday, August 31, 2018
Apparently summer is coming to a close (you wouldn't know it here with the temperature climbing and set to soar up to the high twenties by the weekend!) so 'getting your mind on winter time' may be a difficult one but hey, it's the Byrds! Lovely song for a Friday! Stay cool won't you!?
On this day in music history: August 30, 1968 - “Sweetheart Of The Rodeo”, the sixth album by The Byrds is released. Produced by Gary Usher, it is recorded at Columbia Studios in Nashville, TN from March 9 - 15, 1968, and Columbia Studios in Hollywood, CA from April 4 - May 27, 1968. Their first album following the departure of original founding members David Crosby (leaving to form Crosby, Stills & Nash) and Michael Clarke. The Byrds move further away from their trademark electric folk-rock/pop sound, and go in a completely different musical direction. This evolution, having begun on their previous album “The Notorious Byrd Brothers”, sees them experimenting with bluegrass and Appalachian music. The album introduces guitarist and vocalist Gram Parsons as well as guitarist Clarence White as permanent members of the band. While in Nashville, The Byrds perform on Grand Ole Opry, where they are met with derision from the conservative audience who sees the band as “hippie longhairs”. They also have a similar reaction from WSM DJ Ralph Emery when he interviews the band on his show, acting in a condescending matter toward them and initially refusing to play an acetate copy of the just recorded “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” on the air. Though not a commercial success upon its release, its hybrid sound of country and rock music is highly influential on many musicians in the years that follow including the Eagles, Poco, Emmylou Harris and Pure Prairie League to name a few. “Sweetheart” is reissued twice on CD over the years. First in 1997, as a remastered CD with eight bonus tracks, and again in 2003 as 2 CD Legacy Edition featuring more rehearsal takes and alternate recordings. In August of 2016, it is also remastered and reissued by Sundazed Music as a 180 gram vinyl LP (black vinyl), and by Friday Music, pressed on gold vinyl and limited to 1,000 copies. “Sweetheart Of The Rodeo” peaks at number seventy seven on the Billboard Top 200, and is inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2000.
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Now this is interesting (to you maybe - ED!) but this is the first version of Mr Tambourine Man I ever heard. Released as a single and getting significant airplay my brother Steve was yet to buy the Bob Dylan album from whence it came in the UK It had a profound affect upon me - I was twelve and knew something was starting to happen . . . . . the sound and the above all the mesmerising words . . . . . take me for a trip upon your magic swirling ship my senses have been stripped my hands can't feel to grip my toes too numb to step Wait only for my boot heels to be wandering. . . . .
On this day in music history: June 26, 1965 - “Mr. Tambourine Man” by The Byrds hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 1 week. Written by Bob Dylan, it is the first chart topping single for the Los Angeles, CA based folk-rock band. The hit single version of the song is actually the second version cut by the band, having previously recorded it in mid 1964. Producer Terry Melcher (son of actress/singer Doris Day) is initially unsure of the entire bands’ musicianship and hire members of The Wrecking Crew including Leon Russell, Glen Campbell, Hal Blaine, and Larry Knechtel to play along side Roger McGuinn (12-string electric guitar). McGuinn, Gene Clark and David Crosby sing on the track, recorded at Columbia Studios in Los Angeles, CA on January 20, 1965. Entering the Hot 100 at #87 on May 15, 1965, it leaps to the top of the chart six weeks later. “Mr. Tambourine Man” is also a huge hit on the other side of the Atlantic, hitting #1 on the UK singles chart. The Byrds sound make them pioneers of the burgeoning folk-rock movement, becoming highly influential with many acts that follow (We Five, The Mamas And The Papas, The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Turtles, The Grass Roots, Barry McGuire, Simon & Garfunkel) scoring hits reminiscent of or directly mimicking them. The Byrds version of “Mr. Tambourine Man” is inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 1998.
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free
Silhouetted by the sea circled by the circus sands with all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves. Let me forget about today until tomorrow
Monday, March 19, 2018
The BYRDS - All I Really Want To Do
From fellow blogger JoelMcCrea!
“When [‘All I Really Want to Do’] smashed into the Top 20 the following week, the Byrds were invited to appear on Top Of The Pops. They had already featured on the show the previous month, courtesy of a filmed performance of ‘Mr Tambourine Man,’ but this was arguably even more important. They certainly looked startling that evening. McGuinn was positively otherworldly, the consummate method actor, staring deep into the camera lens over those weird rectangular glasses; Crosby smiled seductively, both innocent and mischievous in the same shot; Clark grinned, while slapping the tambourine, occasionally; Hillman barely moved, a statuesque paragon of cool furtiveness, partly hidden beneath his pulled up jacket collar; Clarke, dressed in an English tweed jacket and polo neck, just like McGuinn, affected an abstract disdain, cupping a drumstick in one hand while playing peek-a-boo beneath that long, blond hair. The performance was brilliantly captured by the Top Of The Pops crew, who studiously honed in on each individual Byrd as if they were undertaking an ornothological study of a new species.” – Johnny Rogan
"In addition to their copious drug use–they devoted their time offstage to procuring pot, speed and all manner of “crystals and coloured cubes,” in the words of Derek Taylor–three fifths of the band fell gravely ill during their 1965 British tour. Fever, bronchitis and Michael’s fondness for cough syrup curtailed key performances both in the flesh and over the airwaves, which probably helps to explain why Chris looks like he’s hurtling through another dimension". Candace at joelmccrea
Note this song I DIDN'T buy when it came out but when I first heard it I GOT it! I had been a fan of The Lovin' Spoonful as a default reaction against my big brother [I think] to his choice of the Beatles first couple of albums and I wanted to buy songs of my own generation (sic!) and chose the Spoonful as exotic and 'foreign' as they're, they had appeared on the tv pop shows I think by then and whilst my brother chose intelligent comics to read every week, I bought Fab208 which featured the Spoonful amongst others and by the time 'Hums' came out I was lost! I was also precocious enough to be aware of The Mugwumps with Zal and Denny and Mama Cass and Jim Hendricks having heard their 'You Can't Judge a Book By The Cover' and bought the album over here [although I cannot find it at the moment, I have it on digital download too] Now as soon as I heard 'Creeque (pronounced Creaky) Alley' I knew pretty much all of the artists mentioned from Zal and Denny to Sebastian (the best harp player IMHO) and McGuire and McGuinn. It told a story and not least that lasted until the shock when later I read the accounts of the perhaps larger than life heroin addiction of John Phillips of the Mamas and Papas . . . . . . . . he claimed in his autobiography that he shot up on average every twenty minutes for over a decade. It made me seek out the lyrics to share with you and I found this wonderful web site which explains it all better than I could (which I was about to try and do). Extraordinarily enough how often do you find a website devoted to interpreting one song!?
CREEQUE ALLEY
John and Michi were gettin' kind of itchy Just to leave the folk music behind Zal and Denny workin' for a penny Tryin' to get a fish on the line In a coffee house Sebastian sat And after every number they'd pass the hat McGuinn and McGuire just a-gettin' higher In L.A., you know where that's at And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass
Zally said "Denny, you know there aren't many Who can sing a song the way that you do, let's go south" Denny said "Zally, golly, don't you think that I wish I could play guitar like you" Zal, Denny and Sebastian sat (At the Night Owl) And after every number they'd pass the hat McGuinn and McGuire still a-gettin higher In L.A., you know where that's at And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass
When Cass was a sophomore, planned to go to Swarthmore But she changed her mind one day Standin' on the turnpike, thumb out to hitchhike "Take me to New York right away" When Denny met Cass he gave her love bumps Called John and Zal and that was the Mugwumps McGuinn and McGuire couldn't get no higher But that's what they were aimin' at And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass
Mugwumps, high jumps, low slumps, big bumps Don't you work as hard as you play Make up, break up, everything is shake up Guess it had to be that way Sebastian and Zal formed the Spoonful Michelle, John, and Denny gettin' very tuneful McGuinn and McGuire just a-catchin' fire In L.A., you know where that's at And everybody's gettin' fat except Mama Cass Di-di-di-dit dit dit di-di-di-dit, whoa
Broke, busted, disgusted, agents can't be trusted And Mitchy wants to go to the sea Cass can't make it, she says we'll have to fake it We knew she'd come eventually Greasin' on American Express cards It's low rent, but keeping out the heat's hard Duffy's good vibrations and our imaginations Can't go on indefinitely And California dreamin' is becomin' a reality
%20-%20Front%20Cover%202%20.jpeg)
