The Byrds

About The Byrds

The Byrds ( BURDZ) were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes; frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) was the sole consistent member. For a short time in the mid-1960s, the Byrds were among the most popular groups in the world, with critics considering them to be among the most influential rock acts of their era. The band's signature sound of "angelic harmonies" and McGuinn's jangly 12-string Rickenbacker guitar sound was "absorbed into the vocabulary of rock" and has continued to be influential. Initially, the Byrds pioneered the musical genre of folk rock as a popular format in 1965 by melding the influence of the Beatles and other British Invasion bands with contemporary and traditional folk music on their first and second albums and the hit singles "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and "Mr. Tambourine Man". As the 1960s progressed, the band was influential in originating psychedelic rock and raga rock, with their song "Eight Miles High" (1966) and the albums Fifth Dimension (1966), Younger Than Yesterday (1967), and The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968). The band also helped pioneer country rock, particularly...

Discography

Members

Chris Hillman

multi-instrumentalist

John York

multi-instrumentalist

Skip Battin

multi-instrumentalist

Roger McGuinn

multi-instrumentalist

David Crosby

multi-instrumentalist

Gram Parsons

multi-instrumentalist

Gene Parsons

multi-instrumentalist

Gene Clark

multi-instrumentalist

Michael Clarke

multi-instrumentalist

Kevin Kelley

multi-instrumentalist

Clarence White

multi-instrumentalist

John Guerin

multi-instrumentalist