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ARTISTS COVERED BY THE BYRDS
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Bobby Bare
The Beatles
William Bell
Chuck Berry
Felice & Boudleaux Bryant
Carl & Pearl Butler
Country artist Bobby Bare was a kindred spirit to Gram Parsons. Starting in the late '50s with "All American Boy," Bobby Bare combined country, folk, rock and soul into an appealling blend that often reached the upper reaches of the country charts and sometimes crossed over to pop.
Gram Parsons covered two songs popularized by Bare, "Miller's Cave," a Top 5 hit in 1964, and "Streets of Baltimore," another Top 5 hit from 1966. Other Bare hits include "Detroit City," "500 Miles from Home," and "Four Strong Winds" (the Ian and Sylvia song).In the '70s, Bare found himself allied with the outlaw country movement, thanks to his friendship with Willie Nelson and his penchant for recording Shel Silverstein songs. His album Sleeper Whenever I Fall (Columbia, 1979) featured renditions of Gene Clark's "Feel A Whole Lot Better" and "The Last Time" by the Rolling Stones. In the '80s, Bare linked up with the progressive side of country music by recording with such musicians as Rodney Crowell, Ricky Skaggs, Albert Lee, and Rosanne Cash, and by covering such songwriters as Townes van Zandt and Guy Clark. Bare also appeared at the 1988 tribute dinner for Gram Parsons and Clarence White. The Beatles
The links between the Beatles and the Byrds are many; the two groups had something of a mutual admiration society during the mid-'60s. Gene Clark quit the New Christy Minstrels when he first heard "She Loves You," then approached Jim McGuinn when he heard McGuinn singing Beatles songs at the Troubadour. All the Byrds went to see A Hard Day's Night together; the next day, Jim McGuinn traded his Martin acoustic for a Rickenbacker 12-string like George Harrison's.
In the Beginning reveals that most of the group's early songs sounded an awful lot like the Beatles. Though that influence became less pronounced with practice, it was still evident by time of Mr. Tambourine Man.
The Byrds were lucky enough to hire Derek Taylor as their publicist, who had set up shop in LA after having been the Beatles' PR flack for several years. Thanks in part to that connection, the two bands established a personal relationship early on, dating from the group's first trip to England in the summer of 1965. In August, the Beatles hung out with the Byrds during a week on the West Coast. Several of the Beatles checked out a Byrds recording session (with Bob Dylan), then McGuinn and Crosby went back to the Beatles' rented mansion, where they dropped acid in a hot tub, Crosby told the Beatles about sitar music, and Peter Fonda kept insisting that he knew what it was like to be dead until Lennon kicked him out. Before long various Beatles were telling the press that the Byrds were their favorite group. Harrison stole the riff from "Bells of Rhymney" for "If I Needed Someone" and added a sitar to John's "Norwegian Wood." Lennon compositions such as "Rain" and "She Said, She Said" (about Fonda's bad trip) showed the Beatles had indeed been listening to the Byrds. "Rain" was the B-side of "Paperback Writer," which in turn inspired the Byrds' arrangement of "I Know My Rider" (and Gene Clark's "Elevator Operator," too). Crosby later bragged about swiping a tape of "A Day in the Life" that the Fabs had auditioned for him before the release of Sgt. Pepper.Given their love for the Beatles, the biggest surprise may be that none of the Byrds covered any of their songs on vinyl until 1969. That year, Dillard & Clark released a nice version of "Don't Let Me Down," while Crosby Stills & Nash cut a version of "Blackbird" that finally saw official release on the CSN Boxed Set.Beatles fans might also be interested in "I'm So Restless" from Roger McGuinn (Columbia, 1973) which pokes fun at John Lennon's primal scream therapy (as well as at Dylan and Mick Jagger). A gentler tribute to Lennon was McGuinn's cover of "Anna (Go to Him)" on the Alexander tribute CD, Adios Amigo (Razor & Tie, 1994). Alexander was a favorite of Lennon's, who sang "Anna" on the first Beatles album.There are so many Beatles sites on the web that no one could ever sort through them. If you want to, you could start at Yahoo Index of Beatles Sites.William Bell
Soul singer and songwriter William Bell was a mainstay of the Stax label in the years before the arrival of Otis Redding. "You Don't Miss Your Water" was his first song, a minor hit in late 1961. Like many Stax numbers, the stately song had a country tinge that made it well-suited for the Byrds' down-home arrangement. "You Don't Miss Your Water" established a successful formula for Stax ballads, which Bell and Otis Redding would both follow. The Byrds covered "Water" on Sweetheart, at the behest of Gram Parsons, who loved Southern soul.
Bell's singles and some album tracks are gathered on the anthology Soul of a Bell (Stax/Atlantic, 1967), which has been reissued on Rhino. Chuck Berry
Rock pioneer Chuck Berry was a formative influence on young Jim McGuinn, Gene Clark, Chris Hillman and Gene Parsons. Hints of Berry's guitar style appear in McGuinn's work as early as the World Pacific sessions: "You Movin'," for example. "Roll Over, Beethoven" was a staple of the Byrds' live repertoire across several versions of the band, from 1967 to 1972. And McGuinn's "Tiffany Queen" shows that he could mimic Berry's guitar-playing as well as he could mimic Dylan's voice.
Chuck Berry songs were also a regular part of Gram Parsons concerts. The Fallen Angels show captured on Live 1973 (Sierra, 1994) ends with a medley that includes "Forty Days" and "Almost Grown." His own composition "Lazy Days" shows a Berry influence as well.For more on Berry, try this Chuck Berry site.Felice and Boudleaux Bryant
Few songwriters have compiled a catalog to rival that of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, who scored in both country and rock music.
Their first hit was "Country Boy," a hit for little Jimmy Dickens in 1949. In the early '50s they wrote for many of the top country acts, including Carl Smith and Eddy Arnold. By 1957, the Bryants were writing for country-influenced rockers the Everly Brothers. Together the husband and wife team wrote such classics as "Bye Bye Love," "Wake Up Little Susie," "Problems," "Poor Jenny," "Take A Message to Mary," "Brand New Heartache," and "Sleepless Nights." On his own, Boudleaux Bryant penned "All I Have to Do Is Dream," "Bird Dog," "Devoted to You," and "Love Hurts." In 1967, the Bryants wrote another classic, "Rocky Top," a hit for the Osborne Brothers. The songs of the Bryants obviously made an impression on the Byrds. Dillard & Clark recorded "Rocky Top," and Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris cut three of their songs: "Sleepless Nights," "Brand New Heartache," and, most memorably, "Love Hurts."Carl and Pearl Butler
Carl and Pearl Butler were a husband and wife country team who specialized in honky-tonk numbers like "We'll Sweep Out the Ashes in the Morning," covered so memorably by Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris on GP (Reprise, 1973).
Carl Butler was well-known as both a singer and a songwriter during the '50s. His songs were recorded by country stars like Roy Acuff and Flatt & Scruggs; and his own records were released on Capitol and Columbia.In 1962, his wife Pearl Butler, who had not sung professionally before their marriage, joined him in a duet on the song "Don't Let Me Cross Over," which became a top 10 country hit. The duo recorded throughout the '60s, eventually earning many industry honors and a regular slot on the Grand Ole Opry. Their biggest hit was "Too Late to Try Again" in 1964.[Back to top.]
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