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OTHER INFLUENCES ON THE BYRDS
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Johann Sebastian Bach
John Coltrane
Lee Dorsey
Frank Hamilton
Django Reinhardt
The Searchers
Ravi Shankar
Hank Williams
Johann Sebastian Bach
The celebrated German composer J. S. Bach (1685-1750) was a seminal influence on the guitar style of Roger McGuinn. Bach-like melodies adorn such songs as "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and "Chestnut Mare," and the bridge of "She Don't Care About Time" is lifted directly from "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring." Those who would like more information on the master of Baroque polyphony should check out the Bach Pages.
John Coltrane
John Coltrane's jagged, virtuosic tenor sax work marked him as a formidable talent in the '50s, when he emerged as a sideman to Miles Davis. By the early '60s, Coltrane was at the forefront of the jazz avant garde, experimenting with polytonal playing and chromatic solos. This so-called "modal period" produced the composition "India," the inspiration for McGuinn's work on "Eight Miles High," as well as the source of its four-note opening riff.
Coltrane's influence on the Byrds was foreshadowed in the original Liner Notes to Mr. Tambourine Man, in which Billy James said of Chris Hillman: "I'm told he plays John Coltrane solos on the mandolin -- does that wake you up?"There are two fan-created websites about Coltrane, A Love Supreme and My Favorite Things.Lee Dorsey
Lee Dorsey was a boxer and a Marine before his first R&B hits in the early '60s, "Ya Ya" and "Do Re Mi." In 1965, he revived his career with help of Allan Toussaint and some great singles like "Ride Your Pony," "Working in the Coal Mine," and "Holy Cow." Another hit from this phase, "Get Out of My Life Woman," inspired the first foray into R&B by the Byrds: their 1966 instrumental "Captain Soul," which began as a workout on the Dorsey song's hook.
By late 1966, Dorsey's hot streak had petered out. In 1969, he returned, backed by Toussaint and the Meters, and had a minor hit with "Everything I Do Gohn Be Funky (From Now On)," but he never lived up to the promise of his big hits. His songs "Occapella" and "Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley" from that same period were covered by Ringo Starr and Robert Palmer, respectively. He returned to his auto body business, coming out of retirement briefly to sing on Southside Johnny's debut album in 1976 and to open for the Clash in 1980. Dorsey died of emphysema at age 60 in 1986. For the best of this underrated soul singer, seek out the compilation, Holy Cow! The Best of Lee Dorsey (Arista, 1985).Frank Hamilton
Folk musician Frank Hamilton was a co-founder of the Old Town School of Music, where he taught a teen-aged Jim McGuinn guitar and banjo in the late '50s.
Hamilton enjoyed a brief fling with stardom when he joined the Weavers in 1962, replacing Erik Darling (who started the Rooftop Singers of "Walk Right In" fame). Darling had replaced Pete Seeger, who left the Weavers for a solo career in 1957. In 1963, Hamilton left the Weavers and Bernie Krause took his place.Django Reinhardt
Gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt created a style of playing all his own, by necessity -- he could use only two fingers on his right hand. His work had an influence far outside jazz. Clarence White cited Reinhardt as a major influence on his own style, and David Crosby named his son "Django" in 1994. For more on this guitar master, see the Django Reinhardt Swing Page.
The Searchers
If one listen to "Needles and Pins" isn't enough to persuade you of the Searchers' influence on the Byrds, check out the "Life-Lines of the Byrds," a promo item dating from the summer of 1965 that lists personal data for each band member. (It's reprinted in Rogan at p. 6.) David Crosby cites the Searchers as one of his favorite bands, along with the Beatles, the Stones, Manfred Mann, and Them.
In a case of retroactive truth in labelling, the Searchers appeared in the list of Jim McGuinn's favorite bands when the otherwise identical list was reprinted in the liner notes to The Byrds Boxed Set (on pp. 48-49), although they did not appear in the original list.For the basics on the Searchers, check out the anthology The Searchers' Greatest Hits (Rhino, 1988).Ravi Shankar
Sitar master Ravi Shankar has done more than any other Indian musician to introduce the music of his country to Western listeners. He recorded at World Pacific with Jim Dickson in the early 1960s, where a young David Crosby listened with interest.
Crosby saturated his fellow Byrds with Shankar's music in 1965, leading to the sitar-like sounds on "Why" and other "raga rock" numbers by the Byrds during 1966 and '67. In August of '65, Crosby raved about Shankar to Beatle George Harrison, who would play the sitar on "Norwegian Wood" in October of that year. Harrison met Shankar in 1966. Eventually he became a student of Shankar and the leading Western exponent of Indian music. With the support of the quiet Beatle, a generation of rock fans was exposed to Shankar's music.Eyeneer Music Archives hosts a Ravi Shankar homepage.Hank Williams
Hank Williams was the king of country music when he died in 1952. Since that time, his music has been the source of a rootsy countercurrent to mainstream country music. The music of Parsons and Hillman reflects the influence of his timeless work. Unfortunately, Williams exercised a less salutary influence on Parsons, who was convinced that he, like Williams, would not live to see thirty. Parsons was correct; like Williams, Parsons had a penchant for substance abuse that killed him in his twenties.
Williams was the inspiration for another bit of Parsons excess. In 1969, Parsons laid plans for a grandiose wedding to Nancy Ross, modeled on the wedding of Willams and his second wife, Billie Jean Jones, shortly before his death in 1952. The Parsons nuptials never took place, but his plans were immortalized in the tune "$1,000 Wedding."For a solid overview of the musical legacy of Hank Williams, see either 40 Greatest Hits (Polydor, 1978) or The Original Singles Collection (Polydor, 1991).CMG Worldwide has an official Hank Williams page.[Back to top.]
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