The Byrds

USA, 1964–1973

Los Angeles band formed in 1964. Roger McGuinn's twelve-string Rickenbacker and the group's three-part harmony on 'Mr. Tambourine Man' established folk-rock as a form.

MusicRoots documents 8 artists who influenced The Byrds and 18 artists The Byrds influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced The Byrds?

• Bob Dylan — The Byrds made folk-rock by turning Dylan songs into electric hits — their debut single 'Mr. Tambourine Man' was the first Dylan composition to top a major pop chart.
• The Beatles — Seeing the Beatles in 'A Hard Day's Night' sent McGuinn to the Rickenbacker 12-string that became the Byrds' signature sound.
• Pete Seeger — McGuinn came up on a Pete Seeger model long-necked banjo and carried its rolls onto the electric 12-string, bringing the Seeger folk tradition into rock.
• George Harrison — Harrison's Indian instrumentation and the Beatles' studio experimentation influenced The Byrds' psychedelic turn.
• Woody Guthrie — The Byrds grew out of the Woody Guthrie folk tradition before electrifying it.
• The Everly Brothers — The Byrds' signature vocal harmonies descend from the Everly Brothers — the close-harmony tradition McGuinn, Crosby and Clark built their blend on.
• Ravi Shankar — 'Eight Miles High' (1966) is founding raga-rock — McGuinn and Crosby have named Ravi Shankar's Indian classical music a direct model for its drone and modal guitar.
• John Coltrane — The other pole of 'Eight Miles High' — Coltrane's modal saxophone (India, Africa/Brass) was McGuinn's model for the song's 12-string flights.

Which artists did The Byrds influence?

• Buffalo Springfield — The Byrds' folk-rock sound was the direct template for Buffalo Springfield.
• Jefferson Airplane — The Byrds' electric folk-rock was the direct model for Jefferson Airplane's early sound.
• Love — The Byrds' folk-rock jangle was a direct influence on Love's early sound.
• The Monkees — The Byrds' folk-rock directly influenced Mike Nesmith's country-rock songwriting within The Monkees.
• The Mamas & the Papas — The Byrds invented the folk-rock that The Mamas & the Papas turned into supreme pop harmony.
• The Turtles — The Byrds' folk-rock jangle was the direct model for The Turtles' early sound.
• Primal Scream — The jangle of the first record, before the band turned. Gillespie founded Primal Scream on this and the Velvet Underground.
• Big Star — The Byrds' chiming twelve-string jangle was the other half of Big Star's guitar sound — the driving, jangly guitars that define power pop.
• R.E.M. — Peter Buck's chiming 12-string jangle descends straight from the Byrds — the founding comparison of every early R.E.M. review.
• Pink Floyd — The Byrds' 'Eight Miles High' was a pivotal influence on Barrett — its raga-tinged jangle a direct model for early Floyd's psychedelic explorations.
• Tom Petty — The Heartbreakers' Rickenbacker chime descends straight from the Byrds — a debt Petty and McGuinn celebrated together on stage.
• Ride — Ride's stacked vocal harmonies are the Byrds' inheritance inside the whiteout — a lineage the band acknowledged.
• Mazzy Star — The jangle and folk-rock bones under Roback's psychedelia come from the Byrds — the California lineage of the paisley underground he founded with Rain Parade.
• Crosby, Stills & Nash — David Crosby brought the Byrds' jangling folk-rock harmony straight into CSN's blend.
• Eagles — The Byrds' country-rock harmony was a foundational model for the Eagles' California sound.
• Electric Light Orchestra — The Byrds' chiming harmony pop was another of the influences behind ELO's sound.
• Orange Juice — Where the jangle comes from — the 1960s guitar chime that punk had ruled out and Collins put straight back in.
• John Mellencamp — One of the four acts heartland rock drew most strongly on, and Mellencamp is central to the form.