tight people of the day: the byrds (sweetheart of the rodeo era)

Just the other day I wrote about some members of the Byrds. The Byrds are an awesome and fascinating band to me. So many tight people have been in this band like David Crosby, Chris Hillman, Gram Parsons, Madonna, and Cookie Monster. Sike. But seriously.

Roger McGuinn was the only dude to stay in the band the entire time it was together. Accomplishment! You are probably most familiar with The Byrds because of songs like "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and "Mr. Tambourine Man." However, today I want to focus on a period of country rock for the group. Gram Parsons was singing with them and they recorded a really tight album called Sweetheart of the Rodeo. This album has changed my life a little bit. These guys make it cool to listen to country.

So, in 1968, David Crosby had left the group. They started to record something in a new direction and pursued the country sound. Gram had just been hired to play guitar and piano but then he helped push the group to this new sound. They recorded in Nashville and made this baller album. It has covers of tradish songs, new songs, and an old Stax song turned country, which is what I'm sharing today.

Gram and Chris went on to form the Flying Burrito Brothers, which I think was helped along by their experiences on this album. I think only in later years has this album really been felt by the general public. I mean, I'm sure there were some ballers out there who knew "Hickory Wind" was super tight at the time. But years later, you can see its true effects on the music world. Gram called what they made "cosmic American music" which is another way to MIND BLOWING. It's just flat out great stuff. Even if country or twang ain't your thing, you can appreciate this.

"You Don't Miss Your Water" was a soul hit for Stax recorded by William Bell in 1961. It was his biggest hit and most popular song. Otis Redding also covered it at one point. I thought it was tight to share a soul song with you converted by the Byrds. Also, I will marry you if buy me the William Bell single for this song. P.S. This song is a good lesson for life, don't you think?

The Byrds - You Don't Miss Your Water

Here's William singing his original version. Can you believe this baller was at SXSW in 2007 singing this song? WHY WASN'T I THERE????