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- Great as a soloist, on PBS, or in his days with the Byrds
After knocking around with Bobby Darin, and the New York folk music scene, he heard the Beatles for the first time at the Brill Building. He started playing folk songs to a rock and roll beat in the coffee houses of Greenwich Village. This experiment did not please rock purists, so he moved on to Los Angeles and worked at the famous Troubador. After one of his opening sets for singer Hoyt Axton, Gene Clark approached Roger about his new blend of music.
They started writing songs together, and were soon joined by David Crosby. Within months, conga player Michael Clarke was recruited because he looked like two of the Rolling Stones. Chris Hillman, a mandolin player, was recruited, and learned to play bass guitar. On Thanksgiving Day, 1964, they decided to call themselves The Byrds. By January 1965, they signed with Columbia Records and recorded their first number one hit, “Mr. Tambourine Man.” (Of course, written by Bob Dylan)
Then in 1968, they hired Gram Parsons and went to Nashville to record “Sweetheart of the Rodeo.” Roger disbanded the Byrds in 1973 to pursue a solo career, which included 5 albums for Columbia Records. He rejoined Clarke and Hillman in 1978 on Capitol Records for three albums. Then in 1981, he returned to his folk roots and began a solo acoustic tour.
His 1991 rock album, “Back From Rio” included his pals Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, Michael Penn, Chris Hillman, and David Crosby. In 1995, he began recording and uploading music, a series of traditional folk songs on the internet. They are available free at mcguinn.com.
But his signature 12 string guitar created his signature “jingle-jangle” style, with arpeggios based on banjo finger picking styles he learned as a youngster in Chicago. His other famous style was a merging of John Coltrane’s free jazz atonalities, which sounded like a droning sitar. It was used in the Byrds’ 1966 hit, “Eight Miles High.”
By accident, he added a compressor to get a sustained sound that became his signature sound. The engineer used compressors to protect his equipment from loud rock and roll. It sounded so good that he used two compressors, making the “jingle-jangle” sound like a three or four second woodwind. Another sound Roger created was done with a seven string guitar, with a double G string (octave apart). The C. F. Martin Company even released a special edition called the HD7 Roger McGuinn Signature Edition that captured the sound of his 12 string but maintained the ease of playing a 6 string.
I saw a special on PBS last night that featured Joan Baez. Roger McGuinn characterized Joan as the queen of folk music. Her relationship with Bob Dylan, and her former husband, David Harris, were told in greater detail. And she was a big supporter of Martin Luther King Jr. She spent time in jail for her non violent protests. It was very inspiring.
So here we are now. Roger McGuinn has a rich tradition in the music world, and folk rock in particular. He has toured with the greats. And he has made several number one hits. His appearances on Public Television really exposed his vast talent to me. We also met his lovely wife, and caught up with all the latest “Roger” news. The clear voice, after all these years, “in the jingle jangle morning, I’ll come following you”. “I’m not sleepy and there is no place I’m going to”.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I’m not sleepy and there is no place I’m going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I’ll come followin’ you.
Take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin’ ship
My senses have been stripped, my hands can’t feel to grip
My toes too numb to step, wait only for my boot heels
To be wanderin’
I’m ready to go anywhere, I’m ready for to fade
Into my own parade, cast your dancing spell my way
I promise to go under it.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I’m not sleepy and there is no place I’m going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I’ll come followin’ you.
Then take me disappearin’ through the smoke rings of my mind
Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves
The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves
Let me forget about today until tomorrow.
(who else but Bob Dylan could write this?)
