The Byrds connection doesn’t end with this song. Several years ago, original Byrd Chris Hillman included a cool country pop version of this song on his Like A Hurricane album. The Byrds often covered this song during their early sets at Ciro’s. This is yet another period artist and song that preceded the Byrds onto the national charts. Jackie DeShannon -“When You Walk In The Room” -featured on Rhino’s The Best of Jackie DeShannon CD. This is another cool variation of Pete Seeger’s “Bells Of Rhymney ” making it a cousin of George Harrison’s “IfI Needed Someone.” Sundazed Records has subsequently re-released the band’s back catalog, and a number of previously unreleased studio out-takes. Check out “Don’t Talk To Strangers” (featured on Rhino’s The Best Of The Beau Brummels CD). ![]() The Beau Brummels -the San Francisco folk-rock band that actually charted a national hit before the Byrds. These two discs will ensure that all of the band’s classic jangly tunes from the 60s, 70s and 80s -including “Hearts In Her Eyes,” “Love’s Melody,” “Everything But A Heartbeat” and “September Gurls” -are in your collection. The Searchers -this is the British band that brought us one of the first jangly hits -“Needles & Pins.” Purchase Rhino Records’ The Searchers Greatest Hits and Raven Records’ 23-song The Searchers: The Sire Sessions. The Beatles, after all, perfected the two-Rickenbacker guitar sound … and they inspired McGuinn, Clark and Crosby to change their folk music to the popular 4 / 4 Beatles beat! The Byrds might not have developed their “signature” sound if Roger (then Jim) McGuinn hadn’t spotted George Harrison playing a Rickenbacker 12-string guitar in the movie “A Hard Day’s Night.” Capitol discs with “I Need You,” “It’s Only Love,” “If I Needed Someone” and “And Your Bird Can Sing” should be essential in a jangly music collection. However, once the Byrds charted, the Beatles listened … and, in the case of George Harrison’s “If I Needed Someone,” they mimicked what they heard. The Beatles were a huge influence on the Byrds. The Beatles -NOTE: The Beatles were on the charts for almost a year when the original Byrds lineup was formed. The following list is hardly comprehensive, but it provides Pop Geek Heaven website readers with a good launching point for those who are similarly inclined to crank up the treble setting on their stereos and listen to those Rickenbacker (or Hammer, Fender or Danelectro) 12-string guitars jangle, chime and ring! The Sixties: ![]() For this installment, I’ll start with some of the artists and songs from the 1960s. In the months to come, I will list the artists and songs that are either “Byrdsian” or jangly. Every garage band in the mid-60s included jangly Beatles and Byrds songs in their repertoire … as well as jangly nuggets like “Hey Joe” and “Gloria.” Since those magical teen years, my music collection has focused on “Byrdsian” music in particular – and chiming, ringing jangly music in general. I also remember walking down the street to hear a neighborhood teen with a Rickenbacker 12-string guitar play that song in his family room. I remember the first time I was sitting in the gymnasium bleachers and I heard a band perform “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better” at a high school dance. Tambourine Man” in April 1965 just seemed to open the floodgates of jangly music. ![]() The great Searchers’ song – “Needles and Pins” – really resonated with me back in 1964. I have always been drawn to the sound of a jangly, chiming, ringing 12-string guitar … or a combination of six-string guitars that creates the same rich sound. A JANGLY MUSIC PRIMER – THE 1960S by Eric Sorenson
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |