The Byrds Lyrics Page

With the single "Turn!Turn!Turn" the Byrds managed to top the charts again, this time with a composition of Pete Seeger with lyrics from the "Book Of Ecclastiastes". The arranging of a folk song by adding dance rhythms and incomparable Byrd harmonies once again had proved to be a successful method but the Byrds headed for more. Jim McGuinn and David Crosby started to contribute more of their own compositions, not willing to let Gene Clark stay the one to make the most money with his royalties. The Byrds' second album "Turn!Turn!Turn!" ( Dec.65/March 66) included more Dylan covers and fantastic songs by Clark like "Set You Free This Time", released as their third Columbia single.

McGuinn's "Fifth Dimension" and "Mr.Spaceman" (Singles # 4 and #5) showed the likes of his creator for outer space fantasies and became minor hits. Crosby no longer wanted to stay just the harmony singer and convinced the group to look for more musical styles to be arranged in the Byrds'style.

Actually a ballad written by Gene Clark "Eight Miles High" turned out to be the ideal playground for Crosby and McGuinn to bring in some new influences. Crosby, who had grown up with his jazz playing brother Chip convinced McGuinn to play his lead guitar like John Coltrane had played the sax. Also the rhythm band accompanied the song in the way of Coltrane's "Africa Brass" while the three singers contributed ethereal harmonies. "Eight Miles High" turned out one of the greatest songs in rock history but failed to become another chart-topper after radio stations banned the song casting suspicion on the writers to have written a drug song.
The songs on the Byrds'third album "Fifth Dimension" in 1966 were a mixture of Byrds-typical folk-rock ("John Riley") and heavier sounds like the jazzy "I See You" and Crosby's latin-blues version of "Hey Joe".

Soon after the release of "Eight Miles High" Gene Clark left The byrds for several reasons. In 1966 he formed a group featuring Bill Rhinehart (g), Chip Douglas (b) and Joe Larson (d) to perform his new songs as "The Gene Clark Group".

His first solo album "Gene Clark With The Gosdin Brothers" was recorded in late '66 and released in February 1967 at the same time with the Byrds'new album "Younger Than Yesterday". Both, album and first single "Echoes" failed to become chart success despite of the excellent material. With the help of musicians like Leon Russell, Hillman and Clarke and Clarence White. Gene Clark had recorded the first album one can describe as "country-rock".