Why'd the Byrds cover Dylan songs so much? *

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by spice9, Jul 9, 2006.

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  1. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    Not to mention Gene Clark, Gram Parsons and Clarence White---perhaps the most tragic trio in rock.

    Gene Clark is America's Nick Drake.
     
  2. kevinsinnott

    kevinsinnott Forum Coffeeologist

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    I think the label thought of the Byrds as an in-house Peter, Paul and Mary, with the added updating of their electric guitar sound. It sure didn't hurt Dylan any.
     
  3. Driver 8

    Driver 8 Senior Member

    The last sentence of the quote answers your own question.

    As squealy has noted, the idea that rock bands had to write all of their own material was relatively new at the time. To pick an example at random, Chad & Jeremy covered Paul Simon's 1966 hit "Homeward Bound" on their 1966 Distant Shores album. That's just the way the biz worked back then. The Music Machine recorded the Beatles' "Taxman" a few months after it appeared on Revolver.

    I absolutely don't understand the "what a totally lame way to make money" comment. What is a totally non-lame way to make money? The Byrds didn't just cover Dylan's songs note-for-note - they re-arranged them, edited them, and, in at least one case, re-harmonized them. Was Jimi Hendrix's interpretation of "All Along the Watchtower" a totally lame way to make money or a stunning re-arrangement of Dylan's original song? I'd say the latter, myself. And Dylan and his management approved of the Byrds' versions of the songs. Listen to the Bootleg Series Vols. 1 - 3 to hear examples of Dylan's publishing demos - i.e. demos that Dylan recorded in the hopes that other artists would cover his songs.
     
  4. Larry Mc

    Larry Mc Forum Dude

    The first time I heard of Bob Dylan was when Peter, Paul and Mary sang "Blowing in the Wind". I believe that it was the first hit single of a Dylan cover song. 1963
     
  5. whitenoise

    whitenoise New Member

    Location:
    Sarasota, Florida
    Songwriters generally like it when other people play their songs. They tend, in fact, to encourage it, almost universally. It's flattering and encouraging in multiple ways.

    Re Sonny and Cher: in fact, they stole the Byrd's arrangement of All I Really Want To Do and had a bigger hit with it. The Byrds made no money from it, because they didn't write the song. That's an example of real thievery...
     
  6. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    ...they also brought John Denver to the top of the food chain with their cover of Leaving On A Jet Plane...
     
  7. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!


    ...all covers are fair game...Sonny & Cher were quite established...Hey, they even got their own TV show later on, and Cher was destined to be a superstar..IMO, they stole nothing.:)
     
  8. Chris M

    Chris M Senior Member In Memoriam

    Nah, Clark had MUCH more sucess than Drake ever had.
     
  9. catman

    catman Forum Resident

    I am embarrassed to admit this, but I listened to the Byrds way more than Dylan back then...I have only recently (i.e. in this millennium) begun to "get" early Dylan. I can't explain this! I mean, I still love The Byrds "Mr. Tambourine Man", but now when I hear it alongside Bob's, I don't know what I was thinking, other than I was enraptured by the sound of that Rick 12 string and those luscious harmonies. But Bob's version is the Truth.
     
  10. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    Sad to say, but you're right. In songs like "If You're Gone" and "Set You Free This Time" his musical style reminds me of Nick Drake's breathy atmospherics.

    However Gene Clark deliberately abandoned his successful run with the Byrds (fear of flying was rumored), never really recovering. His demise was rather desolate, I've heard.
     
  11. claypool

    claypool New Member

    Location:
    Finland
    I'm glad they did. I like the Byrds' versions of Dylan songs more than the originals.
     
  12. Beatlelennon65

    Beatlelennon65 Active Member

    Let's face it, The Byrds introduced a lot of us to Dylan. I dont think they ripped anybody off.
     
  13. shnaggletooth

    shnaggletooth Senior Member

    Location:
    NJ
    I used to feel otherwise, but today I consider the amount of an artist's songwriting to be completely irrelevent when judging the quality of their music. The only criteria that I judge an artist by is this: Do I enjoy listening to their music?

    The Byrds were an interpretative band as much as they were a songwriting band; as exercises in music-making, their interpretations of Dylan's songs were original and groundbreaking, as well as being enjoyable.
     
  14. Driver 8

    Driver 8 Senior Member

    What snaggletooth said. Are we going to disregard Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley because they sang other people's songs?
     
  15. MikeM

    MikeM Senior Member

    Location:
    Youngstown, Ohio
    It seems like The Byrds covered Dylan "so much," but the actual scorecard is really only eye-popping on the first album:


    Mr. Tambourine Man -- 4 Dylan covers (two released as singles)

    Turn! Turn! Turn! -- 2 Dylan covers (one an unreleased song)

    Fifth Dimension -- 0 Dylan covers

    Younger Than Yesterday -- 1 Dylan cover (released as a single)

    The Notorious Byrd Brothers -- 0 Dylan covers

    Sweetheart of the Rodeo -- 2 Dylan covers (both unreleased songs)

    Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde -- 1 Dylan cover (unreleased song)

    non-LP single -- ("Lay Lady Lay")

    The Ballad of Easy Rider -- 1 Dylan cover (that the Byrds attempted earlier in their career, but didn't release)

    (Untitled) -- 1 new Dylan cover plus one live version of an old one

    Byrdmaniax -- 0 Dylan covers

    Farther Along -- 0 Dylan covers


    Doing some very rough math, this works out to less than 10 percent of The Byrds' total recorded output being written by Dylan. Maybe that seems like "so much," maybe it doesn't. You could certainly argue that they were doing a public service by exposing heretofore unreleased Dylan songs (4 out of the 13).

    But the real answer to the original question probably lies in the astounding success of the "Mr. Tambourine Man" single. It was more than just a #1 record...it was hugely influential, and the music business is certainly known for trying to repeat success using the same formula.

    I will say this...Columbia made a massive miscalculation by not originally pushing Gene Clark's "Feel a Whole Lot Better" as the A-side of The Byrds' follow-up single. When it was clear that Cher's version of "All I Really Want to Do" would win the race, they tried to flip it, but it was too late.

    If they had made "Better" the A-side from the start, it absolutely would have been a massive hit. Forty-one years later, when I play this song in my band, it still gets an immediate positive response every single time. Few songs that weren't actually ever played on Top 40 radio are so well-known and beloved; I've never met anyone who doesn't LOVE this song.
     
  16. Driver 8

    Driver 8 Senior Member

    The success of Tom Petty's rip-off, I mean cover, of "Feel a Whole Lot Better," supports this theory.
     
  17. Raunchnroll

    Raunchnroll Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Didn't The Beatles do covers?
    Or was that The Who?
    Those English blokes covering black US artists of the late '50s & early '60s.
     
  18. Beatlelennon65

    Beatlelennon65 Active Member

    The Stones?
    :D
     
  19. Squealy

    Squealy Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Vancouver
    It is, I suppose, somewhat unusual for a band to cover another artist so frequently. But then, it's Dylan. Though beyond "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "My Back Pages" and a couple of others, I'd rather hear Dylan do Dylan and the Byrds do their own songs.
     
  20. mfp

    mfp Senior Member

    Location:
    Paris, France
    True. This song is absolutely amazing, and the guitar solo is just great. I feel the best Byrds songs are not Dylan's covers, but Gene Clark's compositions.

    I feel the same way about Scott Walker; I like his own songs better than his covers from Jacques Brel.
     
  21. Mick Jones

    Mick Jones Senior Member

    Good points. If some people can't see the amount of creative effort that went into The Byrds interpretations of Bob Dylan's songs then they should listen to track 14 on disk 1 of the Bootleg Series Vol. 7. That is the version of Mr. Tambourine Man that The Byrds heard before they recorded their worldwide smash hit single.
     
  22. stereoptic

    stereoptic Anaglyphic GORT Staff

    Location:
    NY
    Manfred mann covered many Dylan tunes as well:
    • With God on Our Side
    • If You Gotta Go, Go Now
    • Just Like a Woman
    • The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)
    • Please Mrs. Henry

    You can answer the thread title the same way one would answer "Why did you climb the mountain?" I am not sure who holds the record, but I would guess that Bob Dylan is very high on the list of artists who's songs are covered by other artists.
     
  23. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    Like Emmylou Harris (Every Grain Of Sand) and Madeline Peyroux (You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone).
     
  24. Dave D

    Dave D Done!

    Location:
    Milton, Canada
    So am I the only to notice that the author of this thread is AWOL since he started it? Surprising?

    We've been had again, folks.
     
  25. stereoptic

    stereoptic Anaglyphic GORT Staff

    Location:
    NY
    Nope, just a hype for the just released 'The Trolls Sing The Byrds Dylan Covers' :laugh:
     
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