3/17/2023 0 Comments Roger mcguinn![]() ![]() Tambourine Man,” Los Angeles became the main spawning ground for folk rock the Mamas and the Papas, Sonny and Cher, the Grass Roots and the Turtles quickly followed in the Byrds’ wake. These included McGuinn and the Byrds, who were a vital force in L.A.’s metamorphosis from Snoozeville to America’s new capital city of pop. I don’t think the Beach Boys had even started yet.” There was more action in New York during 1962-63, McGuinn was in the Brill Building writing tunes for Bobby Darin, doing session work and playing folk gigs in Greenwich Village.īut by mid-1965, Los Angeles was alive with the crisp sound of electric guitars and the cumulative roar of expensive Porsches driven by the city’s new mod gods. “There wasn’t much going on on the street either. “Pop radio was people like Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme,” says McGuinn, then seventeen and already a veteran of the folk scene in his native Chicago. Ironically, James Joseph McGuinn III (he changed his name to Roger in 1967, during a flirtation with Eastern religion) thought Los Angeles was “a sleepy little town” when he first passed through in 1960 while touring as a backup musician with the Limeliters. That Time Joni Mitchell Brought Gordon Lightfoot's House Down With 'Coyote' Tambourine Man” and “My Back Pages” vividly captured not only the city’s sunny allure but also its restive, and hopeful, adolescent spirit. The distinctive chime of McGuinn’s twelve-string Ricken-backer guitar and the metallic resonance of the group’s choirboy vocals on “Turn! Turn! Turn!,” “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star,” “Eight Miles High” and on covers of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. was that of the original Byrds - McGuinn, David Crosby, Gene Clark, Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke. And while the twang ‘n’ harmony magic of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys embodied the SoCal myth of wild surf and sweet beach romance, the real sound of swinging Sixties L.A. It was, however, the very surreal quality of life there - the singular collision of great wealth, high commerce and deviant art in the film, television and music communities, heightened by the rising tide of teenage discontent and the impact of the British Invasion - that made Los Angeles the ideal playground-workshop for the mid-Sixties hip rock elite. “Just the whole attitude here, where people are superficial and so caught up in material things. “I always looked down on L.A., like it wasn’t the real world,” McGuinn says with a chuckle. As the principal singer, lead guitarist and de facto leader of the Byrds, McGuinn was also one of the city’s most distinguished rock & roll citizens - an early champion of Bob Dylan’s songs, a confidant of the Beatles and a major instigator of the folk-, acid- and country-rock movements that transformed pop music during the Sixties. He lived there for the better part of two decades, 1963 through 1980. Before the internet, his research provided essential resources for DJs, journalists and others in the music industry.Roger McGuinn never particularly liked Los Angeles. From his basement home office in suburban Menomonee Falls, Wis., this obsessive, nerdy music fan compiled the history of Billboard charts into a series of books. Awards were presented to Gary Hines and Ashley Commodore, among others Jamela Pettiford, Jovonta Patton and some newer names gave powerful performances.ģ RIP, Joel Whitburn. ![]() The gospel recognition prizes last Sunday were efficient, uplifting and enriching. In saluting the 40 th anniversary of the inaugural of the awards, founder Pete Rhodes has resurrected the event as a series of four livestreamed ceremonies from a TV studio. Highlights include Alex Isley's dreamy "We Are One," Lupe Fiasco's trippy "Galveston," Bun B's festive "This Is What We Do" and WSTRN's spiritually tinged "Free Your Mind."Ģ Minnesota Black Music Awards. They've chosen 16 songs by contemporary Black voices. Think classic Springsteen and Prine, then add a raw, intensely personal and straight-from-the-heart vibe.ġ Apple Music's Juneteenth 2022: Freedom Songs Playlist. Michael is an amazing songwriter/performer whom people may never have heard of. Great show in an idyllic setting on a beautiful night in Delano. Often a solo performer, the Chicago singer played with his band, including his wife, Heather Horton, this time. ![]() Fascinating history.ģ Michael McDermott, Rieder Homestead. And he seemingly knew and/or has played with everyone. I have always loved the Byrds but didn't fully appreciate what a prolific musician McGuinn is - acoustic/electric six- and 12-string guitar and banjo. Not the boys by themselves, or a holiday show, but they were joined by some really talented singers and players in Red Wing to cover classic film scores, from "Alfie" to "Chinatown" to "Goldfinger." A lot of fun.Ģ Roger McGuinn, Hopkins Center for the Arts. ![]() A half-dozen cool things in music, from two points of view:ġ The New Standards, Sheldon Theatre. ![]()
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