![]() The first song was gonna be ‘You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere,’ the Bob Dylan song. "I thought it was the most wonderful thing. “I was young and open to any new music if the steel fit, and were gonna let me be a part of it," Green told Vintage Guitar in 2008. Listen to Green's note choices it's a lesson on guitar solo composition, regardless of what instrument he's playing. His tone is actually a bit confusing because it sounds like a guitar (I thought it was a guitar for years when I was a young'n). The studio version of "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere," a cover of a Basement Tapes-era Dylan tune, features a stunning performance by Nashville pedal steel legend Lloyd Green. Yes, we're bending (that's a play on words, folks) the rules and including a pedal steel guitar performance on this list. Sweetheart of the Rodeo | 1968 | Main Guitarists: Lloyd Green, Clarence White In the mid-Sixties, Harrison and McGuinn had formed a mutual-admiration society: “If I Needed Someone” featured Harrison’s second Rickenbacker 360/12, a rounded-off 1965 model that resembled McGuinn’s 1964 Rickenbacker 360/12, which McGuinn bought after seeing Harrison’s first Rick in A Hard Day’s Night. While Seeger also played the song on a 12-string, and even embellished the solo portion with a brilliant, out-of-nowhere chord or two, McGuinn and the Byrds simply took it to new heights-something they did often, especially when it came to Bob Dylan songs. Case in point: George Harrison’s 12-string riff on “If I Needed Someone.” Played in a second-position D-chord shape with a capo on the seventh fret, the line was based on McGuinn’s shimmering guitar work in the mesmerizing 1965 track “The Bells of Rhymney,” which you can hear below.Īll McGuinn really had to go on was Pete Seeger's acoustic version of the song, which was based on a poem by Welshman Idris Davies. Tambourine Man | 1965 | Main Guitarist: Roger McGuinnĪlthough the Beatles were rock’s foremost trendsetters, they still were influenced by other artists. ![]() The guitars, which-let's face it-are everywhere on this track, are the canvas on which the song's story is so vibrantly painted perhaps the guitar high point is the fine interplay between McGuinn's Rickenbacker and White's Martin during the song's emotional breakdown section. It combines McGuinn's trademark electric 12-string picking with White's top-notch acoustic work-with a bit of White's electric B-bender Tele thrown in for good measure. (Untitled) | 1970 | Main Guitarists: Roger McGuinn, Clarence WhiteĪlthough it's not the first track that comes to mind when considering a list of the Byrds' finest guitar tracks, "Chestnut Mare," an epic song about one tenacious man's quest to capture a very special horse (so special that "she'll be just like a wife"), is actually a perfect choice. To catch up with McGuinn, Crosby and Hillman, visit, and .Įditor's Note: Even though Roger McGuinn went by his birth name, Jim McGuinn, prior to 1967, we will refer to him as Roger for the remainder of this story. The songs are presented in no particular order.įor more about the Byrds, visit their official website. Spaceman," and "So You Want to Be a Rock N' Roll Star." Yes, some great songs were left behind on the albums, but important cuts like "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better," "The Bells of Rhymney," and "Chimes of Freedom" are added, making this pretty close to a definitive single-disc summary of the Byrds' prime.If you'd like to find out more about White, who was killed by a drunk driver in 1973, be sure to check out Ode to the Original B-Bender, Clarence White of The Byrds and Kentucky Colonels.īelow, we revisit 10 of the band's greatest guitar moments, taking their entire official output-including recently released archival live albums-into consideration. Tambourine Man" to 1967's "My Back Pages" - are included: "All I Really Want to Do," "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)," "Eight Miles High," "5D (Fifth Dimension)," "Mr. ![]() Apart from the minor hits "It Won't Be Wrong," "Set You Free This Time," and "Have You Seen Her Face," all of the group's hit singles - from 1965's "Mr. As they were recording a series of fine records, they turned out a number of classic singles that unquestionably defined their era.ĭoes an excellent job of chronicling the peak years of their popularity before they went country-rock on 1968's Were one of the great bands of the '60s and one of the few American bands of their time to continually turn out inventive, compelling albums.
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