Opinion
03 Feb 12

Avian Invasion

They were one of the most important bands in the history of popular music. Without The Byrds, we’d never have seen The Stone Roses, REM or The Strokes. In his mammoth new history of the group, Johnny Rogan traces their rise and fall and asks why they are so under-appreciated today.

At over 1,200 pages, Johnny Rogan’s mammoth history of The Byrds, Requiem For The Timeless, Volume 1, is the most ambitious and exhaustive account of any band in rock history. Started in the mid ’70s, this third updating of the story of the influential ‘60s Californian group who invented “folk rock” is obsessive in its detail, with interviews with hundreds of the players involved, including all of the original band members.

“It’s a lifetime’s work,” says Rogan, who admits that the book might appear intimidatingly large. “The Byrds’ saga is not merely an account of the trials and tribulations of a legendary group but the story of the evolution of pop into rock. It’s a fantastic story of group dynamics, of conflict and resolution.”
Though he has written acclaimed tomes on other bands and artists, including The Smiths, it’s fair to say Rogan is obsessed, or at the very least obsessive, when it comes The Byrds.
“If it’s obsessive – and I don’t think that’s the right word – it has to be that way,” he insists. “When you’re working on something like this, you have to think it’s the most important thing of all and that it transcends relationships, money, even health. Part of you knows that’s not true and that this is simply the story of an American group who were successful in the ‘60s. But you would never invest as much time if you didn’t think that way.”
Rogan was captivated by the sound of The Byrds as a teenager living in mid-’60s London. He has been a fan ever since.
“It was all about their musical adventurism,” he says. “People ask what is The Byrds sound? It’s not just about Roger McGuinn’s Rickenbacker guitar and ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’. The Byrds have at least four different musical styles and their albums seemed to move into these unexpectedly. Of course there was all that cross-referencing between The Byrds and The Beatles, as on ‘If I Needed Someone’.”
Without The Byrds there wouldn’t have been a Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, an REM or a band like The Strokes, not to mention several generations of jangly American and European outfits. But in 2012 they don’t seem to resonate with the younger generation in the same way as, say, The Beatles, The Stones, The Doors or The Kinks. Are they under-appreciated?
Rogan: “I would say yes, they are underrated, in that they’ve slipped under the radar a bit. They’re not out there flogging themselves on the heritage circuit like other bands from the era. Roger McGuinn tours regularly and of course David Crosby and Chris Hillman are both still performing and all three of them could get back together as The Byrds if they wished. If they did, it’d be all over the music press and they’d be up there with the acts that are currently being rediscovered.
“But McGuinn is adamant that he will not reform The Byrds, There was serious money on the table at one point but I don’t see him changing.”
Does he have a favourite Byrds album or song?
“My stock answer is Younger Than Yesterday,” he says. “It was the first album that transformed my life. I remember going out and buying it without reading a review and thinking, ‘This is not the jingle-jangle Byrds of old. Am I being conned here? Is my love of The Byrds simply the perseverance of a fan?’ I had the fear – but as I played it I found things in it that I liked and with each play it was getting better and better. I like all of their albums and there’s stuff on the later albums that is worth exploring. It’s funny that the evolution of Americana in recent years has meant that Sweetheart Of The Rodeo might be their most famous album now – so they’re always popping up.”
If Volume 1 of this sprawling saga wasn’t enough, Volume 2 is almost complete and according to Rogan should be published next year.
“It’s looking more at the lives of the individual Byrds in later years and is written in such a way that it’s not necessary to read Volume 1,” he explains.
And is he finally finished with The Byrds now?
“I think I’ve done my bit,” he laughs, “but The Byrds are always percolating in the background. I don’t think I’ll be alive to complete Volume 3. But I might!”