Retro Chicken

I think I am too young to appreciate the massive impact the Byrds had on pop music, though judging from the audience frenzy in this video clip they were obviously huge (David Crosby, from Crosby, Stills and Nash was one of the original members). Killer harmonies, Rickenbackers jangling and meaningful lyrics from the Bible - what more could you ask for?

Possibly the Byrds’ most important legacy stems from the relationship between singer/guitarist Roger McGuinn and Keith Richards from the Rolling Stones. It was McGuinn who introduced Richards to open tunings, transforming his songwriting and inspiring incredible classics like Gimme Shelter and others. (Open tunings are when you tune a guitar to a chord instead of in the standard way; most typically an E, A, D, or G major chord. They are traditionally used by blues players and are a basic feature of slide guitar. Open tunings are also Dolly Parton’s secret weapon - enabling her to play guitar without having to trim her long fingernails.)

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 6th, 2007 at 10:39 pm and is filed under Byrds, Greasy Chicken.