All 3 are superstars. Gene Clark's voice was unique. Just like Waylon, George Jones and Merle Haggard when you heard Gene's voice you knew it was him. He was a truly gifted vocalist and was a song writer on the level of Bob Dylan. Gene's solo albums prove that.
Wish THIS group had stayed together. Great to see Clark on vocals & playing guitar rather than relegated to background in the Byrds. And Grantham on drums! Great!
I saw this version of the Byrds in San Diego in '78. They were super. I'd forgotten that they each took different verses on this song. What a thrill. This video took me back. Thanx for posting.
Indeed, Gene's voice had gained strenght and fullness after departing the Byrds. Too bad he was such a flaky person. He could have had a bigger career than Crosby
@@johnstephen7610 I think Crosby hates Gene Clark, there is definitely some bad blood between the two, even to this day long after Gene died Crosby doesn't have anything positive to say about him. It's sad.
Wonderful version, great to hear the three verses instead of the normal one, vocals wise Mcguinn seems a bit nervous, Hillman a bit Socal laid back 70's, and Gene Clark NAILS it.
Thanks so much for this! I grew up loving the Byrds and enjoying picking out who sang what part of the wondrous harmonies. Gene, I’ve heard, got bumped out of the lead vocal slot back then, though I don’t know why. His voice has stuck with me since, and I still love his solo work. Another thing I hear watching this is the realization that Chris’s voice became a LOT stronger over the years. By the time he was doing his thing with Desert Rose Band, he was crystal clear with a true strength about him! What a progression in quality! In fact, here in Spring of 2024, DRB is still a favorite of mine. Anyway, thanks for posting this clip. Love it!
In the early byrds Clark was the sole songwriter alongside the Dylan covers...he therefore got far more money than the other band members this caused animosity in the band...this is likely the explanation for why he was..sidelined as the main front man...as aside from anything else he was by far the best singer in the band....
Much as I love the songs and singing of Hillman and Clark, McGuinn's abrogation of his own lead vocals on a song he arranged and rewrote into a hit shows why he doesn't want to do a reunion. As he told me a while ago, "I LIKE those guys; I just don't want to play with them".
The original Byrds did amazing things in their short time. They introduced the pop world to Bob Dylan, and (via the Beatles) to Ravi Shankar. They influenced all their peers, and created new genres of music. They brought Rock and Country together. NO-ONE would have put money on that. For all their collective genius, they could not hope to improve on that. That is why their mostly excellent reunion album was not the masterpiece that their reputation demanded. Crosby wanted to play with the Byrds again, because that was the best work he had ever done creatively. McGuinn knows they could never improve on their own back pages, and attempting it would have tarnished what they had already achieved.
Under appreciated reunion of these three. Gene was Gene and let them down once again. Gene did an interesting cover with Chris on his '84 Firebyrd album. They always added the additional verse not in the original Byrds' single in '65.
Amazing the the hairstyle changes from the Byrds days. So used to seeing Chris Hillman with a Beatle's style mop and now in this clip with a tight curl. Thanks for the upload.
As great as McGuinn, Hillman and Crosby were, the Byrds were never the same once Gene Clark left them. It’s too bad that he dealt with the demons that he had to deal with.
McGuinn arranged and rearranged this many times. The quote by Scott Campbell merely shows how his ego sometimes has gotten in the way of his own musical growth and collaboration. Another example was his refusal to use his best new songs for the reunion that Crosby organized as the 1973 Byrds album. The others had personal issues as well, of course.
What a very massive share. TYVM gjp. Do you have the other two songs as well or a click/clue/link about them. Very good footage, very good quality. A must have and an icon in my musical belongings. Thanks in advance for any answer. Keep up the good work.
I can't pin down the exact year but it was somewhere between 1978-1981(2) as this trio recorded two studio albums and toured during that time span . Dont You Write Her Off Like That being the top 40 hit from their first lp in 1978/9. That song wa a a bit of staple on WNEW FM in NYC during that time.
They toured Australia in 1978. They played Adelaide on the 28th June so would have been the weeks leading up to that, or after. Shows that McGuinn was a fan of Star Wars on it's release just 12 months before.
great stuff, especially with George Grantham on drums. It's too bad he didn't stay. Greg Thomas was the wrong drummer of MCH: way too busy and overbearing. Grantham knew how to play to a tune, not ruin it.
The album after this tour was horribly over produced. Clark’s songs seemed to be especially massacred by the studio backing band. The producers took great songs and tried their best to make them disco. Very different from how excellent they are done in these live clips.
![McGuinn Clark Hillman: Mr Tambourine Man [After Dark]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
