The Byrds and The Beatles: A Psychedelic Connection
Prior to the Beatles’ monumental arrival in America, the U.S. music scene was characterized by a unique sound.roger McGuinn, co-founder of the Byrds and known for his signature Rickenbacker 360/12 guitar, played a significant role in shaping that sound.
When the Beatles touched down in America on Febuary 7, 1964, McGuinn was immersed in his work as a session musician and songwriter for Bobby DarinS T.M. Music. Although the Beatles were relatively unknown in the U.S. at that time, McGuinn had already heard of them.
“Living in New York as a studio musician and songwriter in the Brill Building, I caught a glimpse of the Beatles on CBS Channel 2,” he recalls in an interview with Guitar Player. “It was a short clip, maybe two minutes long, featuring girls screaming and the Beatles performing… possibly ‘She Loves You’ or ‘I Want to hold Your Hand.’”
“I thought, ’Wow, these guys are really talented,’” he admits. “I recognized they were incorporating folk music chords into rock and roll. They started as a skiffle band, the Quarrymen, and evolved into a rock band while still playing folk tunes.”
Inspired by the Beatles
This epiphany prompted McGuinn to experiment with his music. “I began adapting folk songs to a Beatles-style beat and performing them in coffee houses in the Village,” he shares, chuckling at the memory. “The audience didn’t quite appreciate it.”
Nevertheless,he felt he was onto something. When George Harrison began using a Rickenbacker 360/12 in 1964, McGuinn, who had been playing 12-string guitars for years, decided to follow suit.
(Image credit: © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/corbis via Getty Images)
In 1965, McGuinn formed the Byrds alongside David Crosby, Gene Clark, Chris Hillman, and Michael clarke. Their subsequent tour was managed by Derek Taylor, who had previously worked with the Beatles. This connection led to a friendship that significantly influenced both bands’ musical journeys.
The impact of this relationship is evident in George Harrison’s track “If I Needed Someone” from the Beatles’ Rubber Soul. It also serves as a backdrop for “She Said She Said,” a song penned by John lennon for the Beatles’ 1966 album, Revolver. In august 1966, during the tail end of their final tour, the Beatles visited the Byrds, and the two groups shared a psychedelic experience, including the use of LSD, alongside actor Peter Fonda.
It was during this trip that Fonda made a profound statement: “I know what it’s like to be dead.”
“Peter had a near-death experience as a child,” McGuinn explains.”He was shot in the stomach and died on the operating table, but they revived him. So, he genuinely knew what it was like to be dead.”
Lennon was taken aback by fonda’s comment. After the gathering, still processing the experience, he wrote ”she Said She Said,” replacing Fonda’s voice with that of a woman who expresses, “I know what it’s like to be dead.”
Reflecting on Lennon’s creation, McGuinn simply states, “I liked it. I appreciate everything the Beatles produced; there’s nothing I would criticize.”
Despite their close ties, the friendship between the Byrds and the Beatles is often overlooked. Their bond was so strong that when the Beatles held a press conference at Capitol Records on August 24, Crosby accompanied them.
“Yes, we were friends,” mcguinn recalls. “Crosby would often tag along. During interviews, people would ask, ‘who’s that guy with the long hair?’ and the Beatles would respond, ’Oh, that’s our friend from the byrds, David Crosby.’”
Influence of the Rickenbacker 12-String
When asked if george Harrison inspired him to use a rickenbacker 12-string, McGuinn confirms, “Absolutely. We all went to see A Hard Day’s Night, and I had heard that sound on their records, but I didn’t know what instrument it was. When George appeared with a Rickenbacker, it looked like a six-string from the front.”
“But when he turned it sideways, I saw six additional tuning pegs, similar to a classical guitar. I thought, ‘Wow, they’ve managed to make a 12-string look sleek.’ It sounded unbelievable, and I had to get one.”
“The first Rickenbacker 12-string I acquired was after trading an acoustic Gibson 12-string that Bobby Darin had given me.I had broken my previous one, and Bobby replaced it with a new gibson 12-string.”
“I also traded my Vega long-neck five-string banjo, like the one Pete Seeger played, along with some cash, to buy a Rickenbacker 360 12-string from a guitar store in L.A. I practiced on it for about seven hours a day,” he laughs.
“It was challenging to adapt to the 12-string,” he continues. “Our manager,Jim Dixon,told me,’You can’t use a capo on an electric guitar; it’s just not done.’ So, I had to learn various scales and techniques to play up the neck. That’s how the ‘Eight Miles High’ sound developed, as I was practicing scales extensively.”
“While George influenced me, if you listen to ’If I Needed Someone’ from Rubber Soul, it’s clear that I influenced him as well.”
“Derek Taylor, who had been in London, brought over a three-inch reel-to-reel tape of ‘If I Needed someone’ from George. He wanted me to hear it,and I did. Derek mentioned that George got the riff from Pete Seeger’s ‘The Bells of Rhymney,’ which the Byrds famously covered in 1965.”
In 1965, the Byrds and the Beatles shared a psychedelic experience in August. McGuinn recounts, “The Beatles had already come to America and declared the Byrds as their favorite group. When they first arrived, they would send a limo to pick us up from our various locations and take us to the house they rented in Beverly Hills.”
“It was the estate of actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, and as we arrived in the limo, there were girls on the fences and police officers managing the crowd. Onc inside,we all dropped acid.”
A Memorable Experience
“Peter Fonda was with us, and while Ringo took acid, paul opted out. George, John, and I participated, while Ringo was entertaining some girls in the pool.”
“I didn’t interact much with Paul at that time. My first encounter with him was during our initial meeting with the Beatles in London. They promoted us as ’America’s answer to the Beatles.’ Derek Taylor, their press officer, introduced us.”
“I met George and John that first night, and Paul invited me to his private club, the Scotch of St. James. We shared a Scotch and Coke,then took a ride in his Aston Martin DB5 around London. It was quite an experience.”
“Later, we attended a party with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The Stones shared how their butler would roll hash joints for them every morning,” he laughs.
(Image credit: Alamy)
Returning to that memorable acid experience in Beverly hills, it was also the moment when McGuinn and Crosby introduced George and John to Ravi Shankar. “We all gathered in a large shower, passing around a guitar, and shared some Ravi Shankar music while under the influence,” he recalls.
“George started to panic, exclaiming, ‘I feel like I’m dying…’ and Peter Fonda chimed in with, ‘Oh, I know what it’s like to be dead.’ John Lennon responded, ‘Oh, don’t say that… you’re freaking me out.this is terrible.’”
“George was already interested in Indian music, so it was surprising he hadn’t heard of Ravi Shankar before,” McGuinn notes. “Jim Dixon, our producer, had worked with Ravi, so we were familiar with his music early on. We were able to introduce George to him, as he had been an influence on us.”
“When we went to London, the Byrds were labeled as ‘America’s answer to the beatles,’ but it was more of a call-and-response dynamic between us,” he explains. “The British Invasion had taken America by storm, and there was a search for a counterbalance. I remember watching American Bandstand when Dick clark suggested, ‘The best Beatles antidote? It’s probably the Beau Brummels.’ Then he mentioned, ’What? The Byrds? Oh, yeah, okay. It’s the byrds.’”
