MY BACK PAGES THE BYRDS CHORDS FOR FREE

MY BACK PAGES THE BYRDS CHORDS FOR FREE

вЂњI started recording these songs for free on Folk Den,вЂќ he said. These are cowboy songs, sailor songs, chain-gang songs, those I learned at The Old Town School. вЂњIn 1995, I was listening to Smithsonian Folkways traditional songs and it dawned on me current singers werenвЂ™t doing original folk music as Pete Seeger had. In line with his latest, folk-music-preservation project, Folk Den, McGuinn Saturday presented вЂњRolling Down to Old Maui,вЂќ a tune sung by 19th Century whalers. вЂњI played banjo for Chad Mitchell.вЂќДЄs proof, McGuinn banged out the ByrdsвЂ™ вЂњI Wanna Grow Up To Be A PoliticianвЂќ on banjo Saturday and also flat-picked some wicked acoustic licks on Woody GuthrieвЂ™s вЂњPretty Boy Floyd.вЂќ вЂњI was the sole accompanist for the Chad Mitchell Trio, from 1961 to about 1962-and-a-half,вЂќ he said. I was there about three years it was pretty intense,вЂќ he recalled. вЂњThatвЂ™s where I learned to play the banjo.

вЂњI studied at The Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago,вЂќ McGuinn said Friday. McGuinn demonstrated his own affection for jazz and flamenco music Saturday night but, in the end, he was and remains saturated in folk. McGuinn said, adding, вЂњDavid was a jazz fan and he was always doing different tunings and different chords.вЂќ Dave (Crosby), became our rhythm guitar player and he played excellent rhythm guitar,вЂќ вЂњWe got GeneвЂ™s Gretsch (guitar) away from him and he just sang and played tambourine. вЂњHe was supposed to play bass (guitar), but we found out he couldnвЂ™t play bass and sing at the same time,вЂќ McGuinn said of Clark, who died in 1991. Gene Clark, who McGuinn said he first met while playing at the Troubadour, Los AngelesвЂ™ crucible of 1960s talent, was the folk singer and guitarist with whom he would pen many early Byrds hits. Next, McGuinn played a few acoustic-guitar bars from BeethovenвЂ™s вЂњOde to JoyвЂќ to demonstrate how a slight rearrangement, in 4/4 Beatles style, became one of the most famous guitar intros in rock music and propelled the Byrds and their rich, multilayered harmonies into the pop music stratosphere.

Enter McGuinn the innovator who, Saturday night, first entertained with DylanвЂ™s version of the song, complete with a passable vocal impersonation of his old friend.

Tambourine ManвЂќ a hit and thereby secure a contract for another record.Д¬rosby, McGuinn said, didnвЂ™t like the songвЂ™s folksy, 2/4 trot, especially since the Beatles were burning up the charts with their 4/4 beat. McGuinn recalled how he and singer/songwriter Gene Clark, bassist Chris Hillman, drummer Michael Clark and a вЂњpudgyвЂќ harmonizer named David Crosby pondered ways to make вЂњMr. Dylan had written the song in 2/4 time, a standard signature for folk music but, McGuinn said, at four minutes and 19 seconds, the tune was too long for AM radio airplay, which in those days tolerated no more than two-and-one-half minutes of music at a pop. Tambourine ManвЂќ was the ByrdsвЂ™ do-or-die shot at the big time, McGuinn told the crowd Saturday night. That occurred in 1965, when Dylan, as McGuinn put it, вЂњwas a well-respected folk singer, but not the rolling stone he was later.вЂќ Tambourine ManвЂ™ before he (Dylan) was a pop artist,вЂќ McGuinn said Friday morning. For two hours, the 74-year-old leader of folk rockвЂ™s most enduring band shared insights into his history and that of the Byrds, embellishing with hit-record originals, post-Byrds solo creations and, of course, the music of Bob Dylan.

вЂњIвЂ™d like to take you through my back pages,вЂќ McGuinn said, settling into his center-stage seat and setting the tone for the evening.

My back pages the byrds chords