McGuinn's Music Before the Byrds ( 1961-1963 )

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Before Roger McGuinn was in the Byrds, he helped arrange music and played guitar and banjo on the Judy Collins album "3" from 1963. On that record, they do two Pete Seeger tunes that the Byrds would later do: "Turn! Turn! Turn!", and "The Bells of Rhymney". McGuinn's banjo playing on "Bullgine Run" is excellent. Also, two Dylan songs are covered: "Farewell", and "Masters of War". There's even the Woody Guthrie song "Deportee", and this too would later find itself on one of the later-era Byrds albums. Judy Collins "3" is a very good album that I highly recommend to all Byrds fans. I really enjoy this album, and it’s neat to hear McGuinn’s guitar and banjo playing before the Byrds came into being.

Also, a friend of mine once had an old record album dedicated to instrumental banjo music. I remember picking it up, and being surprised to see the name "Jim McGuinn" playing banjo on two songs. The cover of the album was green and had a picture of either a banjo or a little old country house (I can’t remember exactly). My friend played the record for me, and I remember it sounded good. I can’t remember the exact name of that album, but I know it came before he was in the Byrds. Rogan briefly mentions this album on page 28 of his book Timeless Flight Revisited, saying, "McGuinn played on several instrumental albums playing banjo and 12-string guitar." The book also mentions that McGuinn worked with Hoyt Axton, the Irish Ramblers, Bobby Darin, and Tom and Jerry (who later became known as Simon & Garfunkel).

McGuinn also appeared on two albums by the Chad Mitchell Trio in 1962. Those albums are "Mighty Day On Campus" and "The Chad Mitchell Trio At The Bitter End". I’ve never heard these albums, and I was wondering if any of you have heard these and would like to discuss them.

McGuinn’s first real gig was with the Limeliters. He plays on their 1961 album entitled "Tonight In Person". Again, I’ve never heard this album, and was wondering if anyone has heard it and would like to discuss it.

As you can see, McGuinn’s background was initially in folk music, and although most of us really love the sounds he made when he plugged in a Rickenbacker 12-string electric, he was steadily becoming a viable acoustic folk musician in his own right before the Byrds.

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In my view, Roger McGuinn's hybrid picking style brought about a revolution in the playing of the electric 12-string. Had he not been a banjo player we may never have had the unique picking that introduced the Byrd's jangling sound to the world. Fortunately for us, and RIC, his folk influence was sustained in an era when rock music was pulled in many directions.

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Yeah, McGuinn's picking style is related to banjo playing. In a way, he's sort've the Earl Scruggs of the electric 12-string. In fact, McGuinn and company (including Doc Watson, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez) appear on an Earl Scruggs friends and family album from 1971 (Columbia 30584). It's a pretty cool record. The Byrds do versions of "You Ain't Going Nowhere" and "Nothin' To It" with Earl Scruggs and his band.

I think there's even another all-star album with Earl Scruggs a little later on in the 70s, and I think McGuinn does a song on that one as well, but I've never heard that album.

I remember reading somewhere in Johnny Rogan's book about the Byrds manager, Jim Dickson, describing McGuinn putting a kapo on his first electric Rickenbacker 12-string, just like a folk musician would. Dickson laughed at McGuinn and told him that they don't use those things in "rock 'n' roll", so Roger learned how to play the scales without one.