Happy Birthday to Gene Clark

Those who flock to The Byrds
Post Reply
User avatar
stsang
Member
Posts: 381
Joined: Wed May 04, 2011 12:47 pm
Contact:

Happy Birthday to Gene Clark

Post by stsang »

The late, great Gene Clark was born this day 1944. He would have been 67 years old today. Rest In Peace.
Gene Clark
Gene Clark
http://www.geneclark.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Clark
Gene Clark wrote or co-wrote many of The Byrds' best-known originals, including: "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better", "Set You Free This Time", "Here Without You", "If You're Gone", "The World Turns All Around Her", "She Don't Care About Time" and "Eight Miles High". He played harmonica for the band, too (notably on "Set You Free This Time"). Bassist Chris Hillman noted years later in various interviews remembering Gene: "People don't give enough credit to Gene Clark. He came up with the most incredible lyrics. I don't think I appreciated Gene Clark as a songwriter until the last two years. He was awesome! He was heads above us! Roger wrote some great songs then, but Gene was coming up with lyrics that were way beyond what he was. He wasn't a well-read man in that sense, but he would come up with these beautiful phrases. A very poetic man--very, very productive. He would write two or three great songs a week". "He was the songwriter. He had the "gift" that none of the rest of us had developed yet.... What deep inner part of his soul conjured up songs like "Set You Free This Time," "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better," "I'm Feelin' Higher," "Eight Miles High"? So many great songs! We learned a lot of songwriting from him and in the process learned a little bit about ourselves. At one time, he was the power in the Byrds, not McGuinn, not Crosby—it was Gene who would burst through the stage curtain banging on a tambourine, coming on like a young Prince Valiant. A hero, our savior. Few in the audience could take their eyes off this presence."
2010 360/12c63 FG
2002 360/12 MG (mod with 7.4K scatterwound toasters, push/pull switch for 0.0047uF bridge cap)
JakeK
RRF Consultant
Posts: 5757
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2007 9:08 pm

Re: Happy Birthday to Gene Clark

Post by JakeK »

Gene Clark, one heck of a songwriter. He had a dynamic to the band that made them who they were. He really blossomed on Turn! Turn! Turn! with songs like "Set You Free This Time", "The World Turns All Around Her", "If You're Gone", "The Day Walk" and "She Don't Care About Time".

He did love to party, though. According to source, when Tom Petty covered "Feel a Whole Lot Better" in 1989, Gene partied the hardest ever.

What's the story on his return during the Notorious Byrd Brothers sessions?
Post Reply

Return to “Byrds' Forum: by James Krause”