Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Clyde Skip Battin, once bass player and vocalist for the Byrds died on July 6, 2003 of Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's disease? Wow!
How old was Skip???

I was never a big fan of Skip's music, but I met him at one of the infamous "Byrds" reunion shows years ago in Colorado Springs. Very nice guy. Although my memory is somewhat hazy, the lineup included Battin, Gene Clark, Michael Clarke, and Rick Danko. All of them gone now. Damn . . .

Keith,

Hmmm...all those guys are dead...I feel that you should seek medical help immediately.

And what was Rick Danko doing at a Byrds reunion, anyway? I was unaware that he had ever recorded or toured with the Byrds. The only thing I can think of is that, given their history, perhaps he was there to "supply" Clarke???

Paul, I'll consider taking your advice - might not be a bad idea given the circumstances.
As for Danko, I have no idea why he was there unless it was just to play with some pals. To my knowledge, that little tour was his only "Byrds" experience. By the way, it was a pretty hot show.

I read somewhere that Skip Battin was in his mid 30s when he joined the Byrds...in any event he was older than McGuinn, White and Gene Parsons..if thats correct, hed have been in his mid-late 60s when he passed. None of the obits Ive read mention his age.

Danko did tour with one of the Byrds reunion groups for a while. I dont knw exactly what the connection was...he did cowrite "This Wheels on Fire"...if you listen to some of the Byrds live stuff...the Boston Tea Party Bootleg in particular, the Band influence is obvious...there are covers of This Wheel on Fire, Long Black Veil, and I Shall Be Released... down to the Dankoesque falsetto harmonies

According to this site, he was 69.

http://www.mlode.com/~813/byrdsrick.html

I was not familiar with his playing until today when I saw an old Video of The Byrds, he was an amazing bass player, did a solo with the drummer and percussionist of the band that just smoked, they played like they had been playing together 40 years. It must have been a ten minute solo and I was riveted the whole time, you gotta be good to hold my attention for that long, I was actually sorry when it was over. It was actually more like a trio solo, I'm going to get it this week and find out where it was recorded, I think some of the more seasoned players like me (read: geezers) would really like it. He played an old P bass, looked like a 58 or somewhere around there, it had the gold anodized pickguard and had little stickers of byrds all over it and must have had ten year old flatwounds on it, the guy was amazing, I never expected to see a player play like that with The Byrds. (No offense I like them too) He was definitely an old-school player, didn't slap, tap, wack, kick, or play with his teeth and it sounded like a bass. He played the hell out of it, defintely an inspiration to me, another great bass player gone. What a feel he had and he was perfectly relaxed all the time.