Full Answer
Who sings the tambourine man in the song "In the Jingle Jangle Morning I'll Come?
Author Howard Sounes has identified the lyrics "in the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you" as having been taken from a Lord Buckley recording. Bruce Langhorne , who performs guitar on the track, has been cited by Dylan as the inspiration for the tambourine man image in the song.
When did the Byrds release their first song?
The Byrds' version was released in April 1965 as their first single on Columbia Records, reaching number 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the UK Singles Chart, as well as being the title track of their debut album, Mr. Tambourine Man.
Who played the song "Bangladesh"?
Dylan played the song as part of his evening set at the 1971, Concert for Bangladesh, organized by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar. That performance was included on The Concert For Bangladesh album, although it was excluded from the film of the concert.
What is the number 79 song on Rolling Stone?
Legacy. The Byrds' version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" was listed as the number 79 song on Rolling Stone ' s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and Dylan's version was ranked number 106.
Who was the lead guitarist of the Byrds?
Lead guitarist, Jim McGuinn, had been a solo folk singer and sideman with various professional folk groups.
What genre of music did the Byrds play?
The "Mr. Tambourine Man" single and album instantly established the band on both sides of the Atlantic, challenging the dominance of the Beatles and the rest of the British Invasion. The releases also introduced the new genre of folk rock, with the U.S. music press first using the term to describe the Byrds' blend of beat music and folk at roughly the same time as the band's debut single peaked at number 1. Some critics, including Richie Unterberger and Burt Robert, have opined that, although the roots of folk rock were to be found in the American folk music revival of the early 1960s, the Animals ' recording of " The House of the Rising Sun ", and the twelve-string guitar jangle of the Searchers and the Beatles, it was the Byrds who first melded these elements into a unified whole.
Where was the Byrds album taken?
The album's distinctive front cover fisheye lens photograph of the band was taken by Barry Feinstein at the bird sanctuary in Griffith Park, Los Angeles. According to author Christopher Hjort, it has become an acknowledged classic since its release. The back cover featured liner notes, written in the form of an open letter to a friend, by Columbia Records' publicist Billy James. In addition, the back cover also featured a black and white photograph, taken by the Byrds' manager Jim Dickson, of the band on stage with Bob Dylan at Ciro's nightclub in L.A.
When did the Byrds change their name?
They changed their name to the Byrds over Thanksgiving that year. On January 20, 1965 , the band entered Columbia Recording Studios in Hollywood to record the then-unreleased Bob Dylan song " Mr. Tambourine Man " as their debut single.
Who was the drummer for the Jet Set?
The duo soon added Crosby to the line-up and named themselves the Jet Set. Over the coming months, Hillman and drummer Michael Clarke were added to the Jet Set and the band signed to Columbia Records on November 10, 1964. They changed their name to the Byrds over Thanksgiving that year.
Who wrote the Byrds' originals?
The album, which is characterized by the Byrds' signature sound of Jim McGuinn 's 12-string Rickenbacker guitar and their complex harmony singing, consists mostly of covers of folk songs, mainly composed by Bob Dylan, and originals written or co-written by singer Gene Clark.
Who sang the lead vocals for "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better"?
The first of these, " I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better ", has been described by Rogan as an uptempo song, with pounding tambourine, jangling Rickenbacker, and criss-crossing vocals, featuring Clark singing lead, while McGuinn and Crosby provided backing vocals.
Who was the drummer who died at 90?
A day after Blaine’s death at the age of 90, McGuinn called Rolling Stone to share his memories of the drummer and discuss Blaine’s vast, underappreciated influence on rock & roll.
Who was the drummer for the Wrecking Crew?
Instead, Blaine, the veteran drummer who had already tracked everything from the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby” to Elvis Presley’s Blue Hawaii soundtrack, joined Wrecking Crew bandmates Bill Pitman, Leon Russell, Jerry Cole and Larry Knechtel to back McGuinn on what would become the group’s breakthrough Number One hit.
When did Roger McGuinn meet Hal Blaine?
The first time Roger McGuinn met Hal Blaine was in January 1965, at the recording session for “Mr. Tambourine Man.” McGuinn had recently formed his new band, the Byrds, but the full group wasn’t ready to record in a professional studio just yet. Instead, Blaine, the veteran drummer who had already tracked everything from ...
Who asked Dylan to play the tambourine?
Langhorne played on some of Dylan's early recording sessions, and one day, Dylan's producer, Tom Wilson , asked him to play tambourine. Dylan was struck by the sheer size of the instrument, describing it as "this gigantic tambourine... big as a wagon wheel." The vision of Langhorne playing it stuck in his mind and led him to the song.
Who gave the song "The Byrds"?
Dylan gave the song to The Byrds somewhat informally and without conferring with his manager, Albert Grossman, who was not happy about it. By the time Grossman got involved, though, the horse was already on the track and couldn't be stopped.
Who sang the original version of "It's All Back Home"?
The two versions were released just a few weeks apart: Dylan's on March 22, 1965, on his Bringing It All Back Home album, The Byrds' on April 12, 1965 as their first single. Dylan's version is just his vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica, and electric guitar countermelodies from session man Bruce Langhorne, who actually inspired the song (more on that later). The Byrds brought in the Wrecking Crew (various session musicians in Southern California) to add bass, piano and layers of guitar on top of Roger McGuinn's 12-string guitar and harmony vocals by Gene Clark and David Crosby. Their version set the standard for folk rock and even convinced Dylan to go electric.
Did Bob Dylan have a #1 hit?
Dylan never had a #1 hit in America as an artist, but The Byrds' cover of "Mr. Tambourine Man" gave him one as a songwriter.
Overview
The Byrds' version
"Mr. Tambourine Man" was the debut single by the American band the Byrds, and was released on April 12, 1965, by Columbia Records. The song was also the title track of the band's debut album, which was released on June 21, 1965. The Byrds' version is abridged and in a different key from Dylan's original.
The single's success initiated the folk rock boom of 1965 and 1966, with a nu…
Composition
"Mr. Tambourine Man" was written and composed in early 1964, at the same approximate time as "Chimes of Freedom", which Dylan recorded later that spring for his album Another Side of Bob Dylan. Dylan began writing and composing "Mr. Tambourine Man" in February 1964, after attending Mardi Gras in New Orleans during a cross-country road trip with several friends, and completed it sometime between the middle of March and late April of that year after he had retu…
Recording
During the sessions for Another Side of Bob Dylan, in June 1964, with Tom Wilson producing, Dylan recorded "Mr. Tambourine Man" with Ramblin' Jack Elliott singing harmony. As Elliott was slightly off key, that recording wasn't used. Later that month he recorded a publisher demo of the song at Witmark Music. More than six months passed before Dylan re-recorded the song, again with Wilson in the producer's chair, during the final Bringing It All Back Home session on January 15, …
Interpretations
William Ruhlmann, writing for the AllMusic web site, has suggested the following outline of the song's lyrics: "The time seems to be early morning following a night when the narrator has not slept. Still unable to sleep, though amazed by his weariness, he is available and open to Mr. Tambourine Man's song, and says he will follow him. In the course of four verses studded with internal rhymes, he expounds on this situation, his meaning often heavily embroidered with imag…
Other Dylan releases
The Bringing it All Back Home version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" was included on Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits in 1967 and several later Dylan compilation albums, including Biograph, Masterpieces, and The Essential Bob Dylan. The two June 1964 recordings, one with Ramblin' Jack Elliott and the other at Witmark Music, have been released on The Bootleg Series Vol. 7: No Direction Home and The B…
Other recordings
"Mr. Tambourine Man" has been performed and recorded by many artists and in different languages over the years, including at least thirteen versions recorded in 1965 alone. The Brothers Four recorded a commercial version before the Byrds, but were unable to release it due to licensing issues. Notable recordings of the song have been made by Odetta, Judy Collins, Stevie Wonder, the Four Seasons, the …
In creative works
"Mr. Tambourine Man" has been referenced in books and film, including Tom Wolfe's non-fiction novel The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Stephen King's novel Carrie, the film Dangerous Minds, and the documentary film Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. The subject of the latter film, journalist Hunter S. Thompson, had "Mr. Tambourine Man" played at his funeral and dedicated his novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas to Dylan and the song. Ann Hui's 1990 film So…
Overview
Mr. Tambourine Man is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Byrds and was released on June 21, 1965, by Columbia Records. The album is characterized by the Byrds' signature sound of Jim McGuinn's 12-string Rickenbacker guitar and the band's complex harmony singing. The material on the album mostly consists of cover versions of folk songs, primarily composed by Bob Dylan, and originals written or co-written by singer Gene Clark. Along with the …
Release and reception
Mr. Tambourine Man was released on June 21, 1965, in the United States (catalogue item CL 2372 in mono, CS 9172 in stereo) and August 20, 1965, in the UK (catalogue item BPG 62571 in mono, SBPG 62571 in stereo). It peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Top LPs chart, during a chart stay of 38 weeks, and reached number 7 in the United Kingdom, spending a total of 12 weeks on the UK albums chart. The preceding single of the same name was released on April 12, …
Background and recording
Before forming the Byrds in 1964, most of the band members had come from a folk and roots music background, rather than a rock and roll one. Lead guitarist Jim McGuinn had been a solo folk singer and sideman with various professional folk groups. So too had singer and songwriter Gene Clark and the band's rhythm guitarist David Crosby. Bass player Chris Hillman's musical background also encompassed folk, but was more oriented towards bluegrass music.
Music
For the most part, Mr. Tambourine Man consisted of two types of songs: band originals, primarily penned by Clark, who was the group's main songwriter during its first eighteen months of existence, and covers of then-modern folk songs, composed primarily by Dylan. The album opens with the Dylan-penned title track, which had been a big international hit for the group, prior to the album's release. Band biographer Johnny Rogan has stated that the two most distinctive feature…
Album cover
The album's distinctive front cover fisheye lens photograph of the band was taken by Barry Feinstein at the bird sanctuary in Griffith Park, Los Angeles. According to author Christopher Hjort, it has become an acknowledged classic since its release. The back cover featured liner notes, written in the form of an open letter to a friend, by Columbia Records' publicist Billy James. In addition, the back cover also featured a black and white photograph, taken by the Byrds' manager Jim …
Legacy
The "Mr. Tambourine Man" single and album instantly established the band on both sides of the Atlantic, challenging the dominance of the Beatles and the rest of the British Invasion. The releases also introduced the new genre of folk rock, with the U.S. music press first using the term to describe the Byrds' blend of beat music and folk at roughly the same time as the band's debut single peaked at number 1. Some critics, including Richie Unterberger and Burt Robert, have opin…
Personnel
Adapted from the CD liner notes and So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star: The Byrds Day-By-Day (1965-1973). Track numbers refer to CD and digital releases of the album.
The Byrds
• Jim McGuinn – lead guitar, vocals
• Gene Clark – rhythm guitar, tambourine, vocals
External links
• Mr. Tambourine Man (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)