Byrds Alumni Trivia Quiz

Answer: Les Baxter's Balladeers

Roger attended the Old Town School of Folk Music in his native Chicago then began performing as a soloist at folk clubs using the name Jim McGuinn. He was soon asked by The Chad Mitchell trio to join them as a sideman. He was later invited to join The New Christy Minstrels but Bobby Darin was changing his repertoire to a folk style and asked McGuinn to play guitar and back him on vocals.

After a year and a half Darin became ill but retained McGuinn as part of his publishing team in new York City where McGuinn worked with Judy Collins and Simon and Garfunkel until he was asked to perform at The Troubadour and relocated to Los Angeles. David Crosby worked with Les Baxter's Balladeers before joining the Byrds.

Answer: The Kentucky Colonels

White also worked with Nashville West and Muleskinner in addition to The Kentucky Colonels. The Kentucky Colonels was originally known as The Country Boys before becoming the Kentucky Colonels in the early sixties. They recorded five albums and appeared on episodes of "The Andy Griffith Show", but the emergence of the British Invasion and Folk Rock scene had an impact on the popularity of their acoustic sound. Clarance opted to head to Los Angeles and became a session player. Among the sessions he was hired on were "The Girl With No Name" and "Time Between" for the Byrds' "Younger Than Yesterday" LP.

He also worked on the "The Notorious Byrd Brothers" and "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" albums before being asked to join the band following personnel changes in 1968. White was killed by a drunk driver in 1973.

Answer: John Guerin

John Guerin was born in Hawaii then raised in the San Diego area. He took drumming lessons and relocated to Los Angeles where he soon found work as a session player. He worked with such diverse artists as George Harrison, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Linda Ronstadt.

He later toured with LA Express and the band became the backing band for Joni Mitchell in the seventies. John Guerin was asked to join The Byrds in the early seventies and the only recordings to feature him were live versions of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Roll Over Beethoven" that were done for the soundtrack to "Banjoman". Ironically, John Guerin was a session player on the soundtrack of Clint Eastwood's 1988 film biography of Charlie Parker, "Bird". John Barbata played for The Turtles and other sixties bands. Jerry Edmonton was with Steppenwolf. Hal Blaine was one of the busiest session drummers in the recording business.

Answer: Skip Battin

Skip Battin had already known chart success in 1959 when he released "It Was I" as half of the duo, Skip and Flip. Singer Gary S. Paxton was Flip. Battin toured with The Byrds and played on three albums, leaving the group in February, 1973. He released a solo album called "Skip" before signing on with The New Riders of the Purple Sage in 1974.
Randy Meisner played bass for Poco and The Eagles. Canadian bassist Bruce Palmer played for Buffalo Springfield. Dave Shogren was one of the early drummers for The Doobie Brothers.

Answer: If I Could Only Remember My Name

Members of The Grateful Dead, Santana and Jefferson Airplane played on Crosby's debut solo album, "If I Could Only Remember My Name". Joni Mitchell also contributed tracks as a backing vocalist. David's brother, Ethan, made his only appearance on any recording on the album.

The album peaked at Number 12 on the US album charts, but his singles did not fare as well. The first single release, "Music Is Love", only reached Number 95 and the other release, "Orleans", had limited chart success. Crosby wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on the album except "Orleans". "Another Stoney Evening" and "Whistling Down the Wire" were duet albums with David Crosby and Graham Nash. "Daylight Again" was a 1982 CSN album.

Answer: The Flying Burrito Brothers

Hillman had played mandolin with Bluegrass groups before becoming one of the original members of The Byrds. He left The Byrds in the late sixties to join The Flying Burrito Brothers. Their 1969 debut album was titled "The Gilded Palace of Sin". The album was a critical success, but not as commercially successful as their 1970 follow-up album, "Burrito Deluxe".

The group underwent several changes in membership which featured Bernie Leadon and future singer for Firefall, Rick Roberts, among others. Hillman left The Flying Burrito Brothers to join Stephen Stills' group, Manassas, in 1972.

The self-titled debut album by The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band was released in 1974. The Desert Rose Band formed in the eighties.

Answer: Drums

Michael Clarke was the original drummer for The Byrds. He joined when they were considering The Jet Set as their name in 1964. Clarke remained with the band for three years, leaving in 1967 while the band was recording "The Notorious Byrd Brothers" album. Drummer Jim Gordon replaced him to complete the album.

When the band went on tour in support of the album Chris Hillman's cousin Kevin Kelley briefly took over playing drums until Gene Parsons was invited to join the group. After working with the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers Gene released a solo album titled "Kindling" in 1973 and a second solo album, "Melodies" in 1979.

He also continued to work as a session player.

Answer: Emmylou Harris

Parsons first met Emmylou Harris when he attended a concert in 1971 with other members of The Flying Burrito Brothers. Emmylou Harris toured in 1973 with Parsons' band, The Fallen Angels. Their on stage vocal chemistry was impressive and they began working on an album titled "Grievous Angel". The project was cut short when Parsons passed away in a hotel room. The album was posthumously released in 1974. Another album of Parsons' music released after his death was the 1976 "Sleepless Nights" LP.
It has been disputed whether Parsons was a full-fledged member of the Byrds or simply an employee, but it cannot be disputed that he did record with and perform with the band.
Melba Montgomery is known for her duets with George Jones. Wanda Jackson was a Honky-Tonk and Rock and Roll singer. Fricke's first successful single was the 1977 release, "What're You Doing Tonight". She also sang duets with Charlie Rich.

Answer: Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers

Gene Clark's affiliation with the Gosdin brothers began with Chris Hillman. Hillman had worked with them in the early sixties when they were part of a bluegrass group called The Hillman. Rex and Vern Gosdin sang backing vocals on Gene's Columbia album.

The album was not a big seller despite featuring some of the top session players available but it received good reviews. The Byrds' album, "Younger Than Yesterday" was released about the same time which may have had an impact on the sales of the "Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers" album. Doug Dillard played the electric banjo on the "Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers" album. Chris Hillman played bass for the project.

Although several former Byrds were members of The Flying Burrito Brothers, Gene Clark was not one of them.

Answer: The Sir Douglas Quintet

The Sir Douglas Quintet dissolved in 1972 when front man Doug Sahm embarked on a solo career. John York was not a founding member, but worked with the band before joining The Byrds. John York was also part of the backing bands for such sixties greats as The Mamas and the Papas and Johnny Rivers.

He worked in the studio for many other Bay Area groups. He met Gene Clark and Clarence White in the mid-sixties while performing at the Whiskey A-Go-Go. The affiliation led to him eventually being asked to be the bass player for The Byrds in the summer of 1968. Skip Spence was with Jefferson Airplane before forming Moby Grape. Ron Meagher was the bass player for The Beau Brummels when they formed in 1964. Dickie Peterson sang and played bass for Blue Cheer.