The Byrds Return to the Rodeo with ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo’ 50th Anniversary Tour
At the end of the 1960s, when the bold, mind-bending sounds of psychedelia were at the forefront of the scene, something just as “cosmic” was brewing in another corner of the music world. However, instead of relying on groundbreaking studio technology and innovative synthetic sounds, this new genre looked backward for inspiration, returning to rock’s rustic roots in country music. Taking as many cues from Merle Haggard and the Louvin Brothers as Bob Dylan and the blues, this melding of traditional and modern styles was dubbed “Cosmic American Music” by its most legendary proponent, Gram Parsons. Often considered the father of “country rock” – though he did not prefer that term – Parsons was key in crafting one of cosmic country’s earliest albums, the Byrds’ Sweetheart of the Rodeo.
In the wake of David Crosby and Michael Clarke’s departure from the Byrds, founding member Chris Hillman initially recruited Parsons as a jazz piano player, not yet realizing his incredible country capabilities. Considering the Byrds were heavily influenced by folk music from the beginning, it wasn’t a stretch when Hillman and lead vocalist and guitarist Roger McGuinn caught the country fever, and under no small influence from Parsons, they soon veered the Byrds towards twangy Southern sounds. When debuting their new line-up on country’s biggest stage, the Grand Ole Opry, in March 1968, the group performed a few tracks that would end up on Sweetheart of the Rodeo later that year and form an important bridge between classic country and modern rock.
Though there have since been many acclaimed albums in the realm of Cosmic American Music that in one way or another descended from the Byrds’ efforts, it has generally seemed there would be no true return to that unique moment in time. That is, until Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman announced they would be taking their seminal record on the road for the Sweetheart of the Rodeo 50th Anniversary Tour. For dedicated disciples of the genre, this was absolutely a once-in-a-lifetime must-see, and I was lucky enough to be able to attend the October 3rd date at the Akron Civic Theatre in Akron, Ohio.
As it turned out, the show was not strictly for fans of the Flying Burrito Brother sound. Those who prefer the pre-Parsons years should be pleased to know that the evening was split into two sets, one comprised of Byrds tunes from a variety of other albums, preceding the Sweetheart of the Rodeo half. As a longtime Byrds fan – they were one of my first favorite bands when I was 14 – I certainly took no issue with this. Having never seen either Chris Hillman or Roger McGuinn live before, I was eager enough for the chance to witness two of the original Byrds performing songs that played a huge part in my burgeoning love of music. The Sweetheart of the Rodeo portion was just an added bonus, albeit a huge one.
Of course, the promise of any show, no matter how classic the material, is only as good as whoever is serving it up. Fortunately, the band Hillman and McGuinn recruited for the tour couldn’t have been better. Each song was honored with the intricate yet full sounds of the Byrds’ records, thanks to Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, who stayed true to what made Sweetheart such a timeless record – musicians with solid country chops delivering straightforward, soulful tunes with a rock ‘n’ roll attitude. As if to help keep the album’s spirit in tact, Stuart brought a 1954 Fender Telecaster on tour, owned by Clarence White, who played with the Byrds on the Sweetheart recording sessions.
Even the cuts that weren’t quite as country in nature were done due justice. Some highlights of the first set included “I Wasn’t Born to Follow” best known for its inclusion on the Easy Rider soundtrack, “Mr. Spaceman” from Fifth Dimension, and to my total surprise, one of my favorite album cuts, “Time Between,” from Younger Than Yesterday. There was something so special about hearing songs that I hadn’t listened to in a while – years in some cases – and rediscovering them through fresh renderings by some of the original artists.
The two selections from Marty Stuart’s catalog also flowed easily among the 1960s folk rock standards. Stuart made sure to note the Byrds’ heavy influence on his work, thanking them for the bits that he “stole” for his new record, and even embellishing his “Feel A Whole Lot Better”-inspired song “Time Don’t Wait” with a riff on the distinctive guitar solo from “Eight Miles High.”
When it came time for Hillman and McGuinn to rejoin the band for the Sweetheart set, the crowd was fully primed and eager to hear the main course of cosmic classics they’d come for. The band smartly maintained that anticipation, after a long-awaited rendition of “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere,” by mixing up the order of the other album tracks and heading into “Pretty Boy Floyd,” instead of the usual follow-up “I Am a Pilgrim.” To be sure, the album was played in its entirety, but the reordering made for a little extra excitement about which song would come next. This choice also allowed Hillman and McGuinn to fold in a natural narrative of the stories behind each song, sharing tales of writing with Gram Parsons in London hotels and driving through L.A. in a big black El Dorado with the dial tuned to the local country station. One of my favorite moments was the retelling of the Byrds’ appearance at the Grand Ole Opry, when Parsons dedicated their unplanned performance of his song “Hickory Wind” to his grandmother – a lifelong fan of the program.
Though every track was wonderful live, I especially loved hearing Roger McGuinn himself sing “You Don’t Miss Your Water,” “Nothing Was Delivered,” and “One Hundred Years From Now” with Hillman. And for those who may not have gotten their fill the first time around, at the end of the set, they returned to Sweetheart’s famous opener, “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere,” with a sing-along reprise of the beloved tune.
All of this likely would have been more than enough to satisfy the fans, but Hillman, McGuinn, and company were nowhere near finished with the evening. They kicked off their encore with “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘N’ Roll Star,” and speaking as someone who has never once claimed this as my favorite Byrds song, I still screamed like a teenybopper in 1967 the second I heard it.
Despite the brief return to the Byrds’ repertoire, another iconic act proved to be the focus of the finale. It should be apparent to anyone who’s heard a Tom Petty record – most obviously his cover of “Feel A Whole Lot Better” – that the Byrds were a notable influence on his sound. Hillman and McGuinn told some anecdotes of their friendship with Petty and honored the lately departed musician with “American Girl,” “Wildflowers,” and a country-fied “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” featuring fantastic three-part harmony. While the tribute was unexpected, it seemed perfectly appropriate in how it demonstrated the legacy of the Byrds and Sweetheart of the Rodeo through an influential artist who followed their lead.
Reflecting on the evening as a whole, the moment I’d choose to sum it all up would not actually be a song from Sweetheart of the Rodeo. At the close of the first set, Roger McGuinn began to explain how the Byrds transformed Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man” into the jangly pop hit it became, even throwing in a humorously dead-on impression of Dylan’s version. It was certainly no secret that he was about to play the song, but hearing the famous opening riff ringing from his Rickenbacker guitar still surprised me with chills, and I could feel the same electric response resounding throughout the audience. That feeling remained in the theater for the rest of the show, right up to the closing performance of “Turn! Turn! Turn!” For me, being surrounded by so many fans of all ages, who shared a deep-seeded love of music that has kept Sweetheart of the Rodeo and rest of the Byrds’ repertoire so raw and relevant for the past 50 years, made experiencing these songs that much more memorable.
