The Beach Byrds???

Recently, after listening to the Byrds' 1967 masterpiece Younger Than Yesterday, I noticed that there are eerie connections between the Byrds and the Beach Boys in an almost Lincoln-Kennedy kinda way. Maybe they're the SAME BAND? (It sure would explain why the Beach Boys dropped out of Monterey but the Byrds still played!) Maybe they were the same PEOPLE in a past life? Who knows? Read this file and you be the judge.

Last updated: January 22, 2001. Up to: 27 "observations" and more to come

  1. The Byrds released Dylan's "All I Really Want To Do." The Beach Boys released songs called "All I Want To Do" and "All I Wanna Do." As rbates@mfi.com pointed out, this is too scary.
  2. Chris Hillman and Dennis Wilson share a birthday of December 4, 1944.
  3. I don't remember who brought this up, but it's not only too true, but also too damn funny. On the cover of the Byrds' The Notorious Byrd Brothers there's a horse's head. On the cover of many Beach Boys albums, there's a horse's ass. :)
  4. Brian Wilson's 1995 solo release, I Just Wasn't Made For These Times, is mainly a bunch of older songs rerecorded. Roger McGuinn's 1996 solo release, Live From Mars [which Dauber highly recommends. Truly wonderful album!], is mainly a bunch of older songs rerecorded.
  5. Two of the original Beach Boys died -- Carl WILSON (guitarist) and Dennis WILSON (drummer). Two of the original Byrds died -- Gene CLARK (sometime-guitarist) and Michael CLARKE (drummer).
  6. Dennis Wilson died while being under the influence of alcohol. Michael Clarke died from alcohol-induced liver disease.
  7. Brian Wilson ballooned to over 300 pounds. Roger McGuinn also gained considerable weight. (An error in the email dropped this contributor's name. This person incorrectly said that Roger McGuinn's first name "used to be Jim." The truth is -- it STILL is Jim; he changed his MIDDLE name to Roger and goes by his middle name.)
  8. Apparently the two bands even had a (temporary) member in common -- "Captain" Darryl Dragon, who played with the Beach Boys briefly (and wrote "Sound of Free" for Dennis Wilson), and also temporarily replaced Skip Battin on drums in the Byrds' 1972 death throes. [Thanks to Curt Alliaume]
  9. Apparently, Blondie Chaplin played with Gene Clark and Michael Clarke in a mid-'80's Byrds tribute tour. [Thanks to Andrew Gladwin]
  10. Both The Byrds' "She Don't Care About Time" and the Beach Boys' "Lady Lynda" have "prominent instrumental parts that rip off Bach's 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring.'" [Thanks to Rob McCabe]
  11. Both the Byrds and the Beach Boys recorded "The Times, They Are A-Changin'" in 1965.
  12. The writing credit for the Beach Boys' "Feel Flows" lists Carl Wilson and "John Rieley" on the Almost Famous soundtrack. [Mr. Rieley had always gone by the name Jack.] The Byrds released a song called "John Riley."
  13. Terry Melcher, who cowrote cheesy Beach Boys songs from 1988-present, produced the Byrds's first few albums. Terry Melcher was also part of the duo "Bruce And Terry"--Bruce being future Beach Boy Bruce Johnston, who would later say that the Beach Boys had become "surfing Doris Days"--and Terry Melcher's mother happens to be Doris Day!
  14. Van Dyke Parks, who wrote songs with Brian Wilson, plays organ on the Byrds' "5D (Fifth Dimension)." [Thanks to Dave Prokopy for reminding me.]
  15. Gary Usher, who was one of Brian Wilson's first collaborators, produced some of the Byrds' albums, including Younger Than Yesterday and Sweetheart Of The Rodeo.
  16. Roger McGuinn cowrote "Ding Dang" with Brian Wilson.
  17. Roger McGuinn played 12-string on the Beach Boys' remake of "California Dreamin'"--and played and sang on an "alternate" version of "Summer In Paradise."
  18. Brian Wilson's 1988 solo album ended with the song "Rio Grande." Roger McGuinn's next solo album would be called Back From Rio. [Thanks to Mike Wheeler.]
  19. Both Roger McGuinn and Brian Wilson opened their 1991 solo albums with songs called "Someone To Love." [Back From Rio and Sweet Insanity, respectively.]
  20. "Mind Gardens," from the Byrds' Younger Than Yesterday album, sounds a lot like something off of Van Dyke Parks's Song Cycle, which would be released in late 1967. Even David Crosby's voice on this song sounds like Parks! [Van Dyke Parks has informed me that "Mind Gardens"--which I accidentally called "Mind Games" when I asked him about it--was NOT an influence on Song Cycle, so that shoots THAT theory...]
  21. Most of Brian Wilson's "Your Imagination" can be sung to the backing track of The Byrds' "Chestnut Mare."
  22. Bruce Johnston sings the high falsetto harmony on Roger McGuinn's early '70's single "Draggin'," a song whose style is halfway between those of the Byrds and the Beach Boys. [Thanks to Jeffrey Glenn.]
  23. "What about Crosby, Stills and Nash -- Beckley/Lamm/Wilson or the untimely deaths of Dennis Wilson/Michael Clarke? Clearly, there's more going on here than meets the eye." -- Mike Stinnett
  24. "Not long after leaving the touring version of the Beach Boys, Brian Wilson recorded what is widely considered to be his masterpiece with Pet Sounds, a solo album in all but name. Among the many musicians employed by Brian: Glen Campbell, Jerry Cole and Leon Russel.
    "And while it was not the only reason Brian quit touring, his decision to stop was accelerated after an upsetting incident on a plane.
    "Pet Sounds was released in 1966.
    "Not long after leaving the Byrds, Gene Clark recorded what is widely considered to be his masterpiece with Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers, a solo album in all but name. Among the many musicians employed by Gene: Glen Campbell, Jerry Cole and Leon Russell.
    "And while it is not the only reason Gene left the Byrds, his fear of flying was a factor.
    "Recording for Gene Clark with The Gosdin Brothers commenced in 1966. Oh, and the album was produced by Gary Usher."
    -- -- Thanks to Steve Strider
  25. Jim Gordon was a session drummer on both the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds and the Byrds' The Notorious Byrd Brothers. He is also serving a life sentence for murdering his mother! [thanks to Steve Tierney]
  26. The Byrds released a song called "CTA 102" [on the Younger Than Yesterday album]. Meanwhile, a year or two later, Chicago Transit Authority--aka CTA [and later Chicago]--hit the rock scene with their first album. Their manager at this time was future Beach Boys road manager James William Guercio! (Not to mention the two bands' future recording and touring collaborations...) Thanks to Kurt Blumenau.

  27. "The Beach Boys recorded 'Long Tall Texan' on their 1964 live album Concert, a song about a guy whose hat people would laugh at ('Well I'm a long tall Texan, I wear a ten gallon hat / when people look at me they say "ooh-ra, ooh-ra is that your hat?"'). The Byrds recorded 'Old John Robertson' on their 1967 album The Notorious Byrd Brothers, a song about a guy 'who wore a stetson hat / people everywhere would laugh behind his back.' Coincidence?" -- Rob McCabe
    Have any other strange connections between the two bands? Please email your thoughts to Dauber.

    back to Dauber's Li'l Brian Wilson Page