The Byrds

The Byrds were the first important American band of the psychedelic era, integrating stateside folk and country traditions into rock’s rapidly expanding vocabulary.

Formed in 1964 by Los Angeles-based singer-songwriters Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, and Gene Clark, the group typified the West Coast musical aesthetic of the time with bright, interlocking guitar lines, sumptuous vocal harmonies, and impressionistic lyrics.

Their commercial apex came with their first single, a 1965 take on Bob Dylan’s song “Mr.