Folk Rock / Psychedelic Rock / Country Rock · 1960s Career
The Byrds helped create folk rock by combining Bob Dylan’s songwriting with the electric guitar language of the British Invasion. Their jangling twelve-string sound became one of the decade’s most influential textures.
“Mr. Tambourine Man” and folk rock
The group’s 1965 version of Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man” transformed acoustic folk into bright electric pop. Roger McGuinn’s Rickenbacker guitar gave the record a chiming sound that later guitar bands would imitate for decades.
From Dylan to psychedelia
“Turn! Turn! Turn!” continued the folk-rock breakthrough, but the group soon moved toward more experimental material. “Eight Miles High” combined jazz influence, drone and psychedelic atmosphere in a way that pushed the style far beyond simple folk electrification.
Country rock
By the late 1960s, Sweetheart of the Rodeo brought country repertoire and Nashville musicians directly into a major rock-band context, helping establish country rock as a durable genre.
Why they matter
The Byrds created several futures at once: folk rock, psychedelic guitar music and country rock. Their influence runs through R.E.M., Tom Petty, jangle pop, Americana and much of later alternative guitar music.
