The Byrd Who Took Flight

Covering Gene Clark, with Tom Petty, Richard Thompson, Fairport, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Roger McGuinn, and more.

As some may know from previous postings, Gene Clark, who co-founded, then prematurely quit, the Byrds (but went on to a stellar solo career before succumbing to drink and drugs) is a particular favorite here. Today happens to be his birthday so below: a collection of swell Geno songs covered by others. Of course, a political cartoon before you get to that. Subscribe, it’s still free.

A Few Bars of Clark

This Tom Petty gift to Gene brought him unexpected riches, which at that point turned out to be kind of a bad thing as it allowed him to hit the booze and coke again after he had seemed to be kicking. He would not survive it.

Richard Thompson, live, with another very early Byrds-era tune.

Fairport Convention, with Sandy Denny, with their live version of another early (but post-Byrds) one, “Tried So Hard.”

Gene wrote one of the greatest songs of the rock era, “Eight Mile High,” though McGuinn also got a credit for his innovative Coltrane-ish guitar figures. Here, Rog is joined live by Levon Helm, Rick Danko and Richie Havens.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss brought Gene back into the limelight a bit by doing two of his songs on their Grammy-winning and best-selling first duo record a few years back. But even they could not touch his originals of “Polly” and “Through the Morning, Through the Night” from the second Dillard & Clark lp.

At the opposite end of the fame scale, I love this rocky live cover of one of Gene’s more obscure early songs, “Why Not Your Baby,” by a Baltic band.

A few years back a group of leading hipster bands (Fleet Foxes etc.) and singers got together to play Gene’s album masterpiece, No Other, to packed young audiences at several venues, including Brooklyn, though none of the lead singers came close to him. Below the classic “Strength of Strings” and “From a Silver Phial” with Robin Pechnold and Hamilton Leithauser wobbling through the vocals (the band is fine though). Full concert available via YouTube.

Bonus: Gene, live, during his final comeback attempt, in 1986, with the wonderful Carla Olson. He would be gone about four years later.

And how it all began: