“Bob Dylan wrote some notes on a napkin and said, ‘Give this to McGuinn. He’ll know what to do withit.’ It was like the Holy Grail”: Roger McGuinn on the making of The Byrds’ countercultural classic

[from left] The Byrds’ Clarence White, Skip Battin, Gene Parsons and Roger McGuinn in action in London in 1971 .

Generally speaking, there were two versions of the Byrds – the early lineup featuring Roger (formerly Jim) McGuinn alongside David Crosby, Gene Clark, Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke, and the later, decidedly edgier band that was navigated by McGuinn, the lone “O.G. Byrd,” amid a sea of lineup changes.

And while that’s a gross oversimplification that leaves out a host of in-between lineups, one thing is certain: the band’s later variations featured an absolute ace of a guitar player named Clarence White.