What an enjoyable evening tonight at the historic Folly Theater in Kansas City, MO. Roger McGuinn, c0-founder of the Byrds, presented a one man show, telling the story of his musical life through song. From first hearing Elvis Presley on a transistor radio, playing with the Limelighters, the Chad Mitchell Trio and Bobby Darrin, writing songs in NYC's Brill Building, meeting David Crosby, to forming a group with no songs nor a record contract, Roger McGuinn entertained an enthusiastic audience with classics like "urn, Turn, Turn"and "ight Miles High" along with playing banjo, 7 string, and 12 string guitar. McGuinn opened the evening's concert with "My Back Pages."
For the next hour and a half, McGuinn took the audience on a stroll through his "back pages" - the music that influenced the sound of the Byrds and his songwriting. Working his way up to the rock 'n roll era, he explained how a reworking of Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desire" ended up on the Byrds B side "She Don't Care About Time." He paid homage to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly and used his own "Chestnut Mare" as an example of a cowboy song from the Old West.
It was in New York that McGuinn first heard the Beatles and, recognizing the folk chord structures they used, envisioned a marriage of folk with the British Invasion. McGuinn left New York for Los Angeles where he met Missouri native Gene Clark and the Byrds were born. The first song Clark and McGuinn wrote was "You Showed Me" which later became a Top hit for the Turtles.
McGuinn performed most of the set seated on a piano bench at center stage surrounded by four instruments - an acoustic and electric 12 string guitar, a 7 string guitar, and a banjo, along with their open cases.
