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Wednesday, February 9, 2011

The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man

Mr. Tambourine Man is the debut album by the The Byrds and was released in June 1965 on Columbia Records .

The album, along with the single of the same name, established the band as an internationally successful rock act and was also influential in originating the musical style known as folk rock.

The term "folk rock" was, in fact, first coined by the U.S. music press to describe the band's sound in mid-1965, at around the same time that the "Mr. Tambourine Man" single reached the top of the Billboard chart.

The single and album also represented the first effective American challenge to the dominance of The Beatles and the British Invasion during the mid-1960s.

The song has a bright, expansive melody and has become famous in particular for its surrealistic imagery, influenced by artists as diverse as French poet Arthur Rimbaud and Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini.

The lyrics call on the title character to play a song and the narrator will follow. Interpretations of the lyrics have included a paean to drugs such as LSD, a call to the singer's muse, a reflection of the audience's demands on the singer, and religious interpretations.

The album peaked at #6 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and reached #7 in the United Kingdom. The Bob Dylan penned "Mr. Tambourine Man" single was released ahead of the album in April 1965, reaching #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart.

The Byrds (were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964.

The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (aka Jim McGuinn) remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973.

Although they only managed to attain the huge commercial success of contemporaries like The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and The Rolling Stones for a short period of time (1965–66), The Byrds are today considered by critics to be one of the most influential bands of the 1960s.

Initially, they pioneered the musical genre of folk rock, melding the influence of The Beatles and other British Invasion bands with contemporary and traditional folk music.As the 1960s progressed, the band was also influential in originating psychedelic rock, raga rock, and country rock.

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