The Byrds perform at the Grand Ol' Opry in Nashville in 1968. From left, Kevin Kelly, Gram Parsons, Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman. In 1968, the Byrds—a Southern California rock band that had...
The Byrds perform at the Grand Ol' Opry in Nashville in 1968. From left, Kevin Kelly, Gram Parsons, Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman.
In 1968, the Byrds—a Southern California rock band that had enjoyed a series of mega-hits since 1965—set out on an ambitious path to more deeply explore country music, a genre they'd merely flirted with on their previous albums. The disc they came up with, the now legendary Sweetheart of the Rodeo, has gone down in music history as the first country-rock album to be recorded by an established rock act.
The shift was brought on in large part by the entrance of country aficionado Gram Parsons, who joined the group just prior to Sweetheart. Parsons gave the Byrds a creative shot in the arm and, in turn, his association with the band would introduce his twang and songwriting genius to a much larger audience.
Though not initially a commercial success, Sweetheart was a groundbreaking record; for the first time, a major pop act was seamlessly fusing country with rock and roll. All these decades later, the album is still hailed as a classic, and it continues to open the eyes of new generations of fans to country music.
"I think it’s undeniable. When you listen to contemporary country on the radio, you can almost trace it all back to the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo," country music legend Marty Stuart told Guitar World last year.
Lloyd Green (left) and Jay Dee Maness
The album was recorded in March and April 1968 in Nashville and Los Angeles. The band at that time included founding members Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman, plus newcomer Parsons and drummer Kevin Kelley, who happened to