Music: Roger McGuinn

Formerly of The Byrds, Roger McGuinn talks candidly to Latest’s Jeff Hemmings …

Legendary is a word often bandied about willy-nilly, but in the case of Jim Roger McGuinn, it’s totally justified. Not only did he front up the highly influential The Byrds, he practically patented the chiming Rickenbacker 12-string guitar sound that has been intrinic to rock ‘n roll ever since.

Often on the road, around the globe, with just a couple of guitars and bag of stories, McGuinn recently released Stories, Songs and Friends, a two-CD and DVD set that is an autobiographical release of sorts featuring many a good tale in amongst its repertoire.

“It was a recording made for my mother’s 102nd birthday,” says Roger. “She died when she was 102 and three days (in 2012), and that was the last concert she got to hear. I listened to it and thought it was good enough to put out, and we added a bonus DVD with some of my friends: Judy Collins, Joan Baez, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty, talking about their impressions of The Byrds.”

Roger’s mother was obviously a big part of his life (he himself is now 71). “Yeah, she was an amazing woman. She and my father wrote a best-selling book in 1948 called Parents Can’t Win, a satire on child psychology. And they did a book tour and we travelled all over the country by car. My mother was active in all sorts of book organisations, and they had lots of friends in the theatre world too. So, when I decided to become a professional musician, they were both for it.”

It was also when he was growing up that this love of music was kindled. “They gave me a transistor radio when I was 13, it had just been invented. And I used to ride it around on my bicycle, and Elvis came on with ‘Heartbreak Hotel’. It made me want to get a guitar. I played it in a club owned by Les Paul – Les Paul was there himself – and I played ‘Heartbreak Hotel’. When I got off stage, Scotty Moore (the original Elvis guitarist) said, “are you sure you heard that right, son?”…” McGuinn laughs at the memory.

The Byrds split up in 1973, with an unmatched repertoire of psychedelic rock, folk and country-rock. For the next twenty years, McGuinn released a number of solo albums, and returned with Byrds members Chris Hillman and Gene Clark for a couple of albums in the late ‘70s. But he’s made very little original music for the last twenty years, preferring to tour the world as a solo musician, playing the greats from yesteryear.

“I’ve written a couple of new songs but I’m not really concentrating on making new albums. There’s not a great market for that. I’m not one of those artists who refuses to do things from the past. People come to hear those things. It would be insensitive not to perform them … and they are such good songs!”
St. George’s Church, Wed 5 Nov, 7pm, £35

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