When the Byrds released “Mr. Tambourine Man” in 1965, they introduced Bob Dylan’s songs to a new audience and launched a career that would make them among the most influential rock bands of all time. With their unmistakable harmonies and Roger McGuinn’s innovative12-string Rickenbacker guitar, the Byrds never stopped experimenting. They incorporated folk, country, and jazz influences into a fresh blend that helped define an era. “And not to be too shallow,” Tom Petty once wrote, “but they also were just the best-dressed band around. They had those great clothes and hairdos.”
Now the band’s three surviving founding members — Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman, and David Crosby — have come together to present The Byrds: 1964-1967, a large-format tabletop book that offers a unique visual history of the group. Featuring more than 500 images from legendary photographers such as Henry Diltz, Barry Feinstein, Curt Gunther, Jim Marshall, Linda McCartney, Tom Gundelfinger O’Neal, and Guy Webster, the book also includes restored images from the Columbia Records archives and the personal archives of the band’s original manager. Accompanied by a running commentary of their memories of the group, the era, one another, and their late compatriots Gene Clark and Michael Clarke, this carefully crafted volume is a truly unique collector’s item for Byrds fans.
To be released in 2022, The Byrds: 1964-1967 will be published in four configurations: a Standard Version, a Deluxe Limited Edition, a Super Deluxe Limited Edition, and a Super Deluxe Limited Edition with Fine Art Print. While the future Deluxe Limited Edition will be signed, the Super Deluxe Limited Editions — which are available for presale now at byrdsbook.com — are the only configurations that will include the signatures of all three surviving founding members: McGuinn, Hillman, and Crosby. The Super Deluxe Limited Edition, which comes housed in a custom clamshell box, is limited to only 750 hand-signed and numbered copies, while the Super Deluxe Limited Edition with Fine Art Print is limited to only 75 copies and includes a choice of one of three exclusive 11x14-inch prints from photographers Henry Diltz, Barry Feinstein, and Jim Marshall. The Super Deluxe Limited Edition is available for presale now at $475, while the Super Deluxe Limited Edition with Fine Art Print is available for $1,700. Once these editions sell out, they will not be reprinted.
The book caters to the collector’s market and is presented in a lavish 10.5 x 13-inch format. Featuring more than 500 images, many of them never previously published, the 400-page book will be custom printed in Italy on 200 gsm premium art paper and will feature the highest quality thread-sewn binding, luxurious quarter-bound casing, and a custom clamshell box for the Super Deluxe Limited Editions.
This is the first in-depth visual book about the Byrds, who were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, and the first collaborative book by the surviving founding members. It’s also the first time McGuinn, Hillman, and Crosby have all worked on a project together since recording new tracks for a retrospective box set in 1990. The title is published by BMG, which also recently published Chris Hillman’s critically-acclaimed memoir, Time Between: My Life as a Byrd, Burrito Brother & Beyond. BMG additionally represents David Crosby’s publishing and recording catalog, and produced the award-winning documentary David Crosby:Remember My Name.
The Super Deluxe Editions are exclusively available for presale now at www.byrdsbook.com
