Another weekly reminder to tune in to Sinking with Sylvia (and Sometimes Todd) on Little Radio today from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Their theme today is music from the 1990s. I think that will entail Brit-pop from Sylvia and American indie rock from Todd, but I could be wrong.
As you know, I pick one song each week and then write about it. On September 27th, my pick was Gene Clark’s “Full Circle.” I’m a pretty huge Gene Clark fan and I just read an extensive and well researched biography about him (Mr. Tambourine Man: The Life and Legacy of the Byrds’ Gene Clark). Clark grew up in Kansas City (just like me) and was born a few years after my dad. It was interesting to think about these parallels with Clark growing up at the same time and in the same place as my Dad. They seem to share a lot of the same musical taste as well (Hank Williams, Kingston Trio, Elvis). Unlike my Dad, Clark became a professional musician at a young age and moved away from the Midwest. After a stint in the New Christy Minstrels, Clark founded the Byrds with Roger McGuinn. Clark wrote most of the Byrds’ early original tunes and jealousy and fear of flying (and trying to be in a band with David Crosby) led Clark to leave.
After the Byrds, Clark continued to write folk-rock songs, but also started to explore his bluegrass and country sides. This exploration was pretty much simultaneous with Gram Parsons and some of the other country-rock pioneers. Many argue that Clark’s first album with Doug Dillard, The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark is better than anything Parsons ever did. I like most of Clark’s stuff through the mid 1970s. After a lifelong struggle with substance abuse, Clark died in 1991 from a bleeding ulcer. He was a sensitive, Midwesterner who left behind a shitload of great songs. If you’re into folk-rock and country-rock but not super familiar with his work, you should pick up the great Flying High two-disc compilation immediately.
Gene Clark’s Website
See Teenage Fanclub perform a Gene Clark/Byrds track on Youtube
As you know, I pick one song each week and then write about it. On September 27th, my pick was Gene Clark’s “Full Circle.” I’m a pretty huge Gene Clark fan and I just read an extensive and well researched biography about him (Mr. Tambourine Man: The Life and Legacy of the Byrds’ Gene Clark). Clark grew up in Kansas City (just like me) and was born a few years after my dad. It was interesting to think about these parallels with Clark growing up at the same time and in the same place as my Dad. They seem to share a lot of the same musical taste as well (Hank Williams, Kingston Trio, Elvis). Unlike my Dad, Clark became a professional musician at a young age and moved away from the Midwest. After a stint in the New Christy Minstrels, Clark founded the Byrds with Roger McGuinn. Clark wrote most of the Byrds’ early original tunes and jealousy and fear of flying (and trying to be in a band with David Crosby) led Clark to leave.
After the Byrds, Clark continued to write folk-rock songs, but also started to explore his bluegrass and country sides. This exploration was pretty much simultaneous with Gram Parsons and some of the other country-rock pioneers. Many argue that Clark’s first album with Doug Dillard, The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark is better than anything Parsons ever did. I like most of Clark’s stuff through the mid 1970s. After a lifelong struggle with substance abuse, Clark died in 1991 from a bleeding ulcer. He was a sensitive, Midwesterner who left behind a shitload of great songs. If you’re into folk-rock and country-rock but not super familiar with his work, you should pick up the great Flying High two-disc compilation immediately.
Gene Clark’s Website
See Teenage Fanclub perform a Gene Clark/Byrds track on Youtube
1 comment:
there is an amazing breadth to his work; baroquepop,countryrock,bluegrass,folk, even rockabilly .i think he needed a strong partner to work with to organise and focus him-probably outside of the creative area.
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