Sweetheart of the Rodeo

by The Byrds

Overview

The Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo was not the first important country-rock album (Gram Parsons managed that feat with the International Submarine Band's debut Safe at Home), and the Byrds were hardly strangers to country music, dipping their toes in the twangy stuff as early as their second album. But no major band had gone so deep into the sound and feeling of classic country (without parody or condescension) as the Byrds did on Sweetheart; at a time when most rock fans viewed country as a musical "L'il Abner" routine, the Byrds dared to declare that C&W could be hip, cool, and heartfelt. Though Gram Parsons had joined the band as a pianist and lead guitarist, his deep love of C&W soon took hold, and Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman followed his lead; significantly, the only two original songs on the album were both written by Parsons (the achingly beautiful "Hickory Wind" and "One Hundred Years from Now"), while on the rest of the set classic tunes by Merle Haggard, the Louvin Brothers, and Woody Guthrie were sandwiched between a pair of twanged-up Bob Dylan compositions. While many cite this as more of a Gram Parsons album than a Byrds set, given the strong country influence of McGuinn's and Hillman's later work, it's obvious Parsons didn't impose a style upon this band so much as he tapped into a sound that was already there, waiting to be released. If the Byrds didn't do country-rock first, they did it brilliantly, and few albums in the style are as beautiful and emotionally affecting as this. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	03/25/1997
Label:	Bmg / Sony Music
UPC:	0886978830227
Rank:	24565

Tracks

1. You Ain't Going Nowhere
2. I Am a Pilgrim
3. The Christian Life
4. You Don't Miss Your Water
5. You're Still on My Mind
6. Pretty Boy Floyd
7. Hickory Wind
8. One Hundred Years from Now
9. Blue Canadian Rockies
10. Life in Prison
11. Nothing Was Delivered
12. You Got a Reputation
13. Lazy Days
14. Pretty Polly
15. The Christian Life [Rehearsal-Take #11]
16. Life in Prison [Rehearsal-Take #11]
17. You're Still on My Mind [Rehearsal-Take #43]
18. One Hundred Years From Now [Rehearsal-Take #2]
19. All I Have Are Memories [Instrumental]

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Byrds   Primary Artist,Band
The International Submarine Band   Primary Artist
Jay Dee Maness   Guitar (Steel)
John Hartford   Banjo,Guitar
Chris Hillman   Bass,Vocals,Mandolin,Guitar (Bass)
Clarence White   Guitar,Vocals
Jon Corneal   Drums
Lloyd Green   Guitar (Steel)
Earl Poole Ball   Piano
Earl Ball   Piano
Roger McGuinn   Banjo,Guitar,Vocals
Gram Parsons   Guitar,Vocals
JayDee Mannes   Guitar (Steel)
Roy M. "Junior" Husky   Bass
Kevin Kelley   Drums

Technical Credits

Charlie Bragg   Engineer
Gary Usher   Producer,Original Recording Producer
Traditional   Composer
Bob Irwin   Producer
Bob Buchanan   Composer
Bob Dylan   Composer
Chris Hillman   Composer
Ira Louvin   Composer
J. Saunders   Composer
Jack Lewis   Producer
Cindy Walker   Composer
Clarence White   Composer
Merle Haggard   Composer
Tim Hardin   Composer
Woody Guthrie   Composer
William Bell   Composer
Monte Kay   Producer
John Nuese   Composer
Terry Fell   Composer
Steve Young   Composer
David Fricke   Liner Notes
Gene Parsons   Composer
Vic Anesini   Mixing,Mastering
Charlie Louvin   Composer
Roger McGuinn   Composer
Roy Halee   Engineer
Gram Parsons   Composer
Luke McDaniel   Composer
Jessica Sowin   Project Director,Associate Project Director
Jelly Sanders   Composer
Johnny Rogan   Photography
Adam Block   Project Director
Rosemary Mulligan   Packaging Manager
Suzi Jane Hokum   Producer
Bill Grimes   Photography
Kevin Kelley   Composer
Michael Ochs   Photography