The Byrds: Turn! Turn! Turn!

“Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything there is a Season)” was a number one record for The Byrds in 1965 and the title of their second LP. The song was adapted from the third chapter of Ecclesiastes in 1959 by Pete Seeger who added a few words and rearranged some of Solomon’s original to fit the music better. Seeger has consistently donated 45% of the writer’s royalties to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions because his contribution to the song was the melody and only six words.

Roger McGuinn had arranged the tune for a 1963 recording by Judy Collins. The suggestion of The Byrds recording the tune came from McGuinn’s future wife Delores who requested that The Byrds sing the tune. While Collin’s version was done in a typical folk style, the Byrds’ rendition came out in the folk-rock style which propelled it to the top of the charts.

Solo Version by Roger McGuinn

This is an interesting look at what Roger McGuinn is doing on the Electric 12-string Rickenbacker guitar. If you notice closely his is using both a flat pick and finger picks – this takes coordination.