The Byrds - Sweetheart of the Rodeo

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. [Columbia's 1997 CD reissue of the album improves on the masterpiece by adding eight strong bonus tracks, including four cuts with Gram Parsons singing lead trimmed from the original release for legal reasons.] ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide

Name Credits Adam Block Project Director Bill Grimes Photography Bob Irwin Producer Charlie Bragg Engineer Chris Hillman Guitar (Bass), Vocals, Mandolin, Bass Clarence White Guitar, Vocals David Fricke Liner Notes Earl Ball Piano Earl Poole Ball Piano Gary Usher Original Recording Producer, Producer Gram Parsons Vocals, Guitar Jay Dee Maness Guitar (Steel) JayDee Mannes Guitar (Steel) Jessica Sowin Project Director, Associate Project Director John Hartford Banjo, Guitar Johnny Rogan Photography Jon Corneal Drums Kevin Kelley Drums Lloyd Green Guitar (Steel) Michael Ochs Photography Roger McGuinn Vocals, Banjo, Guitar Rosemary Mulligan Packaging Manager Roy Halee Engineer Roy M. "Junior" Husky Bass Vic Anesini Mastering, Mixing