1 They brought Dylan to the masses
And helped him on his discovery of electric music
2 They influenced The Beatles
The Fabs hero-worshiped them, and many Beatles tracks feature that trademark Byrds jangly guitar. Rubber Soul was almost a Byrds tribute album.
3 They were first to get a Psychedelic song in the charts
This was a full year before most of their contemporaries started making trippy pop music
4 Michael Clarke’s barnet is one of the most copied haircuts ever
It was de riguer for Indie chaps in the mid-80s
5 They invented country rock
And this does it better than anyone else
6 Their members launched some incredible solo careers in the 70s
Gene Clark’s No Other is a masterpiece, David Crosby made some wonderful albums and then there’s the fantastic Gram Parsons’ albums
7 They made tambourines popular
Not just for salvation Army types
8 They were a massive influence on just about every great 80s indie band
You can hear that ringing guitar everywhere, from early Primal Scream through to The Stone Roses
9 They talked about Space Rock before anyone else
A good five years before Bowie and 30 years before Spiritiualised.
10 This
Perfect, almost forgotten single
