R.I.P. Mickey McGee (July 20, 2020)

 

The Flying Burrito Brothers / Sierra with Mickey McGee (far right)

We just learned that drummer / singer / songwriter William Michael "Mickey" McGee (born October 25, 1947) died of complications from COVID-19 on July 20, 2020.

He was a member of The Flying Burrito Brothers in and out from 1975 to 1981, and appears on the 1977 LP they released under the name “Sierra”.

He was also a member of the “reunion” Swampwater recording sessions in 1979, replacing original drummer Stan Pratt. These recordings were released in 1987 only on the "Reunion" LP.

He also worked for The Burrito Brothers, Bobby Gentry, Linda Ronstadt, Juice Newton, Jim Ringer, Blue Steel, Maureen McGovern, Keith Moon, Ricky Nelson, Jackson Browne, John David Souther, Warren Zevon, Chris Darrow and more.

Byrds reactions to biographer Johnny Rogan's passing.

Our regular correspondent Jean-Pierre Morisset wrote to all 5 surviving members of The Byrds to ask for their comments about Johnny Rogan's passing.

Here are their answers:

John York - "He was a wonderful man. Deep intelligence and sensitivity made him unique in the world of music journalists. And a good friend to us all."

 

Gene Parsons - "Sadly another one of the ‘old guard’ gone missing in action."

 

Roger McGuinn, David Crosby and Chris Hilman
didn't reply.

Kevin Kelley Memorabilia

 

Click To Enlarge 

Although he was the drummer for The Byrds' groundbreaking "Sweetheart Of The Rodeo" LP, Kevin Kelley is often underrated as a Byrds member. So items about him are rather rare.

Here's a personal handwritten letter he sent on June 1, 1986 to our regular contributor Jean-Pierre Morisset.

Thanks to Jean-Pierre for making it available.

Byrds Concert Ads - Never Posted Here

Click for bigger size.

Our regular correspondant David E. sent us these two ads from his collection. Many thanks to him.

He wrote:

"Here's a couple Byrds ads I came across in my collection recently I had forgotten about. The 1969  "Manhattan " show never happened: it was cancelled and later rescheduled."

 

 

R.I.P. Johnny Rogan

It is with great sadness that we just learned of the passing of Johnny Rogan in London on February 7, 2021. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Rogan

 

Lot of posters and ads for Byrds concerts

A message from our regular contributor David E.:

Here's a pretty cool site I found that has a lot of posters and ads for Byrds concerts. 

Click on each show, then scroll down to the bottom of each page.

https://www.concertarchives.org/bands/the-byrds?page=1#concert-table
 

We haven't checked yet, but the front page makes us think that this is a mix of performances, not only by The Byrds, but also by Gene Clark's various "Byrds Tribute" lineups and by Michael Clarke's Byrds and later The Byrds Celebration. I mean:

Jun 09, 1991

Foghat / The Byrds / Tattoo Rodeo / Aldo Nova

River Jam '91

Kaukauna, WI

 

???

Updated list of Byrds Covers (and more) by David Chirko

SONGS BY BYRDS COVERED BY OTHER ARTISTS

All written / recorded (1964-1973) by Byrds, incl. some songs members wrote / performed before joining Byrds; excl.  bootlegs, MP3's, DVD's, promos (unless sold in retail outlets) & unreleased recordings. 

MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED IN ANY MANNER.

Download it here:

https://www53.zippyshare.com/v/HlsoHR8t/file.html

Compiled by David Chirko, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

canartscene.com/members/dchirko  & chirkoart.ca

Many thanks to David.