The day The Byrds landed
at Palos Verdes High School
The
Byrds Palos Verdes High poster courtesy of Brian and Dale Cox.
by Toulouse
Engelhardt
On the Friday before
Halloween in 1965, the rumor spread quickly across the campus at Palos Verdes
High School, ricocheting from locker to locker, down the halls across the
senior park and off campus to the entire South Bay. Could it be true? The
Byrds, the third most popular rock and roll band in the world, behind only the
Beatles and the Rolling Stones, were going to perform at our high school?
Somehow, Mr. James Kinney,
the iconic activities director at Palos Verdes High School since opening day
back in 1961 had worked out a deal with the Byrds management’s Eddie
Tickner and Jim Dickson to get the Byrds to come to Palos Verdes High School
and perform a 45 minute set for the sum of just $300. Proceeds from the concert
were to go to the construction of a campus.
I remember seeing small
football pep rally cards pinned to the shirts and blouses of the students going
down to the gym for the weekly football rally that said in the bright school
colors with red, black and white lettering, ”Turn,Turn, Turn the Falcons,”
referring to our football rivals from Aviation High School and the arrival of
the Byrds.
The night of the gig, at
around 6 p.m., a helicopter landed on the edge of the football field on the
west side of the campus with all five of the original members of the group:
Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Gene Clark, Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke.
Greeting the band was none other than, who else, activities director James
Kinney. Mr. Kinney and a volunteer student staff escorted the band to the
“green room,” which turned out to be the girl’s dance recital room at the rear
of the gymnasium. On the large wooden wall of the gym, behind the stage where
the roadies were setting up the drum kit and amplifiers, students from the
school’s art department had hung large colorful murals of each of the band members.
The
Byrds performing at Palos Verdes High in 1965. The Byrds. Photos courtesy of
the PVHS Triton Annual Supplement
Shortly before 8 p.m., over
1,500 excited students and faculty packed into the gymnasium. It was warm and
humid inside the gym simply because of the huge crowd, even though the Palos
Verdes Estates Fire Department had set strict limits on the number of people
allowed in the gym. The doors were shut tight when the crowd reached the
allowable occupancy. Bouncers at the door had their work cut out for them too,
holding back crowds of outsiders hoping to crash the concert.
When the lights suddenly
went out and the Byrds entered from stage left, the crowd went wild.
The Byrds performance that
evening lived up to everyone’s expectations with their newly invented “folk
rock” twang, beautifully interwoven vocal harmonies and intricate
interpretations of classic Dylan and Pete Seeger songs. Their set included
their two number one hits; “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Turn, Turn, Turn,” and
Gene Clark’s classic “Feel A Whole Lot Better,” .
To get the dance crowd
“stomping” they surprised everyone in attendance with an extended version of
Chuck Berry’s classic “Roll Over Beethoven.” “Turn, Turn, Turn”
came at the end of their set. After strumming the final chords, the band
unplugged their guitars and quickly left the stage. They had been on stage for
just 35 minutes.
As they headed down the
hall to the exit, they were intercepted by a very angry activities director.
Mr. James Kinney dangled his ring of keys in their faces like they were just
another bunch of high school delinquents. He pointed his finger right in Roger
McGuinn’s face and ordered, “You boys turn right around and march yourselves
back on stage. You owe us another couple of songs! We have a contract with you,
remember?”
The band quickly turned
around and went right back out to rousing applause. They ended their encore
with a shimmering performance of Bob Dylan’s classic ”Chimes of Freedom.”.
Earlier that night I made
it a point to work my way through the crowd all the way up to the front of the
stage. I stood as close to McGuinn as I could, so close I could see the
reflections coming off the Ben Franklin glasses that had become one of his
trademarks. I was mesmerized by the “twang” of his Rickenbacker 12 string
guitar blasting through his Black Fender Bandmaster amp. I was especially
impressed with his intricate fingerstyle arrangement of the instrumental bridge
in “Turn, Turn Turn,” just as I had been earlier listening to “Bells of
Rhymney” from their first Columbia release.
I sensed the unlimited
possibilities of the 12 string guitar and more importantly the potential for
limitless lyrical expression using all of your fingers to pluck multiple
melodic lines in synchronicity, not just a single line with a flat pick. It was
a pivotal moment in my musical career. As I continued to watch the band
perform, in a moment of serendipity, I Thought to myself, I need to explore the
12 string guitar for its expressive power, tonal range and shimmering chorus of
sounds and that’s exactly what I did.
Little did I know at the
time that almost eight years to that day, I would join the Byrds on their final
American tour through the Rockies and across the plains of America as the
band’s support act. That dream didn’t last long. Before I knew it the band was
off to the East Coast and I had to pack up my Martin D-12-28 guitar and
return home here to a life of normalcy in the South Bay and to ponder my next
career move.
Reflecting back now, if it
wasn’t for the tour exposure that I received those weeks and the encouragement
I received from the band, especially from the Byrds’ brilliant guitarist
Clarence White, where would I be? I had no idea then how much his words would
help advance my career. The press covering the tour asked Clarence to comment
about my performance and he was quoted as saying in his quiet, soft mild
mannered way; “I’m becoming a big fan of this young fingerstyle guitarist”.
Without that acknowledgement, I probably would have never gotten the attention
of Chris Darrow of Kaleidoscope and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band fame, who went on to
mentor me through my first record contract and introduce me to Denny Bruce the
co-owner of Takoma Records and the personal manager of fingerstyle guitar
greats John Fahey and Leo Kottke. That turned out to be my first big break in
as a solo instrumental guitarist.
I still have the guitar
pick Clarence White gave me when we said goodbye in 1973 I keep
it as a good luck charm whenever I go. In the mid ‘90s, Hollywood Records
released Roger McGuinn’s “Live from Mars,” a series of live recordings
and cool folk stories from his solo performances in the post-Byrd years while,
at that same time, the same record label re-released my first album, “TouIlusions,”
with its iconic “Sailkat” cover design by another Palos Verdes High
School alumnus the legendary artist Rick Griffin.
Looking back, 55 years
later, I will always remember that concert at Palos Verdes High School with
great fondness. Now I know why I keep hearing the words of James M. Barrie, who
created “Peter Pan”, dancing in my head. “God gave us memory that we might have
roses in December”.
To hear an audio clip
from this concert go to
https://pixeldrain.com/u/nvHxAjaY
For the record; This is
the only known “live” recording of the Byrds in existence with all
five of the original members.
For more info on guitarist Toulouse Engelhardt go to:
http://www.toulouse-music.com
