Roger McGuinn
James Joseph McGuinn III arrived in Chicago on the 13th of July 1942. His parents worked in journalism and public relations during his childhood years. They wrote a bestseller titled Parents Can't Win while raising him in that city. He attended the Latin School of Chicago before music took hold of his life. An Elvis Presley song called Heartbreak Hotel sparked his initial interest in sound. He asked his parents to buy him a guitar after hearing that record. Around the same time, he absorbed influences from Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins. Gene Vincent and the Everly Brothers also shaped his early musical direction. In 1957, he enrolled at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music. There he learned to play the five-string banjo alongside the twelve-string guitar. After graduation, he performed solo at various coffeehouses on the folk circuit. He was hired as a sideman by the Limeliters and the Chad Mitchell Trio. Judy Collins and other folk artists employed him during those formative years.
George Harrison played a twelve-string Rickenbacker in the film A Hard Days Night. That moment inspired McGuinn to purchase the same instrument for himself. By the time Doug Weston gave him a job at The Troubadour nightclub in Los Angeles, he had begun including Beatles songs in his act. He gave rock style treatments to traditional folk tunes. This approach caught the attention of another folkie named Gene Clark. They joined forces in July 1964 to form what became known as the Byrds. During tracking sessions for their first single Mr. Tambourine Man, an engineer named Ray Gerhardt compressed his sound. The engineer ran compressors on everything to protect equipment from loud rock and roll. McGuinn found that using two tube compressors in series created a long sustain. He could hold a note for three or four seconds with that technique. It sounded more like a wind instrument than a standard electric guitar. He practiced eight hours a day on that specific Rickenbacker model. Acoustic twelve-strings had wide necks and thick strings spaced far apart back then. The Rick's slim neck and low action let him explore jazz and blues scales up and down the fretboard. He combined a flat pick with metal finger picks on his middle and ring fingers. This allowed instant switching between fast single-note runs and banjo rolls.
The Byrds released Eight Miles High as a single in 1966. That track peaked at number fourteen on the U.S. charts despite a radio ban over alleged drug references. McGuinn merged saxophonist John Coltrane's free-jazz atonalities into his playing style. This hinted at the droning of the sitar during psychedelic rock experiments. A sixteen-minute version of Eight Miles High appeared on the Untitled album in 1970. All four members took extended solos representative of jam-band styles popular during that period. In 1968, he helped create the groundbreaking album Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman brought bluegrass-western-country influences to the forefront. McGuinn originally conceived the album as a blend of rock, jazz, folk and other styles. So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star peaked at number twenty-nine in 1967. My Back Pages was another Bob Dylan cover released later that same year. It became their last top forty hit before chart success faded. McGuinn's solo version of Ballad of Easy Rider appeared in the film Easy Rider in 1969. He also performed a cover of It's Alright Ma for that soundtrack.
After the break-up of The Byrds, McGuinn released several solo albums throughout the 1970s. He collaborated with Bob Dylan on songs for the Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid soundtrack in 1973. That included Knockin' on Heaven's Door which remains iconic today. He toured with Bob Dylan in 1975 and 1976 as part of Rolling Thunder Revue. This tour caused him to cancel his own planned schedule to participate fully. In late 1975, he played guitar on Ride the Water for Bo Diddley's anniversary album. He released Cardiff Rose in 1976 where he worked with Mick Ronson. An LP titled Thunderbyrd arrived in 1977 featuring future Fleetwood Mac guitarist Rick Vito. McGuinn joined fellow ex-Byrds Gene Clark and Chris Hillman to form a trio. They recorded an album with Capitol Records in 1979 called McGuinn Clark & Hillman. Their song Don't You Write Her Off reached number thirty-three in April 1979. Since 1981, McGuinn has regularly toured clubs and small theaters as a solo singer-guitarist. In 2018 he embarked on a tour with Chris Hillman commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of Sweetheart of the Rodeo. He performed at Farm Aid and opened for Dylan and Tom Petty in 1987.
Roger McGuinn used the Internet to continue folk music tradition since November 1995. He recorded a different folk song each month on his Folk Den site. The songs became available from his website for public access. A selection with guest vocalists was released on CD as Treasures from the Folk Den. That collection received a Grammy Award nomination in 2002 for Best Traditional Folk Album. In November 2005, McGuinn released a four-CD box set containing one hundred favorite songs. Another release titled The Sea: Songs by Roger McGuinn appeared in 2003. The Folk Den Project 1995 - 2005 arrived as a four-CD set in 2016. Twenty-two Timeless Tracks from the Folk Den Project followed in 2008. These digital archives preserve traditional folk songs for global audiences today.
When McGuinn started with the Byrds he used the name Jim. He thought that name too plain for professional use. He became involved in the Subud spiritual association in 1965. He began practicing latihan an exercise in quieting the mind daily. He changed his name in 1967 upon advice from Subud's founder Bapak. Bapak sent the letter R to Jim and asked him to return ten names starting with that letter. McGuinn sent back Rocket Retro Ramjet and Roger due to fascination with airplanes and science fiction. Roger was the only real name in the bunch so Bapak chose it. He officially changed his middle name from Joseph to Roger professionally. He married Susan Bedrick in 1963 but that marriage ended in annulment. From December 1966 to November 1971 he was married to Dolores DeLeon. She changed her name to Ianthe in 1967 before reverting after their divorce. They fathered two sons named Patrick and Henry together. Immediately following that divorce he married Linda Gilbert in November 1971. That union also ended in divorce by June 1975. He left Subud in 1977 when he met Camilla. They married in April 1978 and have practiced evangelical Christianity since then.
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Common questions
When was James Joseph McGuinn III born and where did he arrive?
James Joseph McGuinn III arrived in Chicago on the 13th of July 1942. His parents worked in journalism and public relations during his childhood years.
What instrument inspired Roger McGuinn to purchase a twelve-string Rickenbacker guitar?
George Harrison played a twelve-string Rickenbacker in the film A Hard Days Night. That moment inspired McGuinn to purchase the same instrument for himself.
Which album did Roger McGuinn help create in 1968 with bluegrass-western-country influences?
In 1968, he helped create the groundbreaking album Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman brought bluegrass-western-country influences to the forefront.
How many songs are included in the four-CD box set released by Roger McGuinn in November 2005?
In November 2005, McGuinn released a four-CD box set containing one hundred favorite songs. Another release titled The Sea: Songs by Roger McGuinn appeared in 2003.
Why did James Joseph McGuinn III change his name to Roger in 1967?
He changed his name in 1967 upon advice from Subud's founder Bapak. Bapak sent the letter R to Jim and asked him to return ten names starting with that letter.