Roger McGuinn
Roger McGuinn
James Roger McGuinn /məˈɡwɪn/ known professionally as Roger McGuinn and previously as Jim McGuinn, is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of the Byrds' records, and is a very influential pioneer guitarist. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with the Byrds...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionGuitarist
Date of Birth13 July 1942
CityChicago, IL
CountryUnited States of America
I open all my concerts with 'My Backpages,' written by Bob Dylan, and close them all with 'May the Road Rise to Meet You,' written by Roger McGuinn and Camilla McGuinn.
I've got an electric little motorcycle that I go to the supermarket with every day, and it's powered by the solar panels, so it's really got a zero carbon footprint.
I'm happy with the Byrds as a good memory.
Yes, basically, like you said, I'll work out a chord pattern and work out the lyrics over that.
I always got a kick out of it when they called it the California Sound because it really came out of Liverpool and Greenwich Village.
I've always loved the songs of the sea. I was first introduced to them back in 1957, at the Old Town School of Folk Music. I used to go to Pete Seeger concerts, and he would do songs like 'Ruben Ranzo' and talk about how the sailors sang songs to do their work - to raise the anchors, pull up the sails and that sort of thing.
When I first went from a band situation to a solo situation, it was quite an adjustment to make. But after having done it for a number of years, it really feels good out there.
I got into computers back in the early '80s, so it was a natural progression of learning about e-mail in the mid-'80s and getting into the Internet when it opened up in the early '90s.
I'd like to be remembered as a keeper of the flame who kept traditional music alive, because I've been doing that twice as long as I was in the Byrds.
One of my favorite albums is Bob Gibson and Bob Camp, 'At the Gate of Horn.' It was a really dynamic album, almost like The Beatles, and way before its time... around 1960 or so.
My favorite guitar now is my Martin HD-7 because it's got everything. It's got the jingle-jangle thing from the twelve string, it's got the flexibility of the six string, and the bass notes where you can do bass runs and that sort of thing.
I love being on the sea and the rolling of the ship, and for me, it's not really happening until we get a little wave action going, I love that feeling.
To me, being in the big time is not that big of a deal. I've been there; I know what it is. It's exciting, but it's also a lot of work and pressure. I love sort of flying under the radar where we can play theaters and sell CD's on the Internet, and it's really kind of a cool time.
The original Byrds were very much Beatles-influenced, and then we gradually got our own sound. We started mixing things together more.