John York (musician)

John York (born August 3, 1946 in New York ) is an American musician who became known, among other things, for his work with the group The Byrds .

Beginnings in New York

John York was born into a musical New York family. Both his mother and grandmother were organists and choirmasters in a Lutheran church. As a result, he became familiar with the music of Johann Sebastian Bach at an early age and sang in the church choir at the age of six. His love for popular music was sparked by vocal groups like Dion and the Belmonts and rock 'n' roll guitarists like Duane Eddy . In 1961, at the age of 14, he formed his first band, The Trade Winds, and The Night Riders a year later. In 1963 the Night Riders changed their name to Brooklyn Bridge and recorded a single that is believed to be lost.

los Angeles

York was also enthusiastic about Shakespeare and contemplated becoming an actor. When considering either studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London or trying to join the rock music scene in Los Angeles, his choice fell on LA. In 1965 he joined the formation The Bees there, which initially played a folk rock repertoire, but from 1966 turned its style in a psychedelic direction and recorded three singles with York.

In 1966 he became bassist for the Sir Douglas Quintet with Doug Sahm and Augie Myers and played in four singles of this band. After a short-lived project called Tender Trap (with Terry Hand and David Marks), he joined the Mamas and Papas touring band in 1967 and played on their last, alongside Eddie Hoh (drums) and Eric Hord (guitar) Album for Dunhill Records The Papas And The Mamas Presented By The Mamas And The Papas (released in 1968). After the famous singing group broke up, he was a member of several short-lived projects such as Lamp Of Childhood, Farina Omaline and Sounds Of Piccardy. During this time he also worked as a studio musician, including for Steppenwolf , before joining Gene Clark , a founding member of the Byrds .

Gene Clark Group 1967

Gene Clark, after leaving the Byrds in 1966, recorded an album with various studio musicians, former Byrds colleagues and the brothers Rex and Vern Gosdin . After the release of the LP and the single Echoes, they formed their own formation, The Gosdin Brothers , so that Clark had to found a new band to support him. The Gene Clark Group consisted, in addition to Clark himself, of John York (bass, vocals), Eddie Hoh (drums) and Clarence White (guitar, vocals) and recorded the songs Only Colombe and The French Girl in 1967 . However, the single was not released by Columbia Records and the songs did not appear on the CD Gene Clark - Echoes until 1991 . During his time with the Gene Clark Group, York accepted an engagement as bassist in the backing band of Johnny Rivers , where he played until 1968.

The Byrds 1968-1969

When the ex-Byrds Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman founded the Flying Burrito Brothers in 1968 , Clarence White, who had meanwhile joined the Byrds, recommended John York as bassist. Instead, York himself joined the Byrds, with whom he toured extensively until 1969 and recorded the albums Dr Byrds And Mr. Hyde and Ballad Of Easy Rider, as well as several singles. York, who had always been a great admirer of the Byrds, had considerable trouble realizing that he was now a Byrd himself. This self-doubt and further pressure led to his departure from the group in 1969. He turned his back on the world of rock and devoted himself to spiritual subjects for several years.

Only in the 1970s did he get involved again in bands such as The Museuns (1974), John York & The Innocent Bystanders (1976-1977) and Nu York (1977). In 1984 he played in the Claudia Nygard Band and then in the Hindu Masters.

Tribute To The Byrds and CRY 1986-1987

At the beginning of 1985 Gene Clark had the idea to put together a touring band on the occasion of the release of the Byrds single Mr.Tambourine Man twenty years earlier, which would perform the old Byrds hits live. His ex-colleagues Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman didn't have time and David Crosby wasn't interested. Also Gene Parsons , a Byrd from the Clarence White era, was otherwise obliged, so that the formation Tribute To The Byrds could only show Gene Clark and Michael Clarke (drums) as original members. The other musicians were a who's who of folk rock and country rock. In addition to John York, Rick Roberts (formerly Flying Burrito Brothers and Firefall ), Rick Danko and Richard Manuel (formerly The Band ), Greg Harris (ex-Flying Burrito Brothers), Blondie Chaplin (formerly Beach Boys ), Billy played in different combinations Darnell (a former colleague of York from the time of the Hindu Masters), Carlos Bernal (former Byrds roadie) and the pianist Nicky Hopkins .

In 1986 Tribute To The Byrds broke up and John York founded the group Pink Slip, together with Billy Darnell, Randy Meisner (formerly Eagles ) and Dewey Martin (formerly Buffalo Springfield ), which in turn split up in 1987 after a few appearances. York continued to work with Gene Clark in parallel. Together with Pat Robinson they founded the project CRY (for Clark, York & Robinson), wrote numerous songs and recorded many of them in Robinson's studio. Nicky Hopkins joined them again, but no record company was interested in the release of the recordings. From 2000 the songs appeared on several CDs, which incorrectly showed either the original Byrds or the Byrds from the early 1970s on their covers.

1987-2009

In 1987 John York teamed up with Skip Battin , his substitute bassist for the Byrds, and traveled with him to Italy, where he met the musicians Ricky Mantoan and Beppe d'Angelo (drums), with whom he came under the name Family Tree Recorded album and played some gigs.

In 1991 York first published his book Sacred Paths Of Songs and then a music cassette with pieces in the tradition of North American Indian music, which related to the contents of the book and which he had recorded with Jamie Sams. With Sams he played further music in this genre in 1997 and 2004.

In 1994 York played together with Chris Darrow (guitar, vocals) and Ian Beardsley (guitar, vocals) in the Trio Californios. This formation recorded the first solo album by Darrow Coyote (Taxim Records) three years later .

In 1995 he founded The John York Band and began playing Asian and exotic instruments such as koto , oud (Arabic lute), Irish harp and various Native American flutes. In 1999 and 2003 two albums were released on which he makes his skills heard.

In 2008 he recorded the album Arigatou Baby , which uses his 12-string acoustic guitar to link his rich musical experience with Japanese and Ur-American influences.

In August 2008 he accompanied Barry McGuire on his' Trippin 'The Sixties' tour through Germany and Switzerland. This project continued in 2009.

Discography

Brooklyn Bridge:

• 1963 -? /? (Single)

The Bees:

• 1965 - Leave Me Be / She's An Artist (Single)
• 1965 - Forget Me Girl / Baby Let Me Follow You Down (Single)
• 1966 - Voices Green And Purple / Trip To New Orleans (Single)

Sir Douglas Quintet:

• 1965 - The Beginning Of The End / Love Don't Treat Me Fair (Single)
• 1966 - We'll Take Our Last Walk Tonight / Walking The Streets (Single)
• 1966 - It's A Man Down There / 4 am (single)
• 1966 - Wine Wine Wine / Joey's Guitar (single from The Devons)

The Gene Clark Group:

• 1967 - Only Colombe / The French Girl (Single)

The Mamas & The Papas:

• 1968 - The Papas & The Mamas Presented By The Mamas & The Papas (Album)

The Byrds:

• 1969 - Bad Night At The Whiskey / Drug Store Drug Drivin 'Man (Single)
• 1969 - Lay Lady Lay / Old Blue (Single)
• 1969 Wasn't Born To Follow / Child Of The Universe (Single)
• 1969 - Dr.Byrds And Mr.Hyde (Album)
• 1969 - Live At The Fillmore (album released 2001)
• 1969 - Ballad Of Easy Rider (Album)

Museums:

• 1974 - Train In The Desert / Sweet Names Of Spanish Ladies (Single)

Tribute To The Byrds:

• 1986 - Never To Be Forgotten (DVD released 2004)

CRY:

• 1986 - CRY After The Storm (album released 2000)
• 1986 - Byrds Most Famous Hits (album released 2001)
• 1986 - The Byrds Alternative Takes (album released 2001)
• 1986 - The Byrds Mr.Tambourine Man (album release 2001)
• 1986 - The Byrds It's All In Your Eyes (album release 2001)
• 1986 - Under The Silvery Moon (album released 2003)

Family Tree:

• 1987 - Family Tree (album released 2001)

Jamie Sams & John York:

• 1991 - Sacred Path Songs (album)
• 1997 - The Land Of Enchantment (album)
• 2004 - Clan Mother Songs (album)

Chris Darrow:

• 1997 - Coyote (album)

John York:

• 1999 - Claremont Dragon (album)

John York & Yokiko Matsuyama:

• 2003 - Koto (album)

John York:

• 2008 - Arigatou Baby (album)

Web links

• John York Biography (Starcluster Music)
• This Byrd Has Flown: John York (FolkWorks)
• Byrd's Lyrics Page