A Partial Cast Of Characters

And Some Notorious Folk

Now while this site is based around and bears the title of The Byrds stupendous album Sweetheart of The Rodeo, and we feature track by track pages, complete with the lyrics to all the songs, it's not just about the album. While hunting down the pictures of The Byrds and associated graphics, we came across some other great things, an example being the Sunset Valley Barn Dance that used to be broadcast on KSTP. Minneapolis/St. Paul, they first broadcast on October 26, 1940. The main reason we're featuring The Barn Dance is they had a wonderful duo on the programme who were called The Sweethearts Of The Radio, Frank and Esther by name, we don't have a last name for them, but we do have a picture. There'll be other oddities from country music country, but first and foremost this site is about The Byrds album......enjoy.

In early 1968, after the release of one of the Byrds most contentious albums,The Notorious Byrd Brothers and the departures of both David Crosby and Michael Clarke, the remaining two members, Roger McGuinn and

Chris Hillman decided to push forward. They quickly hired Chris Hillman's cousin, Kevin Kelley, as drummer, and Gram Parsons to play additional guitar. It soon became apparent that Parsons was steeped in country music and lore, and with previous flirtations with the genre captured on the last two Byrds albums, Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman, with Gram taking the lead, decided to head to Nashville to dive headfirst into country.

The Cast Of Characters

Credits:
Released July 22, 1968. Produced by Gary Usher. Engineered by Roy Halee and Charlie Bragg. Recorded in Nashville & Hollywood March - May 1968.

Cover Art: Jo Mora (copyright 1933)

The Byrds

Roger McGuinn: vocals, guitar
Chris Hillman: vocals, bass, mandolin
Gram Parsons: guitar
Kevin Kelley: drums

The Notorious Byrd Brothers 1968[click for larger]

Columbia CL-2775 / CS-9575 / CK-9575, 1968

Sweetheart front [click for larger image]

Sweetheart back cover [click for larger image]