Record Room

Music lover sharing the love

[isabelcostasixties]

[sonymusicarchives-deactivated20]

“Music For Teenagers,” Korvette’s, February 1968.

[sonymusicarchives-deactivated20]

Columbia Records print ad, 1914.

[isabelcostasixties]

Françoise Hardy at a record store in London, 1969

[halinasplayground]

[neon-brambles]

The GENE CLARK discography. Collect ‘em all!!

[neon-brambles]

Two Sides To Every Story giveaway

Induct Gene Clark into the Songwriters HoF is pleased to announce that High Moon Records has generously donated copies of its deluxe reissue of Gene's 1977 LP, Two Sides to Every Story, as giveaway prizes in support of our continuing signature drive. Featuring meticulously remastered sound, plus a full-colour booklet containing a wealth of previously unpublished photos and an essay by Clark biographer John Einarson, this is without question the definitive edition of Gene's final album of the 1970s...and a great incentive to sign our petition now! Our first giveaway will be chosen at random, once we’ve hit the 2,000-signature mark. Subsequent giveaways will occur when we reach the targets of 2,250 and 2,500. Eligibility To be eligible to win, you just need to sign the Gene Clark petition (previous giveaway recipients will not be eligible). If you’ve signed already, please encourage your friends to sign through email or social media. Winners will be announced in the petition update on Change.org, on the Gene Clark Petition Facebook page and on the @Neon_Brambles Twitter account. Good luck and let’s #GetGeneIn!

Just 110 signatures need for the first giveaway! Sign the #GeneClarkPetition for a chance to win Gene Clark’s Two Sides To Every Story from High Moon Records!

Visit: Induct Gene Clark Into The Songwriters Hall of Fame

[record-room]

[gringo60s]

The Yardbirds visit a record shop, 1965-Photograph Stanley Bielecki

[isabelcostasixties]

Record shop in London photographed by Chris Ware in 1965

[united-hairlines]

[isabelcostasixties]

[neon-brambles]

The GENE CLARK discography. Collect ‘em all!!

[record-room]

“You can’t be a Byrd if you can’t fly…”

Those were the words uttered by one Jim/Roger McGuinn to his band mate Gene Clark as he made the fateful decision to walk off the plane on route from LA to NYC some 50 years ago. And those words have come to haunt his legacy ever since. There have been numerous debates and speculation over Gene’s momentous decision to leave a successful band on a path to even more commercial success. But what did he really leave behind when he left that day? More touring? More press conferences? More mania? More TV appearances? More radio interviews? More teen fanzine photo ops? The truth? He left a dysfunctional band that was stifling his artistic vision. We all know the story of how the success of the Byrd’s first LP and single Mr. Tambourine Man meant a greater chunk of the royalties went to Gene for having penned more songs on the LP and the flip side of their number one single. Jealousy took root and his fate was sealed. The pressures of being in a band with passive aggressive personalities finally got to him. By the time the Byrds were working on their second LP Turn! Turn! Turn! Gene Clark was faced with having to struggle with getting his songs on his band’s album. How can there be justification for choosing “Oh Susannah!” instead of “She Don’t Care about Time?” Or for leaving “The Day Walk (Never Before)” to languish in the Columbia vaults for over 20 years? Not being the confrontational sort or the assertive type Gene allowed these things to happen. The final indignity perhaps being to share the writing credit for “Eight Miles High” with McGuinn and Crosby just to get it out to the public. To this day the argument ensues on whom should be credited on that song and how, but for anyone familiar with Gene’s work, his lyrical style and his melody, there is no argument and no question on who penned that song.

So just what did Gene do after he left The Byrds? He wrote. He tried to define his own style. He tried to anchor himself in a chaotic world both on a personal and artistic level. He briefly formed his own band and on occasion even performed live. He recorded songs, some of which haven’t even been heard yet, and he progressed. He progressed so far beyond his former band mates that when he finally emerged with the follow up to his first solo record with The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard and Clark in 1968 he was light years ahead of them and everyone else. Gene always kept moving forward. He kept writing even through times of professional and personal setbacks. But he always managed to work through them and he never quit. He never quit. The body of work that Gene left is tremendous and there is still so much yet to discover with new releases like Gene Clark: The Lost Studio Sessions 1964–1982. As more unheard songs emerge, it becomes more and more evident that the notion of Gene being an “underachiever” is simply not true. “You can’t be a Byrd if you can’t fly…” perhaps not. But Gene Clark was “One In a Hundred”, a “Shooting Star”, a “White Light”, a “Silver Raven”, “No Other” and so much more. Out on his own he didn’t just fly - he soared.

Please take a moment to sign the petition to Induct Gene Clark into the Songwriters Hall of Fame

[record-room]

[record-room]

[the60sbazaar]

1960s illustration of a teenage girls life