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Byrds: Requiem For The Timeless Vol 2
The Closest to heaven its possible to come -Mojo This is at least the best biography of a group ever written - Q Magazine One of the most ambitious and expansive rock biographies ever written, Requiem For The Timeless, Volume 2continues this epic study of the Byrds. Rogan s previous Byrds book was highly acclaimed The second volume focuses on the solo careers of the deceased members of the band, including co-founder and songwriter Gene Clark, cult figure Gram Parsons and the acclaimed guitarist Clarence White. Taken as a whole, these obituaries confirm that the Byrds were not simply a legendary group but something closer to a movement that defined LA rock. Their individual lives are a moving and salutary tale of the rise and fall of a generation s hopes and dreams.
- GenresMusic
1264 pages, Hardcover
Published August 2, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 1, 2024
HOW THE BYRDS GOT ELEPHANTIASIS
First there was Timeless Flight : The Definitive Biography of The Byrds published in 1980. That was a laughable 190 pages long. It wasn't definitive at all. Not at all!
Then there was Timeless Flight: The Definitive Biography of The Byrds Second edition, published in 1990. Still a very mere 304 pages long.
Seven years after that came The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited — The Sequel. Now it is up to 548 pages. Definitive yet? Nope.
Johnny Rogan surveyed his work so far and was not satisfied. The Byrds were such a great group they needed much more than a weedy 548 pages. He got to work. It took him a further 12 years. So in 2011 the world woke up to
Byrds: Requiem For The Timeless, Volume 1 – a majestic 1200 pages long
And six years later, in 2017, finally, we gratefully received
Byrds: Requiem For The Timeless, Volume 2 an eyewatering 1248 pages long.
I read Volume 1 and it was very good but I stress that people indifferent to The Byrds might find it an uphill task. But that War&Peacelike volume is at least about The Byrds. This Volume 2 is not about the Byrds. Instead it’s six biographies of the members of this very revolving-door band who had died by the time it was published. These six names do not ring down through history. Maybe people will have heard of Gram Parsons. But Kevin Kelley? Even members of the Kelley family have never heard of him.
DON’T DO DRUGS
Gene Clark :
He didn’t look good. Extremely gaunt, his weathered face had been badly fractured in a recent car crash, a few front teeth were missing and his left ear was bandaged a la Van Gogh .
Died aged 46 from a heart attack after years of heavy drug use.
Note : this never-read-a-book-in-his-life guy produced a masterpiece called No Other in 1974 full of weird philosophical lyrics, then he collapsed back into his life of determined self-sabotage.
Michael Clarke :
When he opened the door I almost passed out. If I’d have gone to the hospital to see him I would have walked right by him. His face was totally sunken, just like a skull that had skin hanging over it, but no real distinguishing features. From his mid-chest down, he was swollen. His testicles were the size of a basketball and he could barely walk. It was the most horrifying thing. I just stood there and he said “I guess I don’t look so hot, huh.”
Died aged 47 from cirrhosis of the liver, the classic alcoholic’s death.
Kevin Kelley :
Plucked from obscurity to be the Byrds’ drummer for 18 months, then tossed back into obscurity. It kind of messed him up. He’d gone from lightly cynical to very cynical to miserable over a period of years. It was a slow spiral down…plus, his girlfriend situation was few and far between because he’d plumped up like a little gnome.
Another friend commented :
Man, he was a mess. He just didn’t take care of his body. He was huge…And he still had that baby face…it didn’t look right. The bigger he became the more he wanted just to stay in and drink.
Died aged 59 from a heart attack after years of heavy drinking.
Gram Parsons :
he was suffering blackouts and seizures, while other friends noticed worrying changes in his speech pattern. On many mornings he was shaking with the DTs. Eve Babitz recalls how he needed three tequilas to steady himself.
Gram came from a rich Southern family and was a trust fund baby. So that was nice for him. Not so nice was his father committing suicide when he was 12 and his mother dying from cirrhosis of the liver a couple of years later. She was 41 and a lifetime alcoholic.
After he left the Byrds he formed the Flying Burrito Brothers. Johnny Rogan quotes this review :
Screaming pretensions and garish self-delusions reduced the potentially excellent band to a group ego-trip. Parsons’ voice is matronly and his sickly Elvis fantasies and unpleasant to watch.
Ouch. Well, he is an established cult hero now.
Died aged 29 from an overdose.
Clarence White :
No one had a bad word to say about this wonderful guitar player. He did not do drugs or drink immoderately but fate had it in for him anyway.
Died aged 29 when a drunk driver hit him while he was loading equipment into a car after a gig.
Skip Battin :
By all accounts a very lovely guy. He survived to the age of 69 and died of Alzheimer’s. Before the Byrds he was Skip in Skip and Flip.
TO SUMMARISE
It’s sobering stuff.
First there was Timeless Flight : The Definitive Biography of The Byrds published in 1980. That was a laughable 190 pages long. It wasn't definitive at all. Not at all!
Then there was Timeless Flight: The Definitive Biography of The Byrds Second edition, published in 1990. Still a very mere 304 pages long.
Seven years after that came The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited — The Sequel. Now it is up to 548 pages. Definitive yet? Nope.
Johnny Rogan surveyed his work so far and was not satisfied. The Byrds were such a great group they needed much more than a weedy 548 pages. He got to work. It took him a further 12 years. So in 2011 the world woke up to
Byrds: Requiem For The Timeless, Volume 1 – a majestic 1200 pages long
And six years later, in 2017, finally, we gratefully received
Byrds: Requiem For The Timeless, Volume 2 an eyewatering 1248 pages long.
I read Volume 1 and it was very good but I stress that people indifferent to The Byrds might find it an uphill task. But that War&Peacelike volume is at least about The Byrds. This Volume 2 is not about the Byrds. Instead it’s six biographies of the members of this very revolving-door band who had died by the time it was published. These six names do not ring down through history. Maybe people will have heard of Gram Parsons. But Kevin Kelley? Even members of the Kelley family have never heard of him.
DON’T DO DRUGS
Gene Clark :
He didn’t look good. Extremely gaunt, his weathered face had been badly fractured in a recent car crash, a few front teeth were missing and his left ear was bandaged a la Van Gogh .
Died aged 46 from a heart attack after years of heavy drug use.
Note : this never-read-a-book-in-his-life guy produced a masterpiece called No Other in 1974 full of weird philosophical lyrics, then he collapsed back into his life of determined self-sabotage.
Michael Clarke :
When he opened the door I almost passed out. If I’d have gone to the hospital to see him I would have walked right by him. His face was totally sunken, just like a skull that had skin hanging over it, but no real distinguishing features. From his mid-chest down, he was swollen. His testicles were the size of a basketball and he could barely walk. It was the most horrifying thing. I just stood there and he said “I guess I don’t look so hot, huh.”
Died aged 47 from cirrhosis of the liver, the classic alcoholic’s death.
Kevin Kelley :
Plucked from obscurity to be the Byrds’ drummer for 18 months, then tossed back into obscurity. It kind of messed him up. He’d gone from lightly cynical to very cynical to miserable over a period of years. It was a slow spiral down…plus, his girlfriend situation was few and far between because he’d plumped up like a little gnome.
Another friend commented :
Man, he was a mess. He just didn’t take care of his body. He was huge…And he still had that baby face…it didn’t look right. The bigger he became the more he wanted just to stay in and drink.
Died aged 59 from a heart attack after years of heavy drinking.
Gram Parsons :
he was suffering blackouts and seizures, while other friends noticed worrying changes in his speech pattern. On many mornings he was shaking with the DTs. Eve Babitz recalls how he needed three tequilas to steady himself.
Gram came from a rich Southern family and was a trust fund baby. So that was nice for him. Not so nice was his father committing suicide when he was 12 and his mother dying from cirrhosis of the liver a couple of years later. She was 41 and a lifetime alcoholic.
After he left the Byrds he formed the Flying Burrito Brothers. Johnny Rogan quotes this review :
Screaming pretensions and garish self-delusions reduced the potentially excellent band to a group ego-trip. Parsons’ voice is matronly and his sickly Elvis fantasies and unpleasant to watch.
Ouch. Well, he is an established cult hero now.
Died aged 29 from an overdose.
Clarence White :
No one had a bad word to say about this wonderful guitar player. He did not do drugs or drink immoderately but fate had it in for him anyway.
Died aged 29 when a drunk driver hit him while he was loading equipment into a car after a gig.
Skip Battin :
By all accounts a very lovely guy. He survived to the age of 69 and died of Alzheimer’s. Before the Byrds he was Skip in Skip and Flip.
TO SUMMARISE
It’s sobering stuff.
June 13, 2022
Really excellent. The chapters on Kevin Kelley and Skip Battin are especially revealing and heartbreaking. I’m thankful that we had someone like Rogan to pay proper tribute to the lives and careers of these under-appreciated players.
January 5, 2020
Fascinating read for Byrds' fans like me, but the chapters on Gene Clark and Michael Clarke read like horror stories. Beyond tragic.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews