Founding Byrds member plays to sold-out audience

WEST MILFORD — It was a sold-out show last weekend when Roger McGuinn, founder of the ‘60s group, The Byrds, played at Music at the Mission in the West Milford Presbyterian Church. McGuinn, a Chicago native, studied at the Old Town School of Folk Music and was active on Chicago’s folk scene. After touring for awhile with singer Bobby Darin, McGuinn moved to New York at Darin’s request to work for his publishing company, TM Music, as a songwriter. After hearing the Beatles for the first time, McGuinn began playing folk songs to a rock beat in the coffee houses of Greenwich Village . His experiments in merging folk and rock didn’t please the folk purist, so he moved to Los Angeles to work at the Troubadour. It was after an opening set for Hoyt Axton that Gene Clark approached Roger with appreciation for his new musical blend. They started writing songs together in the folk den of the Troubadour. It wasn’t long before David Crosby joined them and added his unique concepts of harmony to the duo, thereby completing the underpinnings for one of the most influential bands of the ‘60s. Within a few months, McGuinn, Clark and Crosby were looking to expand their group. Conga player Michael Clarke was recruited because he looked like two of the Rolling Stones. Mandolin player Chris Hillman was asked to join the group and learn to play the bass guitar. During a Thanksgiving dinner the band settled on the name “Byrds,” and their first number one hit, “Mr. Tambourine Man” was just around the corner. McGuinn has been involved in numerous projects since then, including recording and uploading a series of traditional folk songs to his Web site. The recordings are available for free download at the “Folk Den - http://folkden.com,” part of McGuinn’s home page - http://mcguinn.com. Roger McGuinn’s latest release, a 4 CD 100 song Box Set of Rock, Electrified Blues and Folk, rich in Rickenbacker “Jingle Jangle” was released in 2006. Music at is a non-profit, all volunteer run organization that has presented an impressive list of performing artists since its inception in 2002. They hold monthly concerts and open mic nights. The shows are presented in an intimate coffeehouse atmosphere. They seat 160 people with general admission. Reserved seating is available to members. They observe the church’s no alcohol policy.