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Sweetheart of the Rodeo

This article is about the album by The Byrds. For the country music duo, see Sweethearts of the Rodeo.

Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Studio album by
the Byrds
ReleasedAugust 30, 1968 (1968-08-30)[nb 1]
Recorded
  • March 9–15, 1968
  • April 4 – May 27, 1968
Studio
Genre
Length32:35
LabelColumbia
ProducerGary Usher
The Byrds chronology
The Notorious Byrd Brothers
(1968) 		Sweetheart of the Rodeo
(1968) 		Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde
(1969)
Singles from Sweetheart of the Rodeo
  1. "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere"
    Released: April 2, 1968
  2. "I Am a Pilgrim"
    Released: September 2, 1968

Sweetheart of the Rodeo is the sixth album by American rock band the Byrds and was released in August 1968 on Columbia Records.[6] Recorded with the addition of country rock pioneer Gram Parsons, it became the first album widely recognized as country rock[2] as well as a seminal progressive country album,[3] and represented a stylistic move away from the psychedelic rock of the band's previous LP, The Notorious Byrd Brothers.[7] The Byrds had occasionally experimented with country music on their four previous albums, but Sweetheart of the Rodeo represented their fullest immersion into the genre up to that point in time.[8][9][10] The album was responsible for bringing Parsons, who had joined the Byrds in February 1968 prior to the start of recording, to the attention of a mainstream rock audience for the first time.[10][11] Thus, the album is an important chapter in Parsons' crusade to make country music fashionable for a young audience.[12]

The album was conceived as a history of 20th century American popular music, encompassing examples of country music, jazz and rhythm and blues, among other genres.[8] However, steered by the passion of the little-known Parsons, this concept was abandoned early on and the album instead became purely a country record.[8][13] The recording of the album was divided between sessions in Nashville and Los Angeles, with contributions from session musicians including Lloyd Green, John Hartford, JayDee Maness, and Clarence White.[14] Tension developed between Parsons and the rest of the band, guitarist Roger McGuinn especially, and some of Parsons' vocals were re-recorded, partly due to legal issues.[15][16] By the time the album was released Parsons had left the band.[17] The Byrds' move away from rock and pop towards country music elicited a great deal of resistance and hostility from the ultra-conservative Nashville country music establishment, who viewed the Byrds as a group of hippies attempting to subvert country music.[13]

Upon its release, the album reached number 77 on the Billboard Top LPs chart, but failed to reach the charts in the United Kingdom.[18][19] Two attendant singles were released during 1968, "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere", which achieved modest success, and "I Am a Pilgrim", which failed to chart.[19][20] The album received mostly positive reviews in the music press, but the band's shift away from psychedelic music alienated much of its pop audience.[21] Despite being the least commercially successful Byrds' album to date upon release, Sweetheart of the Rodeo is today considered to be a seminal and highly influential country rock album.[8]

  1. ^ "Cashbox magazine (cover dated August 24, 1968)" (PDF). worldradiohistory.com. Cashbox. p. 47. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  2. ^ a b Chris Smith (2009). 101 Albums That Changed Popular Music. Oxford University Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-19-537371-4.
  3. ^ a b Tunis, Walter (October 22, 2018). "Marty Stuart thankful opening for Chris Stapleton, 'the man carrying the flag for country music'". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
  4. ^ Blender Staff (May 2003). "500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die!". Blender. New York: Dennis Publishing Ltd. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  5. ^ Pitchfork Staff (August 22, 2017). "The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 15, 2023. Sweetheart of the Rodeo may not have made country cool, but it showed the volatility of two competing visions of Americana coexisting in the same space.
  6. ^ Rogan, Johnny. (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited (2nd ed.). Rogan House. pp. 544–546. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
  7. ^ Hjort, Christopher. (2008). So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star: The Byrds Day-By-Day (1965–1973). Jawbone Press. pp. 187–188. ISBN 978-1-906002-15-2.
  8. ^ a b c d Fricke, David. (1997). Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1997 CD liner notes).
  9. ^ "Sweetheart of the Rodeo review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
  10. ^ a b "Sweetheart of the Rodeo review". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
  11. ^ Griffin, Sid. (1985). Safe at Home (1991 CD liner notes).
  12. ^ "Sweetheart of the Rodeo". ByrdWatcher: A Field Guide to the Byrds of Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 2010-10-28. Retrieved 2009-09-06.
  13. ^ a b Fricke, David (2003). Sweatheart of the Rodeo: Legacy Edition (CD booklet). The Byrds. New York City: Columbia/Legacy. pp. 19–21.
  14. ^ Rogan, Johnny. (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited (2nd ed.). Rogan House. pp. 624–625. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
  15. ^ Rogan, Johnny. (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited (2nd ed.). Rogan House. pp. 250–261. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
  16. ^ Hjort, Christopher. (2008). So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star: The Byrds Day-By-Day (1965-1973). Jawbone Press. pp. 162–176. ISBN 978-1-906002-15-2.
  17. ^ Hjort, Christopher. (2008). So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star: The Byrds Day-By-Day (1965-1973). Jawbone Press. pp. 177–187. ISBN 978-1-906002-15-2.
  18. ^ Whitburn, Joel. (2002). Top Pop Albums 1955–2001. Hal Leonard Corp. p. 121. ISBN 0-634-03948-2.
  19. ^ a b Brown, Tony. (2000). The Complete Book of the British Charts. Omnibus Press. p. 130. ISBN 0-7119-7670-8.
  20. ^ Whitburn, Joel. (2008). Top Pop Singles 1955–2006. Record Research Inc. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-89820-172-7.
  21. ^ Rogan, Johnny. (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited (2nd ed.). Rogan House. p. 269. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.


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