THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

621-The Byrds-All I Really Want to Do.

1965-Number 4 single.

Best Bit-At 0.20. Using the lyrics of Bob Dylan, and heavily influenced by the harmonies of the Beach Boys, and arranged in a ‘Beatlesque’ manner, ‘Folk Rock’ had just been invented.

The Byrds were formed in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 1964, and remained active until 1973, they then reformed between 1989-1991, and again for a final time in 2000, after which the band name was retired. The Byrds one constant was Roger McGuinn, (lead vocals, and guitar) who was known as Jim McGuinn until mid 1967. The other four original members were Gene Clark, (1944-1991) (rhythm guitar, and vocals) David Crosby, (1941-2023) (rhythm guitar, and vocals) (see also best songs 417) Michael Clarke, (1946-1993) (drums) and Chris Hillman (bass guitar, and vocals.) There were a further six members come and go, including Gram Parsons, (1946-1973) (rhythm guitar, piano, and vocals.) Initially the group called themselves ‘The Jet Set,’ but in late November 1964, two weeks after signing with ‘Columbia Records,’ they decided to rename themselves as ‘The Byrds,’ a moniker that retained the theme of flight, and also echoed the deliberate misspelling of the ‘Beatles.’

The discography of The Byrds includes 12 studio Albums released between 1965-1973, and 29 singles released between 1964-1973, there are also a massive 47 official compilation Albums, and three live Albums available. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, seven of their singles made the top 40, with their cover of the Bob Dylan song ‘Mr. Tambourine Man,’ reaching Number 1, while in the UK they had five top 40 hits, with ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ also making the Number 1 spot.

‘All I Really Want to Do’ was the second of two singles released from The Byrds’ debut studio Album ‘Mr. Tambourine Man,’ from June 1965, the song was a cover of a Bob Dylan (see also best songs 792-358-103-36 and 7) song, and was produced by Terry Melcher (1942-2004.) Bob Dylan had recorded ‘All I Really Want to Do’ for his fourth studio Album ‘Another Side of Bob Dylan,’ in 1964, with the lyrical content being a departure from his normal topical political songwriting, to a more personal one. The song was inspired by Dylan’s recent separation from his girlfriend Suze Rotolo, (1943-2011) although some have speculated that the song is a message to his fans, that regardless of any change in musical style, he will always be there for them. Bob Dylan had been an acoustic artist up until this point, but was now wanting to experiment with electric instruments, something some of his loyal fan base didn’t want to comprehend.

‘All I Really Want to Do’ was the second cover version of a Bob Dylan song by The Byrds to be released as a single, following on from ”Mr. Tambourine Man,’ which had reached Number 1 on both sides of the Atlantic. The Byrds had not wanted to do another Dylan cover, but Columbia Records had insisted, thinking a follow up hit was a certainty, but the American singer Cher, (see also best songs 672) also released her version of ‘All I Really Want to Do’ at the same time, which was produced by Sonny Bono, (1935-1998) as her debut solo single. A chart battle ensued, with Cher winning in America, when her version reached Number 15 on Billboard, with The Byrds only reaching Number 40, but in the UK, it was the other way around, with The Byrds winning the battle, by peaking at Number 4, while Cher stalled at Number 9.

The Byrds recording of ‘All I Really Want to Do’ was produced by Terry Melcher, who was born Terrence Paul Jorden, on February 8th, 1942, in New York City, United States, he was the son of the American singer, and actress Doris Day, (1922-2019) (see also best songs 333) he died on November 19th, 2004, after a long battle with melanoma.Terry Melcher, has been credited with helping to shape the sound of 1960’s ‘Surf Music’ in California, forming the vocal duo of ‘Bruce & Terry,’ with Bruce Johnson, who would later on join the Beach Boys. It was while working on the staff at Columbia Records’ that Melcher met The Byrds,’ and he went on to produce both of their first two studio Albums, and receive critical acclaim for helping to shape the new genre of ‘Folk Rock.’ In 1966 Melcher played tambourine on three tracks on the Beach Boys classic Album ‘Pet Sounds,’ including ‘Good Vibrations’ (see also best songs 180.) In 1988, Melcher was one of the four co-writers of the Beach Boys fourth and final Billboard Number 1 single ‘Kokomo.’

The term ‘Folk Rock’ refers to the blending of elements of Folk music and Rock music, the term ‘Folk Rock’ was first coined by the American music press to describe the music of The Byrds. The commercial success of The Byrds’ cover version of Bob Dylan’s ‘Mr. Tambourine Man,’ along with Dylan’s own recordings with Rock instrumentation, on Albums such as ‘Bringing It All Back Home,’ (1965) and ‘Blonde on Blonde,’ (1966) encouraged other Folk acts, such as ‘Simon & Garfunkel,’ to use electric backing on their records. Bob Dylan’s controversial appearance at the ‘Newport Folk Festival,’ on 25 July, 1965, where he was backed by an electric band, was also a pivotal moment in the development of the genre.

‘I ain’t lookin’ to compete with you, beat or cheat or mistreat you. Simplify you, classify you, deny, defy or crucify you. All I really want to do, is, baby, be friends with you.’