John York (musician)
Encyclopedia
John Foley York is an American
bassist
and guitarist
, born in White Plains, New York
on August 3, 1946. He is best known for his work with The Byrds
, who he joined in September 1968 as a replacement for the band's original bass player
Chris Hillman
. He remained with the group until September 1969, when he was fired by the other three members of the band and replaced by Skip Battin
. Despite only being with The Byrds for a year, his bass playing and singing appear on two of the group's studio albums, Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde
and Ballad of Easy Rider
, as well as on the non-album single
"Lay Lady Lay
". York also wrote the song "Fido", which appears on Ballad of Easy Rider, and co-wrote the song "Candy", which is included on Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde. He also appears on the Columbia/Legacy
Byrds' live album Live at the Fillmore - February 1969
.
Prior to joining The Byrds, York was a member of the The Bees and the Sir Douglas Quintet
, and also worked as a session musician
for The Mamas & the Papas
and Johnny Rivers
. He was also the bassist in ex-Byrd Gene Clark
's touring band. Following his dismissal from The Byrds, York again worked with Clark during the mid-1980s, along with Pat Robinson, in the group CRY. York has maintained a lengthy career as a guitarist and bass player, and since the 1980s has worked with artists including Chris Darrow, Katie Trickett, Steven T., and Nick Binkley among others. In 1988, he recorded a number of songs with fellow ex-Byrds bass player Skip Battin, and these recordings were issued as the Family Tree album in 2001. York has released three solo albums titled Sacred Path Songs (1991), Claremont Dragon (1998), and Arigatou Baby (2006), and has also recorded the albums Clan Mother Songs with Jamie Sams, and Koto with Yukiko Matsuyama. In 2008, York teamed-up with singer-songwriter
Barry McGuire
for a live tour entitled Trippin' the 60's.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, born in White Plains, New York
White Plains, New York
White Plains is a city and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located in south-central Westchester, about east of the Hudson River and northwest of Long Island Sound...
on August 3, 1946. He is best known for his work with The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
, who he joined in September 1968 as a replacement for the band's original bass player
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Chris Hillman
Chris Hillman
Christopher Hillman was one of the original members of The Byrds which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, and Michael Clarke....
. He remained with the group until September 1969, when he was fired by the other three members of the band and replaced by Skip Battin
Skip Battin
Clyde "Skip" Battin was an American singer–songwriter, performer and recording artist. He is best remembered as a member of The Byrds, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Flying Burrito Brothers...
. Despite only being with The Byrds for a year, his bass playing and singing appear on two of the group's studio albums, Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde
Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde
Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde is the seventh album by the American rock band The Byrds and was released in March 1969 on Columbia Records . The album saw the band juxtaposing simple country rock material with harder-edged psychedelia, giving the album a stylistic split-personality that was alluded to in...
and Ballad of Easy Rider
Ballad of Easy Rider
Ballad of Easy Rider is the eighth album by the American rock band The Byrds and was released in November 1969 on Columbia Records . The album was named after the song "Ballad of Easy Rider", which had been penned by The Byrds' guitarist and singer, Roger McGuinn , as the theme song for the 1969...
, as well as on the non-album single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Lay Lady Lay
Lay Lady Lay
"Lay Lady Lay" is a song written by Bob Dylan and originally released in 1969 on his Nashville Skyline album. Like many of the tracks on the album, Dylan sings the song in a low croon, rather than in the high nasal singing style associated with his earlier recordings...
". York also wrote the song "Fido", which appears on Ballad of Easy Rider, and co-wrote the song "Candy", which is included on Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde. He also appears on the Columbia/Legacy
Legacy Recordings
Legacy Recordings is Sony Music Entertainment's catalog division. It was founded in 1990 by CBS Records under the leadership of Jerry Shulman, Richard Bauer, Gary Pacheco and Amy Herot to handle reissues of recordings from the vast catalogues of Columbia Records, Epic Records and associated...
Byrds' live album Live at the Fillmore - February 1969
Live at the Fillmore - February 1969
Live at the Fillmore — February 1969 is a live album released by the American rock band The Byrds in 2000 on Columbia Records. This release was compiled from two performances at the famed Fillmore West on February 7 & 8, 1969. The album includes several songs not found on the group's studio...
.
Prior to joining The Byrds, York was a member of the The Bees and the Sir Douglas Quintet
Sir Douglas Quintet
Sir Douglas Quintet was a rock band active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Despite their British sounding name, they came out of San Antonio, Texas. Their career was established when they began working with Texas record-producer Huey P. Meaux, after which the band relocated to the West Coast...
, and also worked as a session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
for The Mamas & the Papas
The Mamas & the Papas
The Mamas & the Papas were a Canadian/American vocal group of the 1960s . The group recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968 with a short reunion in 1971, releasing five albums and 11 Top 40 hit singles...
and Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers is an American rock and roll singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. His styles include folk songs, blues, and revivals of old-time rock 'n' roll songs and some original material...
. He was also the bassist in ex-Byrd Gene Clark
Gene Clark
Gene Clark, born Harold Eugene Clark was an American singer-songwriter, and one of the founding members of the folk-rock group The Byrds....
's touring band. Following his dismissal from The Byrds, York again worked with Clark during the mid-1980s, along with Pat Robinson, in the group CRY. York has maintained a lengthy career as a guitarist and bass player, and since the 1980s has worked with artists including Chris Darrow, Katie Trickett, Steven T., and Nick Binkley among others. In 1988, he recorded a number of songs with fellow ex-Byrds bass player Skip Battin, and these recordings were issued as the Family Tree album in 2001. York has released three solo albums titled Sacred Path Songs (1991), Claremont Dragon (1998), and Arigatou Baby (2006), and has also recorded the albums Clan Mother Songs with Jamie Sams, and Koto with Yukiko Matsuyama. In 2008, York teamed-up with singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Barry McGuire
Barry McGuire
Barry McGuire is an American singer-songwriter best known for the hit song "Eve of Destruction", and later as a pioneering singer and songwriter of Contemporary Christian Music.-Early life:...
for a live tour entitled Trippin' the 60's.
The Bees
- "Leave Me Be"/"She's an Artist" (7" singleSingle (music)In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
– 1965) - "Forget Me Girl"/"Baby, Let Me Follow You DownBaby, Let Me Follow You Down"Baby, Let Me Follow You Down" is a traditional folk song popularised in the late 1950s by blues guitarist Eric Von Schmidt. The song is best known from its appearance on Bob Dylan's debut album Bob Dylan.-Early years of the song:...
" (7" single – 1966)
The Byrds
- Dr. Byrds & Mr. HydeDr. Byrds & Mr. HydeDr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde is the seventh album by the American rock band The Byrds and was released in March 1969 on Columbia Records . The album saw the band juxtaposing simple country rock material with harder-edged psychedelia, giving the album a stylistic split-personality that was alluded to in...
(1969) - "Lay Lady LayLay Lady Lay"Lay Lady Lay" is a song written by Bob Dylan and originally released in 1969 on his Nashville Skyline album. Like many of the tracks on the album, Dylan sings the song in a low croon, rather than in the high nasal singing style associated with his earlier recordings...
"/"Old Blue" (7" single – 1969) - Ballad of Easy Rider (1969)
- Live at the Fillmore – February 1969 (2000)
The Museuns
- "Train in the Desert"/"Sweet Names of Spanish Ladies" (7" single – circa 1974–1976)
John York
- Sacred Path Songs (1991)
- Clan Mother Songs [with Jamie Sams] (1992)
- Claremont Dragon (1998)
- Koto [with Yukiko Matsuyama] (2003)
- Arigatou Baby (2006)
- West Coast Revelation [with Kim FowleyKim FowleyKim Vincent Fowley is an American record producer, impresario, songwriter, musician, film maker, and radio actor. He is best known for his role behind a string of novelty and cult rock pop singles in the 1960s, and for managing The Runaways in the 1970s...
- download only] (2007) - Trippin' the 60's: The Show Songs Live [with Barry McGuireBarry McGuireBarry McGuire is an American singer-songwriter best known for the hit song "Eve of Destruction", and later as a pioneering singer and songwriter of Contemporary Christian Music.-Early life:...
] (2009) - West Coast Revelation [with Kim FowleyKim FowleyKim Vincent Fowley is an American record producer, impresario, songwriter, musician, film maker, and radio actor. He is best known for his role behind a string of novelty and cult rock pop singles in the 1960s, and for managing The Runaways in the 1970s...
(GRA Records; 2011)
Selected album guest appearances
- The Mamas & the PapasThe Mamas & the PapasThe Mamas & the Papas were a Canadian/American vocal group of the 1960s . The group recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968 with a short reunion in 1971, releasing five albums and 11 Top 40 hit singles...
– The Papas & The MamasThe Papas & The MamasThe Papas & The Mamas is a 1968 album by The Mamas & the Papas. It was their final album together before the group temporarily broke up before a brief 1971 reunion....
(1968) - Jack Street Band – Jack Street Band (1982)
- Katie Trickett – The Next Time (1994)
- Mojave – Tumbleweed Circuit (1995)
- Peter LewisPeter Lewis (musician)Peter Lewis is one of the founding members of the band Moby Grape. Three of his better known songs with Moby Grape are "Fall On You" and "Sitting By The Window" from the self-titled first Moby Grape album and "If You Can't Learn From My Mistakes", from Moby Grape '69.- Background :He is the...
– Peter Lewis (1995) - Nick Binkley – Pin Stripe Brain (1996)
- Chris Darrow – Coyote + Straight from the Heart (1997)
- Chris Darrow and Max Buda – Harem Girl (1998)
- Anita Kruse – Creation Flight (1998)
- Toulouse Engelhardt and Remi Kabaka – A Child's Guide to Einstein (2004)
- Steven T. – Damage (2004)