Gene Clark

Gene Clark is the strongest Byrd by far - tall, handsome and eager in a bony, rural way.

He was born in Tipton, Missouri. 21 years ago, one of thirteen brothers and sisters living happily with little money in a stone farmhouse surronded by a few hard-won. closely-cultivated acres.

From this background he still draws much of his philosophy and calm.

He was the creative brain behind many of the songs on the Byrds`first album - and the flip sides of the first three singles were Clark compositions—“I Knew I’d want You,” “l’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better,” “She Don’t Care About Time.” The fourth single was, for Gene and his fellow Byrds, most significant for it featured Byrd originals.

Gene’s side was “Set You Free This Time” — a strong, positive lyric in walk-time against a jog-trot accompaniment — all beautifully mixed and matched with one most telling line, “l have never been so far out in front that I could ever ask for what I want and have it any time,“ which more than likely applies to most of us.

At Christmas time when the second album was racing up the charts, Dylan said of him: “Clark intrigues me more and more.”

In his turtle-neck sweaters and his narrow, rough-haired trousers and immaculate suede boots, the long- haired tambourine man is many moons removed from the sharp-suited, crew-cutted Christy Minstrel of the early 1960’s.

Of all the Byrds, Clark can be the most demonstrative. He has a bursting, blossoming, all-enveloping love for whatever he’s doing or whomever he’s with. And he can crack a cocoanut with his bare hands.

I don’t think he has an enemy anywhere. And he doesn’t need one because if he had one he wouldn’t know what on earth to do.

Source: The Byrds Unique Sounds and Rhythms for Guitars - 1966