"Lady Friend" is a song by the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

, written by band member

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...

and released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

on July 13, 1967. The

reached number 82 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but failed to chart in the United Kingdom. "Lady Friend" is the only song penned solely by Crosby to appear on the

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

of a Byrds' single.

Recording and release

The song was written by Crosby in early 1967 at his home in Beverly Glen in Los Angeles. A

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

of the song dating from this period, featuring Crosby accompanying himself on

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

, was included in the KPFA program ''The Crosby Connection'', during the radio station's February 3, 2001

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

marathon. The Byrds' recording of the song has been described by Tim Connors as having a quick tempo and featuring a chiming guitar

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...

, while band biographer

Johnny Rogan John Rogan (14 February 1953 – 21 January 2021) was a British author of Irish descent best known for his books about music and popular culture. He wrote influential biographies of the Byrds, Neil Young, the Smiths, Van Morrison and Ray Davies. ...

made note of its complex vocal harmonies and

brass instrument A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones or labrophones, from Latin a ...

ation. Rogan also described it as the fastest and rockiest single the Byrds had released up to that point. Crosby closely oversaw the protracted recording of the song, much to the consternation of his bandmates

Roger McGuinn James Roger McGuinn (born James Joseph McGuinn III; July 13, 1942) is an American musician. He is best known for being the frontman and leader of the Byrds. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with the Byrds. As a ...

and

Chris Hillman Christopher Hillman (born December 4, 1944) is an American musician. He was the original bassist of and one of the original members of the Byrds, which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby and Michael Clarke. With freque ...

. Tensions in the band increased in the late stages of production when Crosby replaced Hillman and McGuinn's

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

with his own vocal

overdubs Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...

. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' described the single as an "infectious wild rocker" with a "strong dance beat" and predicted that it would climb the ''Billlboard'' Hot 100 "in short order". ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that it "crams exciting instrumental work with snappy vocals." Crosby was hopeful that "Lady Friend" would return the Byrds to the upper reaches of the chart, but the record received insufficient

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

and media exposure, despite the band appearing on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...

'' to perform it. Ultimately, the single failed commercially, reaching number 82 on the ''Billboard'' charts and failing to reach the charts in the United Kingdom at all. Crosby was bitterly disappointed by the single's lack of success and cited producer

Gary Usher Gary Lee Usher (December 14, 1938 – May 25, 1990) was an American rock musician, songwriter, and record producer, who worked with numerous California acts in the 1960s, including the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and Dick Dale. Usher also produced fict ...

's mixing of the song as a contributing factor, stating in a contemporary interview with

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

B. Mitchel Reed B. Mitchel Reed (June 10, 1926 – March 16, 1983) was a successful American disc Jockey on both Top 40 and album-oriented rock radio stations, working in New York and Los Angeles during his 25-year career. Career Born Burton Mitchel Goldberg in ...

, "The final mix of 'Lady Friend' sounds like mush." The Byrds performed the song during their appearance at the

Monterey Pop Festival The Monterey International Pop Festival was a three-day music festival held June 16 to 18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix ...

and a recording of this performance can be found on the 1992 ''The Monterey International Pop Festival'' CD

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

. The song was omitted from the Byrds' next album, ''The Notorious Byrd Brothers'', partly due to its lack of commercial success as a single and partly due to Crosby having been fired from the band by McGuinn and Hillman midway through the recording of the album.

Stereo mixes

Having initially been mixed in

mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanese b ...

for its release as a single in 1967, "Lady Friend" wasn't released in

stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

until its inclusion on the 1987 compilation album, '' Never Before''. However, this version of the song also featured the addition of overdubbed drums, played by an unnamed

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

during preparation of the album. Rogan has described fan reaction to the new drumming as almost universally negative, with many listeners feeling that the addition of then-modern sounding drums was completely inappropriate and incongruous. Subsequently, this doctored version of the song has not appeared on any other album release. A new stereo

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

of the song, without the drum overdubs, was released on ''

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

in 1990. The song was also added as a bonus track to the 1996

Columbia/Legacy Legacy Recordings is an American record label that is a division of Sony Music. Formed in 1990 after Sony's acquisition of CBS Records, Legacy originally handled the archives of Sony Music-owned labels Columbia Records and Epic Records. In ...

reissue of the ''

Younger Than Yesterday ''Younger Than Yesterday'' is the fourth studio album by the American rock band the Byrds and was released on February 6, 1967 on Columbia Records. It saw the band continuing to integrate elements of psychedelia and jazz into their music, a proce ...

'' album. In addition to its appearance on the expanded reissue of ''Younger Than Yesterday'', "Lady Friend" also appears on several Byrds' compilations, including ''

History of The Byrds ''History of The Byrds'' is a double album compilation by the American rock band the Byrds and was released on May 18, 1973 by CBS Records (''see'' 1973 in music). The compilation was released exclusively in Europe and the UK, peaking at number ...

'', '' The Original Singles: 1967–1969, Volume 2'', ''

The Essential Byrds ''The Essential Byrds'' is a comprehensive two- CD compilation album by the American rock band the Byrds. It was released in 2003 as part of Sony BMG's ''The Essential'' series. ''The Essential Byrds'' did not chart in the U.S. or the UK. A 3.0 ed ...

'', and ''

There Is a Season ''There Is a Season'' is a four- CD and one DVD box set by the American rock band the Byrds that was released on September 26, 2006 by Columbia/Legacy. It comprises 99 tracks and includes material from every one of the band's twelve studio albums, ...

''.

Cover versions

"Lady Friend" has been

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by a number of bands and artists, including Bill Plummer and the Cosmic Brotherhood on their 1968 self-titled album, Little John on their self-titled 1971 album, the

Flamin' Groovies Flamin' Groovies is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965, originally co-led by Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan. After the Groovies released three albums, on Epic ('' Supersnazz'') and Kama Sutra (''Flamingo'' and '' Teenage Head' ...

on their 1979 album ''

Jumpin' in the Night ''Jumpin' in the Night'' is the sixth studio album by The Flamin' Groovies, released in 1979. It was produced by Cyril Jordan and Roger Bechirian. Track listing Personnel ;Flamin' Groovies * Cyril Jordan Cyril Jordan (born August 31, 1948 ...

'', and

the Posies The Posies were an American power pop group. The band was formed in 1986 in Bellingham, Washington, United States, by primary songwriters Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow. Their music has its origins in Merseybeat and the Hollies. They are ...

on their ''Nice Cheekbones and a Ph.D'' EP in 2001. The song was also covered by Static on the 1989 Byrds'

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

, ''

Time Between – A Tribute to The Byrds ''Time Between – A Tribute to The Byrds'' is a various artists tribute album consisting of cover versions of songs originally written and recorded by the Los Angeles band The Byrds. It was released in 1989 as an LP and CD by Imaginary Records ...

''. In addition,

Kenny Howes Kenny Howes (born February 10, 1970) is an American musician primarily in the power pop genre.Borack, John. Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide. Not Lame Recording Company. p. 118. . Musical style/influences While swaying into othe ...

has also recorded a version of the song as the title track of his 2004 album, ''Lady Friend''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lady Friend (Song) 1967 singles The Byrds songs Songs written by David Crosby Song recordings produced by Gary Usher 1967 songs Columbia Records singles