Ballad of Easy Rider - The Byrds' Version

The Byrds' Version

The Byrds' version of the song was recorded on June 18, 1969 and is performed at a quicker tempo than the soundtrack version. The song was also lengthened by producer Terry Melcher by editing a copy of the first verse onto the end of the second, effectively creating a third verse. In addition, Melcher added an orchestral overdub to the track in an attempt to emulate recent hit singles like Glen Campbell's "Gentle on My Mind" and Harry Nilsson's "Everybody's Talkin'". As recording sessions for The Byrds' eighth studio album continued, interest in the band mounted as a result of their involvement with the Easy Rider film, leading McGuinn to announce in interviews that the band's next album would be titled Captain America, in honor of Peter Fonda's character in the film. However, this idea was discarded and ultimately the song "Ballad of Easy Rider" gave the new Byrds' album its title.

The B-side of The Byrds' single was the traditional song "Oil in My Lamp", although there are copies of the single known to exist with the Goffin-King song "Wasn't Born to Follow" on the B-side instead. The Byrds' recording of "Wasn't Born to Follow" initially appeared on the band's 1968 album, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, but having been featured prominently in Easy Rider, Columbia Records saw fit to include the song on some copies of the single. CBS Records in the United Kingdom went a step further by reissuing "Wasn't Born to Follow" as the A-side of a single in September 1969, in the hopes that it might provide The Byrds with a fluke hit.

"Ballad of Easy Rider" was first introduced into The Byrds' live concert repertoire during February 1969 and would go on to be performed relatively frequently throughout the rest of the year and into 1970. However, the song was played only rarely between 1971 and the band's break-up in 1973. In addition to its appearance on the Ballad of Easy Rider album, the song can also be found on several Byrds' compilations, including The Best of The Byrds: Greatest Hits, Volume II, History of The Byrds, The Very Best of The Byrds, and The Essential Byrds. An extended, alternate mix of The Byrds' recording of the song, featuring more prominent percussion and Clarence White's lead guitar solo (which had been edited out of the version found on the album), was included as a bonus track on the 1997 Columbia/Legacy reissue of Ballad of Easy Rider. In addition, a live performance of the song, recorded at the Felt Forum in New York City on March 1, 1970, was included as a bonus track on the remastered (Untitled) album in 2000.