The Times They Are A-Changin' (song) - The Byrds' Version

The Byrds' Version

The song was covered by The Byrds on their second album, Turn! Turn! Turn!, and was one of two Dylan covers, "Lay Down Your Weary Tune" being the other. Like previous Dylan-penned compositions such as "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "All I Really Want to Do", the song was intended to be another A-side credited to Dylan. The most popular recording of "The Times They Are a-Changin'" was one of several attempts. During the summer of 1965, the group recorded "It's All Over Now Baby Blue" but it was deemed not strong enough and failed to appear on the album. The song is sung by band leader Jim McGuinn, featuring The Byrds' typical Rickenbacker twelve-string guitar. The song was heavily played at live concerts, surrounding the song's release.

I remember the Beatles were in the studio for one of them (version of 'The Times They Are A-Changin'). That kinda put a lot of pressure on us.

The recording sessions have been noted for the surprise appearances made by George Harrison and Paul McCartney in the control booth, which according to Byrd members prevented them from completing the session and the track effectively. Columbia Records originally pressed thousands of cover sleeves for the alleged single, but Byrds manager Jim Dickson asked for the release to be dropped due to the group's dissatisfaction, most vocally David Crosby; Dickson originally thought the song would have made a strong single. In a 2004 interview, Chris Hillman stated his dislike towards the song, suggesting that "we shouldn't have bothered with that song". Another version of the song, recorded in June, appears as a bonus track on the 1996 reissue. "Turn! Turn! Turn!" ended up becoming the band's third single, reaching #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts and #26 on the UK Singles Chart.

The Byrds performed the song on the U.S. television program Hullabaloo, but failed to make a long-term impact. CBS England issued "The Times They Are a-Changin'" as the lead track of an EP, alongside the Gene Clark-penned "Set You Free This Time", which gained moderate success. In addition to its appearance on The Byrds' second album, "The Times They Are a-Changin'" appears on several Byrds' compilations, including The Original Singles: 1965–1967, Volume 1, The Very Best of The Byrds, The Byrds, The Essential Byrds, There Is a Season, The Byrds' Greatest Hits and The Byrds Play the Songs of Bob Dylan. The song also makes its appearance on There Is a Season boxset, which comprises 99 tracks and includes material from every one of the band's twelve studio albums, presented in roughly chronological order.