They recorded for one week with a few session guys and guests, including John Hartford and steel guitarist Lloyd Green. “George Jones in a big sequin suit.”Both McGuinn and Hillman were versed in folk and bluegrass, so country wasn't as much of a stretch as McGuinn implied.Hillman's cousin, drummer Kevin Kelley, rounded out the new Byrds, and they found twelve songs, cut their hair, and headed for Nashville. “We hired a piano player and he turned out to be Parsons, a monster in sheep's clothing,”McGuinn told Fusionmagazine. McGuinn had a vision for the Byrds' new LP, but Parsons overrode it. Hillman met Gram Parsons and invited him to join as a backing musician rather than group member. By February '68, Gene Clark, Michael Clarke, and David Crosby had gone, leaving just Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman as the Byrds. In contrast, Bob Dylan's 'Nashville Skyline,' released eight months later, was hailed as boldly iconoclastic and became a best-seller. It alienated the Byrds' core audience without finding them a new one.
Neither hailed as an instant classic nor seen as polarizing, 'Sweetheart Of The Rodeo' was largely ignored upon release on August 30, 1968. The town wasn't big enough for both of them, of course, and Parsons soon split to form the Flying Burrito Brothers, but it sure was nice while it lasted! We're proud to present the reissue of this monumental recording in its original, stereo incarnation, cut directly from the original Columbia Recordings analog stereo masters, with perfect artwork restoration and meticulously faithful mastering.' And the repertoire was wide open for country classics by the Louvin Brothers ("The Christian Life") and Merle Haggard ("Life In Prison"), as well as Depression-era ballads ( Woody Guthrie's "Pretty Boy Floyd") and honky tonk weepers cut by George Jones ("You're Still On My Mind"). The baptism of country-rock was a natural with Parsons, former International Submarine Band frontman, now on board. Tired of dipping a toe into the genre, Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman added singer Gram Parsons and drummer Kevin Kelley and went for total immersion. With one mighty swing of the axe, the Byrds changed not only the face of rock 'n' roll but country music, as well, with their sixth album, 1968's'Sweetheart Of The Rodeo.
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