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Eight miles high david crosby2/28/2023 ![]() Musically influenced by Ravi Shankar and John Coltrane, "Eight Miles High", along with its McGuinn and Crosby penned B-side " Why", was influential in developing the musical styles of psychedelic rock, raga rock and psychedelic pop. As such, the song is often cited by critics as being the first psychedelic rock song. radio ban shortly after its release, following allegations published in the broadcasting trade journal the Gavin Report regarding perceived drug connotations in its lyrics. The band strenuously denied these allegations at the time, but in later years both Clark and Crosby admitted that the song was at least partly inspired by their own drug use. The failure of "Eight Miles High" to reach the Billboard Top 10 is usually attributed to the broadcasting ban, but some commentators have suggested that the song's complexity and uncommercial nature were greater factors. Top 20 hit, and also their last release before the departure of Gene Clark, who was the band's principal songwriter at the time. I’m very glad I did it." Eight Miles High" is a song by the American rock band The Byrds, written by Gene Clark, Jim McGuinn, and David Crosby and first released as a single on March 14, 1966. The single managed to reach the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 and the Top 30 of the UK Singles Chart. The song was also included on the band's third album, Fifth Dimension, released on July 18, 1966. "Eight Miles High" became The Byrds' third and final U.S. You have people drunk out of their nut and yelling ‘Hey, do you know ‘In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida?’ It’s a hell of a school to learn in, but it was very good for me actually. ![]() And very often when you start out that way, you’re singing in bars. “As I slowly began to write, I started singing my own songs. “I started out a solo folkie singing in coffee houses,” he told this writer prior to the release of Croz. His last album, 2014’s Croz was more than 20 years removed from its predecessor, but with the announcement of a new album called Lighthouse, due out October 21, he again seem to finally be on track.įor all his flaws and foolishness, Crosby saved himself by his love of music and the spirit of song. Nevertheless, his individual career floundered for years after his debut solo album in 1971, If Only I Could Remember My Name, Crosby took another 18 years to release its follow-up, Yes I Can. The writing of Eight Miles High usually is credited to Gene Clark, who, ironically, left the Byrds in part because of fear of flying. Eight Miles High long had been institutionalized in the history of rock music. His efforts with Graham Nash gave him a second lease on life, as did his later collaboration as part of CPR, the belated reunion with his long lost son James Raymond. Years later, Crosby and other band members admitted the drug connection, but no one much cared. That band had its own share of interpersonal squabbles, and crusty personalities, and as Crosby’s dependence on crack cocaine intensified, his alienation from his band mates was further exacerbated.īy the end of the ‘70s, Crosby was living on the fringe personally and creatively. Yet even early on, his irascible personality led to his discharge from that first band of brothers, and from there to the subsequent union of Crosby, Still, Nash and occasionally Young. The songs he wrote and recorded with the Byrds became classics, and his gift for harmony revolutionized the way voices could be locked in unison. ![]() Of course, that would have been a tragedy, especially for a musician who was in the front lines of the burgeoning folk rock era of the mid-‘60s. This is largely down to his status as a founder member of The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash (plus various iterations), his consummate harmonies and deft songwriting going hand in hand with a vast appetite for the excessive habits of rock ‘n’ roll. Had he not spent time in a Dallas jail after finding himself destitute, drugged out and without anywhere to turn, he likely would have been left to his own devices and ultimately succumbed to self-destruction. He squandered his talents, alienated his friends and band mates, and eventually became zombie-like, a sad remnant of his former self. For the better part of the 1970s and ‘80s, he stumbled about, plagued by severe substance abuse, becoming-by his own admission-wasted on the way. Crosby has experienced both scenarios, and one threatened to cause the other to occur. To paraphrase a lyric by David Crosby’s on-again/off-again band mate Neil Young, it’s (never) better to burn out, because once you do, it’s likely you will fade away.
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