Chris Hillman records and performs bluegrass, and has been known to turn up in venues such as Guthrie, Okla., to perform with old friends like Byron Berline and his band. His latest CD on Virgin Records is Way Out West by Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen. I would not argue with Mallon's assessment of the Byrds, though he undervalues McGuinn's role as the heart and soul of the group, as well as its leading musician, singer and songwriter: no Byrds without McGuinn.

I had a fascinating conversation with Terry Melcher, the Byrds' original producer, a few years ago:

Singer, songwriter, music publisher Terry Melcher was also among the most important West Coast rock 'n' roll producers of the 60's. Melcher first hit big with the Rip Chords ("Hey Little Cobra") in '64, and then as staff producer at Columbia worked with the Byrds as they helped create folk- and country-rock on some of the 60's most important albums: Mr. Tambourine Man, Turn! Turn! Turn!, Ballad of Easy Rider, and (Untitled) in '70.

In the fall of '64, a group called the Jet Set, featuring electric 12-string guitarist/singer Jim (later Roger) McGuinn, bassist Chris Hillman, guitarist/singer Gene Clark, drummer Michael Clarke, and singer/guitarist David Crosby, entered World Pacific studio to record a demo of an unreleased Bob Dylan song called "Mr. Tambourine Man."

The demo got them a deal with Columbia in late-'64 and Melcher was assigned to produce them. Melcher smoothed the arrangement away from the band's march beat, informed the band that while McGuinn, Crosby and Clark would be singing, only McGuinn was going to play on (the now) Byrds' first single.

Says Melcher, "I thought the only guy in the band who could play well enough to record was McGuinn, so I used all the normal guys I used for the sessions: Blaine, Leon Russell [keyboards], Larry Knechtel [bass], Jerry Cole [rhythm guitar]. Basically, I took the bass/drum groove from 'Don't Worry Baby' and put 'Tambourine Man' over it, and just had McGuinn weave his Rickenbacker 12-string through the whole thing. I put him on [overdubbed] about four times so it just jangled forever."

That endless jangling and the group's thrilling harmonies essentially created folk-rock. The Byrds' harmonies and Melcher's 12-string-over-surf production set a standard that the Beatles - and Brian Wilson himself - would soon be emulating. Although the Byrds had two No. 1's in "Tambourine" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!," and three other standards in "All I Really Wanna Do," "The Bells of Rhymney" and "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better," they turned away from Melcher after their first two albums.

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