You may not know to look at him but Roger McGuinn was famous long ago, with the same aura as those named Dylan, Jagger, Lennon, Wilson and Phillips. In America he was bigger than Ray Davies and Pete Townsend. As a member of the Byrds, McGuinn was on the control deck of the creative cultural chaos that is now known as the 1960s.
The performers who survived have dealt with aging differently–although most scenarios involve taking the old catalog out for another victory lap. McGuinn’s no different, as concertgoers can count on faithful renditions of the old songs (at least as they can be done in solo performance).
But McGuinn is at least more engaged and, well, interesting than many of his contemporaries. He has ended up near where he started, performing new arrangements of traditional American folk tunes. During the first go-round he acted as musical director for the 1960s folk wave. Today, he records and posts one traditional song every month, gathering a library of about 170 so far. It’s a blast to go through the Folk Den, where you get the words and chords for a remarkable collection of songs. The idea is to work out your own version and pass it along.
We can hoot and howl about his decision to not do another Byrds tour, something that even David Crosby would like to see. But I talked to McGuinn in early September as he prepared for yet another tour, a movable Folk Den coming to your local town. After that, I got it; gaining admiration for a guy who prefers to tour the country with his wife, instead of hanging out with a cranky crew of post-menopausal rock dudes.
Go see him, next time you get the chance.
