THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,965) The Byrds — “It Won’t Be Wrong”
Here is the Byrd’s (see #1,430, 1,605) Roger McGuinn’s “fan-frigging-tastic writing debut . . . . [a] Beatles-quality knock off” (ChadFlake, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the-byrds/turn-turn-turn/reviews/3/) whose “change of tempo midway through highly reminiscent of a trick the Fabs had already used on ‘I Call Your Name’”. (Lejink, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the-byrds/turn-turn-turn/reviews/3/) Though a B-side, it reached #63.
Matthew Greenwald writes:
Originally titled “Don’t Be Long,” . . . [it] went through several changes [leading to] the strident version that eventually appeared on Turn, Turn, Turn in late 1965. Either way, it’s a great example of the band’s overall exuberance, combining folk chord changes with a powerful rock & roll beat and rhythm. The band [first] used [it] as a B-side (billed as the Beefeaters) for a late-1964 Elektra single . . . captur[ing] the innocence and fury of the young musicians in a great, shining light.
Wikipedia tells us:
“It Won’t Be Wrong” was composed in 1964 by the Byrds lead guitarist Jim McGuinn and his friend Harvey Gerst, who was an acquaintance from McGuinn’s days as a folk singer at The Troubadour . . . . The song originally appeared with the alternate title of “Don’t Be Long” on the B-side of a single that the Byrds had released on Elektra Records in October 1964, under the pseudonym the Beefeaters. By the time the song was re-recorded in September 1965, during the recording sessions for the Byrds’ second Columbia Records’ album, its title had been changed to “It Won’t Be Wrong”. Both the band and their producer Terry Melcher felt that the 1965 version included on the Turn! Turn! Turn! album was far more accomplished and exciting than the earlier Elektra recording . . . . Lyrically, the song is a relatively simplistic appeal for a lover to submit to the singer’s romantic advances. Musically, however, the guitar riff following each verse foreshadows the raga experimentation of the band’s later songs “Eight Miles High” and “Why”, both of which would be recorded within . . . months . . . . [Johnny] Rogan [wrote] that the “lackluster Beefeaters’ version was replaced by the driving beat of a Byrds rock classic, complete with strident guitars and improved harmonies, that transformed the sentiments of the song from an ineffectual statement to a passionate plea.” . . . Following its appearance on the album, the song was selected as the B-side for the Byrds’ “Set You Free This Time” single in January 1966. However, after initially poor sales of that single, Columbia Records in America began promoting the B-side instead, resulting in “It Won’t Be Wrong” charting at number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, “Set You Free This Time” was released as a single on February 11, 1966, but after the NME described the B-side as the best track on the single, it was re-released on February 18, 1966, with “It Won’t Be Wrong” as the A-side.
Here is the B-side version:
Here are the Beefeaters:
Here are the Byrds on Shivaree:
Here on Shivaree with poor video quality but with the host’s intro:
Here are the Byrds on Hollywood a Go Go:
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