Sometimes the right song arrives at exactly the right time.
For the Byrds, that song was “Turn! Turn! Turn!” Written by folk legend Pete Seeger in the late 1950s, the song was built almost entirely from words found in the third chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes. Seeger set the ancient text to music, adding the title, along with a closing plea for peace to create a folk song that would eventually become something much bigger.
The song first appeared on the Limeliters’ 1962 album Folk Matinee, with future Byrds frontman Roger McGuinn playing guitar as a backing musician. Seeger recorded his own version shortly afterward, and McGuinn later arranged the song for Judy Collins who released her own ethereal recording. But even then, “Turn! Turn! Turn!” had yet to find its defining sound.
In 1965, the Byrds were instrumental in ushering folk rock into the mainstream. Their debut album, Mr. Tambourine Man, had arrived that summer, powered by their No. 1 interpretation of Bob Dylan’s title song. Less than six months later, the band released its sophomore album, Turn! Turn! Turn!, continuing its magical blend of folk songwriting, layered harmonies and McGuinn’s unmistakable 12-string Rickenbacker guitar.
“If you listen to the rhythm work on say, ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ you’ll hear a rolling arpeggio pattern underneath,” said McGuinn in an interview with Heatbeat. “That’s me playing the electric twelve string. Then I played the lead break on the G string going up and down the neck. We overdubbed the lead break part.”
The results were extraordinary. Even Seeger, who was not a fan of rock ‘n’ roll, liked it.
According to Byrd-member David Crosby, Seeger wrote the band a letter of appreciation for their rendition of the song. “‘You know, they used to do everything but burn crosses on my lawn for being a communist,'” Crosby recalled of Seeger’s letter in an interview with Byrdwatcher. “‘Now they come around and ask for my autograph, and I just can’t tell you how much good you’ve done me in this town, I really appreciate that. People like me again and I just really do appreciate that. You boys are wonderful boys…’ It’s a wonderful letter. He was just knocked out, you know.”
Released as the album’s lead single in October 1965, “Turn! Turn! Turn!” climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December, becoming the Byrds’ second chart-topper.
More importantly, its message was arriving during a rapidly changing moment in American history. As U.S. involvement in Vietnam ramped up and a growing counterculture began challenging established authority, the song’s meditation on war, peace, life, death and change resonated powerfully with young listeners.
The Byrds had taken a centuries-old passage, filtered through Seeger’s folk sensibility, and transformed it into a shimmering rock anthem. And the world responded.
“Turn! Turn! Turn!” would become closely associated with the Byrds despite the song’s long journey before reaching them. The band’s distinctive interpretation and subsequent recording helped cement both their place in the emerging folk rock movement and their reputation as one of the defining groups of the era.
More than 60 years later, the unlikely No. 1 hit remains a timeless reminder that for everything, there truly is a season.
Related: 1979 Rock Song by Pink Floyd, Lasting Nearly 7 Minutes, Is Still a Generational Hit 47 Years Later
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