| "Why" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:The_Byrds_-_Eight_Miles_High_Why.jpg) West German picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by the Byrds | ||||
| A-side | "Eight Miles High" | |||
| Released | March 14, 1966 | |||
| Recorded | January 24–25, 1966 | |||
| Studio | Columbia, Hollywood | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:59 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | David Crosby, Jim McGuinn | |||
| Producer(s) | Allen Stanton | |||
| The Byrds singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| "Why" | |
|---|---|
| Song by the Byrds | |
| from the album Younger Than Yesterday | |
| Released | February 6, 1967 |
| Recorded | December 5–8, 1966 |
| Studio | Columbia, Hollywood |
| Genre | Psychedelic rock, raga rock |
| Length | 2:45 |
| Label | Columbia |
| Songwriter(s) | Jim McGuinn, David Crosby |
| Producer(s) | Gary Usher |
"Why" is a song by the American rock band the Byrds, written by David Crosby and Jim McGuinn and first released as the B-side of the band's "Eight Miles High" single in March 1966.[1] The song was re-recorded in December 1966 and released for a second time as part of the band's Younger Than Yesterday album.[2]
Born from Crosby's fondness for the music of Ravi Shankar, the song was an attempt to assimilate traditional Indian music into a rock and pop format.[3][4] However, rather than actually using Indian instruments on the song, the band instead used McGuinn's raga-flavored guitar playing to emulate the sound of the sitar.[3][5] "Why", along with "Eight Miles High", was influential in developing the musical styles of psychedelic rock and raga rock.[3][6][7]
- ^ Rogan, Johnny. (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited (2nd ed.). Rogan House. pp. 541–546. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
- ^ Rogan, Johnny. (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited (2nd ed.). Rogan House. p. 622. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
- ^ a b c Rogan, Johnny. (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited (2nd ed.). Rogan House. pp. 152–157. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
- ^ Lavezzoli, Peter. (2007). The Dawn of Indian music in the West. Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 155–158. ISBN 978-0-8264-2819-6.
- ^ "Fifth Dimension". ByrdWatcher: A Field Guide to the Byrds of Los Angeles. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
- ^ Rogan, Johnny. (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited (2nd ed.). Rogan House. pp. 158–163. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
- ^ Bellman, Jonathan. (1997). The Exotic In Western Music. Northeastern Publishing. p. 351. ISBN 1-55553-319-1.