Battle of the Bands: High Flyin' Bird

         Once again I am posting on a Thursday because it's time for another edition of the twice monthly feature The Battle of the Bands.   First conceived by Faraway Eyes at Far Away Series and joined by Stephen T. McCarthy at Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends, I've been also joining in the Battles on the 1st and 15th of each month to add my own twists on the musical mix.   Others join in now and then--you will find some of those blogs at the end of this post--and you are welcome to stage your own Battle as well--just let us know in the comments so we'll come visit your contest.

          Here's how it works:  You listen to the song versions we offer on our sites and for each battle you vote for your favorite version in the comments and let us know why you picked that version.  Winners of each Battle will be announced on each site sometime next week.  I'll announce mine on Wednesday May 21st. Fun, easy, and even a bit educational.   There's also a contest where you can win prizes by leaving comments at the Far Away Series and Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends sites.  So let's get started:   

High Flyin' Bird

         My song pick today is a "Bird" song and I'm a fan of "Bird" songs as I suppose I should be.   Many readers might not be familiar with this song since it's not often played any more, but back in the 60's the song was ubiquitous.   It would probably be easier to list the artists who didn't record the song it was such a standard part of any artist's repertoire.

          The song is about poverty and the struggle of the Appalachian coal miners who feel trapped by their circumstances.   It's a social issue song which is why it resonated so well in the 60's era.   Many of us can possibly relate to the sentiments of this song.  The "High Flyin' Bird" represents freedom from the daily grind of life and all the responsibilities that tie us down to that life.  If you feel trapped by circumstances of your life then you might want to take the song as your own theme song.

         This song was written by Billy Edd Wheeler in 1963 (the link leads to an updated remake the composer recorded in 1967).    "High Flyin' Bird" has been covered by many artists, including The Jefferson Airplane, Judy Henske, Isaac Guillory, Gram Parsons, Richie Havens, Carolyn Hester, The Wizards from Kansas, We Five (featuring Beverly Bivens) , and The Au Go-Go Singers (featuring Stephen Stills).

           I try to avoid using more than two song versions in my Battles, but since there were so many good choices I decided to pick three that were relatively short.  Pick your favorite of these three:

Au Go-Go Singers   "High Flyin' Bird" (1964)

           Legendary sixties group Buffalo Springfield has it beginnings in the folk inspired Au Go-Go Singers.  The group featured Stephen Stills, whose distinctive vocals can be heard singing the lead in this song, and Richie Furay.  While on tour in Canada they met Neil Young who played on the same bill of one of their shows.  The rest is history.  Here are the Au Go-Go Singers with an early version of "High Flyin' Bird".





Jefferson Airplane  "High Flyin' Bird"

        Before Grace Slick Jefferson Airplane had Signe Toly Anderson on vocals.  In the early days the Airplane was a folk rock group until they started tripping on LSD and the music turned psychedelic.  Here they do the folk song "High Flyin' Bird" with a more rock touch to it.




H.P. Lovecraft   "High Flyin' Bird"

         The trippy band H.P. Lovecraft slow things down a la Vanilla Fudge with their jazz tinged ethereal sound.  




          Perhaps the most well-known version of "High Flyin' Bird" is the one by Richie Havens.   His performance at the Woodstock Music Festival included this song and brought him into the music limelight.  Click on the link if you're curious about his version.

          One of my favorite versions of "High Flyin' Bird" is by a husband and wife duo who recorded under the name Rejoice! on a somewhat legendary album that I used to have on 8-track cassette.  This is a quite good album.


          Neil Young and Crazy Horse did a version of "High Flyin' Bird" in their recent Americana album.  It's a good one if you're a fan of the group like I am.  Since this recording clocks in at over five minutes I decided not to include it in the Battle.  If you like the song and want to hear Young's rendition then click on the link and check it out.

         Actually there are so many versions of "High Flyin' Bird" on YouTube that it would probably take a few hours to listen to them all.  Most of them are very good.

Now Vote!

        Which version do you prefer?   Tell us in the comments and let us know why you prefer this version.  Then visit the other Battle of the Band participants.

Here are some other bloggers who may or may not be participating in the Battle of the Bands:

         Faraway Series
         Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends
         Your Daily Dose
         DiscConnected
            Donna Hole


        Are you familiar with this song?   Is there a version not pitted in my Battle that you would consider your favorite?     Do you like folk rock music?

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