Chris Hillman's bass line drives the song, while the rhythm guitar work by Crosby and fast drumming of Michael Clarke add dramatic turbulence. McGuinn is very guarded of the effort that went into his approximation of Coltrane's technique to guitar. McGuinn's twelve string guitar playing - especially the famed introductory solo - was heavily inspired by Coltrane's saxophone on "India" from his 1961 Village Vanguard concerts on the Impressions album of 1963. After Clark's departure, the Byrds would never visit the top 20 with a single again.
His fear of flying was the official reason for his departure, although other pressures were at work. Tambourine Man", questions this claim and wonders if McGuinn's story would be the same had Clark lived.Īlmost immediately after "Eight Miles High," the Byrds suffered the loss of Clark, their main songwriter. Since Clark's death, however, McGuinn has contended that it was he who conceived the idea for the song being about a plane ride, and that he and Crosby both contributed lyrics to Clark's unfinished draft. "Eight miles high, and when you touch down, you'll find that it's stranger than known." Airliners fly at an altitude of six to seven miles high but it was felt that "eight miles high" sounded better.Īccording to Clark, the lyrics were primarily of his doing, with the only contribution coming from David Crosby's line "Rain grey town, known for its sound". The obscure lyrics, penned by Clark, are about the group's plane trip touring England in 1965. In tandem with its b-side, "Why," written by McGuinn and Crosby, the song was instrumental in ushering in a new strain of rock and roll in the mid-1960s, that of psychedelic rock. The single peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was included as well on their album " Fifth Dimension", released on July 18, 1966. " Eight Miles High" is a song by Gene Clark, Jim McGuinn, and David Crosby, first appearing as a single from 1966 by the rock band The Byrds. Writer = Gene Clark, Jim McGuinn, David Crosby B-side = "Why" ( Jim McGuinn, David Crosby)
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