Rock Title Songs: So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star

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Hi from Cincinnati! Well, the northern Kentucky suburbs, where the Chuy’s is located. I’m off on a jaunt, but first the final entry on the alphabetical list of songs with a salute to rock and roll in the title. Tomorrow the top ten starts. Here’s another obvious choice to close out the alphabetical list. So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star - The Byrds It’s oh so fitting that Tom Petty covered this, because if ever a band influenced Petty’s sound it was the Byrds. Petty wasn’t the only one (compare the jangling guitar of the Byrds to Peter Buck in R.E.M. or a third of the “power pop” bands in the 80s). This song was inspired by the success of the Monkees in particular and the notion that anyone from a “scene” (such as the British Invasion or the Greenwich Village folk scene) could get signed to a record deal just because one act (the Beatles or Dylan) got popular in general. While it’s cheery and upbeat, the tongue is firmly in the cheek of the band. The Byrds were pioneers in folk and country-rock in their brilliant career, with several songs firmly ingrained in the history of rock. This is one of their best. So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star Written by Jim McGuinn and Chris Hillman Recorded by The Byrds From Younger Than Yesterday, 1967 And with your hair swung right: