Harold Eugene “Gene” Clark (November 17, 1944 – May 24, 1991) was an American singer-songwriter, and one of the founding members of the folk-rock group The Byrds. He did write some of The Byrds’ best songs, among them: “Feel A Whole Lot Better”, “Here Without You” and “Set You Free This Time”.

Backstage Pass  1979 with Chris Hillmann and Roger McGuinn, taken from the album, McGuinn, Clark & Hillman:

Gene Clark will always be remembered for his two years as a vocalist with the Byrds between 1964 and 1966 (+ a brief period in 1967 and one in 1973). A fine legacy to be sure, but he did so much more and it’s a shame  that Clark’s work outside The Byrds is not more known ; he was a superb songwriter, one of the founding fathers of country-rock, and recorded a number of fine albums (with an impressive array of collaborators) whose quality far outstripped their modest sales figures. So enough about the Byrds, that’s another story.

Here’s the song Gypsy Rider from the album, So Rebellious a Lover (1986) with Carla Olson:

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