Chris Hillman: Celebs Rumors

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Anyone who clicked on this article knows that the Byrds are one of the greatest and most influential rock groups of all time: They weren’t only influenced by the Beatles, they influenced them; they showed the world that Bob Dylan songs could rock; and via their own songs like “Eight Miles High,” “So You Wanna Be a Rock and Roll Star,” “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better” and “Time Between,” they paved the way for countless artists that followed, from jangle-pop to psychedelia to country rock. Well, fans are getting the Byrds history they’ve always dreamed of with BMG Books’ stunning “The Byrds: 1964-67” — out Sept. 20 — which is a comprehensive oral history and a gorgeous coffee-table photo book all in one: The editors basically licensed virtually every known photo of the group from the era, sat down with surviving founding members Roger McGuinn, David Crosby and Chris Hillman and got them to share their memories of the moments, the band, the era, each other and lots more. (The book follows the group as it gradually goes from a quintet to a quartet to a trio, and leaves off before Gram Parsons’ arrival in 1968, which launched a whole new chapter of the Byrds.)

David Crosby, the two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer who sang for The Byrds before co-founding a supergroup with Stephen Stills and Graham Nash — later adding Neil Young — has died. He was 81. His wife Jan announced the news today.

Micky Dolenz says that explaining what happened in Los Angeles' Laurel Canyon neighborhood from the mid-60s into the '70s "is a little bit like Rashomon. You're gonna get a different sort of take from everybody."But Alison Ellwood, director of Laurel Canyon, the comprehensive two-part documentary airing May 31 and June 7 on Epix, did find an answer in those varied viewpoints -- basically that there is no answer."It's like (David) Crosby says at the end of the film -- there's no explaining why or how it happened," Ellwood, who also helmed History of the Eagles and The Go-Go's, among other documentaries, tells Billboard.