0:00:13 > 0:00:16So what's your very best memory of Gene?
0:00:18 > 0:00:20Standing in the Third Street Studios
0:00:20 > 0:00:23with the rest of us singing Tambourine Man
0:00:23 > 0:00:27and I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better
0:00:27 > 0:00:31and watching Bob Dylan's face light up
0:00:31 > 0:00:38as he realised what was going to happen next in the world
0:00:38 > 0:00:41and what he was going to do next.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44Watching Gene do it right in front of him.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48It was like the birth of a new nation,
0:00:48 > 0:00:53I mean, it was a whole birthing of a new sound, a new genre of music.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57Very, very exciting, no-one had ever heard anything like him before.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00It was just like some kind of incredible,
0:01:00 > 0:01:05beautiful Earth music that this guy made and...nobody else
0:01:05 > 0:01:10that makes that sound, nobody else has that kind of ethereal quality.
0:01:10 > 0:01:15You could not be there and listen to him and listen to the lyrical content
0:01:15 > 0:01:21of his music and not understand that you were listening to a genius.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25I think he is legitimately at least the equal to,
0:01:25 > 0:01:28at least the equal to Gram Parsons
0:01:28 > 0:01:31and should be better remembered as the father of Americana.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34It should have happened. He should have been bigger.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37He sang from his heart and he had great songs.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39Why didn't it work?
0:01:39 > 0:01:41That's the question.
0:01:44 > 0:01:51This programme contains some strong language.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08How important was Gene to The Byrds?
0:02:08 > 0:02:12He was crucial, central, essential...
0:02:14 > 0:02:16..heart and soul.
0:02:16 > 0:02:21He inspired me and he inspired David and Roger,
0:02:21 > 0:02:22he was an incredible writer.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25I watched him go from sort of an
0:02:25 > 0:02:28innocent country boy to road-weary
0:02:28 > 0:02:30and just tired of it all.
0:02:30 > 0:02:35He never felt that elation or that inspiration,
0:02:35 > 0:02:40he never had the peace of all those incredible things he wrote.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44How is it possible someone like that who was so talented,
0:02:44 > 0:02:48so good-looking, such a great singer, could get into such a mess?
0:02:48 > 0:02:52But if anyone had a star written on their passport,
0:02:52 > 0:02:54it was Gene Clark.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56Sometimes you're ahead of your time,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59that kind of genius is always pretty much ahead of his time.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30# When I was a young boy
0:03:30 > 0:03:33# Evening sun went down... #
0:03:33 > 0:03:34It was a country environment.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39He had, like, Gene's parents' home,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42it was back in Swope Park.
0:03:42 > 0:03:47And you had to drive up a long driveway to see their house,
0:03:47 > 0:03:50which was very, very tiny,
0:03:50 > 0:03:55with that many children - they had 13 boys and girls.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59The only utility to that house was a...
0:04:00 > 0:04:04..110... 110 volt electrical wire.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06There was no plumbing,
0:04:06 > 0:04:10there was no heat other than coal and wood burning stoves.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12In a sense, very austere,
0:04:12 > 0:04:16as far as material values and things like that.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18Most of what we did,
0:04:18 > 0:04:20we did ourselves.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23We had some chickens, we had cows,
0:04:23 > 0:04:27we had...we did our milking,
0:04:27 > 0:04:31we even did our meat butchering to a certain degree.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34We didn't know how poor we were. We had no idea.
0:04:34 > 0:04:39That was just our reality and until we started going to school
0:04:39 > 0:04:43with some children that were much better off than we were,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46we didn't know we were deprived in any way at all,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49and there were all the play times in the woods,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51that was good times.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53We'd just get away from everything,
0:04:53 > 0:04:57and get out in the woods and use our imaginations
0:04:57 > 0:04:59to create whatever we wanted to.
0:04:59 > 0:05:04# Hours of joy when I was just a boy
0:05:04 > 0:05:08# And never wrong I knew
0:05:10 > 0:05:15# Kites of red would fly above my head
0:05:15 > 0:05:18# The birds would sing their song... #
0:05:18 > 0:05:21We actually grew up with a wide, wide range of music
0:05:21 > 0:05:26that we'd listen to. We'd listen to, of course, the Grand Ole Opry,
0:05:26 > 0:05:31that was a staple and I was the one that brought rock into the house,
0:05:31 > 0:05:35because I started listening to WREN out of Topeka,
0:05:35 > 0:05:39which was the only rock station in the area at that time.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41Any it was kind of iffy to get that,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44you had to tilt the radio just the right way.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58Gene really picked it up from his father.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02And that's how he learnt, more or less, on his father's guitar.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08And they sat on the porch and they sang old songs.
0:06:08 > 0:06:13I think that that got Gene's interest.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17The first thing I ever saw him pick up and play was a mandolin.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20I think it was because of his age and its size,
0:06:20 > 0:06:21maybe because of the fit.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25And he was always on the bed playing the guitar and writing songs
0:06:25 > 0:06:30and he probably wrote 30, 40 songs
0:06:30 > 0:06:34that I don't know where they're at today, but...
0:06:36 > 0:06:39When you tried to talk to Gene while he was trying to think,
0:06:39 > 0:06:41he was hard to get to.
0:06:41 > 0:06:47# Oh, my love
0:06:50 > 0:06:58# Come on to me... #
0:06:58 > 0:07:00I recorded my first record,
0:07:00 > 0:07:01single record,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04when I was 14 years old.
0:07:04 > 0:07:05It was called Blue Ribbon,
0:07:05 > 0:07:07and I recorded it with
0:07:07 > 0:07:08Joe Myers and The Sharks.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11That was the main band that I had in high school.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15They would start to play at the Coke Bar and it was jam-packed,
0:07:15 > 0:07:19just because they were so good.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21I knew he wanted to make it his life.
0:07:21 > 0:07:27I mean, I didn't know that it would go on to be the, you know,
0:07:27 > 0:07:28the big music carrier.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32I saw him more maybe as a country star.
0:07:32 > 0:07:38Maybe just, you know, where he started out - doing school dances
0:07:38 > 0:07:42and playing in some bars and things like that.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46And I think that he would have been comfortable with that life.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48I think that stardom took him unaware,
0:07:48 > 0:07:50and I don't think he was prepared for it.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54# ..trade those ribbons
0:07:54 > 0:08:02# For a love that is true. #
0:08:08 > 0:08:11'I'm very pleased to welcome to the Hootenanny Show for the first time,
0:08:11 > 0:08:13'The New Christy Minstrels.'
0:08:15 > 0:08:21# Green, green, it's green, they say On the far side of the hill
0:08:21 > 0:08:26# Green, green, I'm going away To where the grass is greener still
0:08:26 > 0:08:30# Well, now, I told my mama on the day I was born
0:08:30 > 0:08:33# Don't you cry when you see I'm gone... #
0:08:33 > 0:08:36# And there ain't no woman gonna settle me down
0:08:36 > 0:08:39# I just gotta be travelling on... #
0:08:39 > 0:08:40Everybody, come on!
0:08:40 > 0:08:43# Green, green, it's green they say... #
0:08:43 > 0:08:46Back in '63,
0:08:46 > 0:08:47The New Christy Minstrels
0:08:47 > 0:08:51were riding this crest of success and popularity.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54It was a wonderful ride for all of us.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58We were recognisable in the street, in restaurants and stuff like that.
0:08:58 > 0:09:03It was a very heady, you know, wonderful experience.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07We were performing in Kansas City and one night, Nick Woods
0:09:07 > 0:09:11came back into the hotel and said, "You come with me, come with me."
0:09:11 > 0:09:13And so, Randy and I went with him to this little club,
0:09:13 > 0:09:17Randy Sparks was the founder and director of the group,
0:09:17 > 0:09:21and he said, "You've got to see this guy, you've got to see this guy."
0:09:21 > 0:09:24So we went to see and, you know, there he was,
0:09:24 > 0:09:27Gene Clark was singing with this, I think it was a trio,
0:09:27 > 0:09:29it might have been a quartet, but I think it was a trio.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33# Well, I hope to tell you, Johnny That I lay that rifle down... #
0:09:33 > 0:09:36I still remember the song he was singing.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39It was...cos it just so indelibly imprinted itself into me,
0:09:39 > 0:09:43he was...so intense,
0:09:43 > 0:09:45and he had this great look
0:09:45 > 0:09:50and this real piercing countenance, you know,
0:09:50 > 0:09:54and when he sang, he really sang the songs and we went, "Wow!"
0:09:54 > 0:09:56And we were looking for a replacement in the Christies
0:09:56 > 0:10:00and we had all just said, "He's the guy, if he'll come with us."
0:10:00 > 0:10:05He made up his mind immediately, you know, what an opportunity!
0:10:05 > 0:10:12So he went with The Christy Minstrels and did good.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14Mum was beside herself, I mean,
0:10:14 > 0:10:18she just broke down and shook like a leaf and everything else,
0:10:18 > 0:10:22she was so afraid of all kinds of things, you know.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26And some of her worst fears did eventually come true.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30# The cabin door was standing open
0:10:30 > 0:10:34# On that wild and lonely night
0:10:34 > 0:10:37# And the hound dog, he lay a-dyin'
0:10:37 > 0:10:41# In the gloomy candlelight... #
0:10:43 > 0:10:45'He wasn't with the Minstrels that long...'
0:10:45 > 0:10:47Thank you.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51..but he certainly was a significant part of the group for me.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54At this time, we'd like to do a little song
0:10:54 > 0:10:57about a very intelligent mule by the name of Billy.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02I don't know that The New Christy Minstrels music
0:11:02 > 0:11:06was exactly what Gene wanted to do,
0:11:06 > 0:11:09because we did Randy Sparks' songs,
0:11:09 > 0:11:13and Randy Sparks at the time was writing silly little ditties.
0:11:13 > 0:11:14They were fun...
0:11:14 > 0:11:16- HE SINGS:- # Billy's mule can tow the wagon
0:11:16 > 0:11:17# He can pull a plough
0:11:17 > 0:11:20# He can figure 'rithmetic and milk a muley cow... #
0:11:20 > 0:11:22That's not what Gene wanted to sing.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25# Billy's mule can tow the wagon He can pull a plough
0:11:25 > 0:11:28# He can figure 'rithmetic and milk a muley cow
0:11:28 > 0:11:32# There's a famous mule named Francis in the magazines I've read
0:11:32 > 0:11:35# I mentioned him to Billy's mule This is what he said... #
0:11:35 > 0:11:37'I think that was one of the reasons
0:11:37 > 0:11:40'he was kind of standoffish in the Christy Minstrels,'
0:11:40 > 0:11:43because we were all in-your-face egos
0:11:43 > 0:11:46trying to outperform each other.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50He wasn't "egoically" driven, he was artistically driven.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54And I think that's what's the difference in the Minstrels,
0:11:54 > 0:11:57as an artist, he wanted to do art
0:11:57 > 0:12:03and not just go out and sing louder than everybody else.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06He tried to present some of his material to them
0:12:06 > 0:12:10and, of course, their policy and stuff like was...
0:12:10 > 0:12:12that didn't work, you know.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15I think he came to the realisation, in the Christy Minstrels,
0:12:15 > 0:12:19that fame and fortune is not what he was after.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22I mean, it's OK, but that's not the carrot,
0:12:22 > 0:12:28the carrot is to be, to have a platform to paint your art
0:12:28 > 0:12:32and I think the Christies was not that place for Gene.
0:12:32 > 0:12:37He needed a different outlet for his art.
0:12:38 > 0:12:44# Step by step Keep a-travellin' on
0:12:44 > 0:12:49# Follow the drinking gourd
0:12:49 > 0:12:54# Sleep in the hollow till the daylight is gone
0:12:54 > 0:12:57# Follow
0:12:57 > 0:13:04# The drinking gourd. #
0:13:12 > 0:13:14I'd been inspired by The Beatles
0:13:14 > 0:13:15to take old folk songs, like...
0:13:15 > 0:13:19- HE SINGS:- # The water is wide I cannot cross over... #
0:13:19 > 0:13:22And put a Beatle beat to it, like...
0:13:22 > 0:13:26- HE SINGS:- # The water is wide I cannot cross... #
0:13:26 > 0:13:28And I was doing that at The Troubadour
0:13:28 > 0:13:31and most of the audience was not appreciating it,
0:13:31 > 0:13:34but Gene Clark did, he came backstage and he said,
0:13:34 > 0:13:36"I like what you're doing, let's write some songs."
0:13:36 > 0:13:39So Gene and I sat down in the little front room of The Troubadour,
0:13:39 > 0:13:41where they sold picks and strings,
0:13:41 > 0:13:44a place called The Folk Den, and started writing songs.
0:13:44 > 0:13:45We were out in the hallway singing
0:13:45 > 0:13:48something, David walked up and he started singing with us,
0:13:48 > 0:13:51it was totally magic and we knew it was there right then.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53They were playing guitars and...
0:13:53 > 0:13:56fooling with these songs that Gene had written.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03I was instantly attracted
0:14:03 > 0:14:05to the songs.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14# The reason why
0:14:14 > 0:14:16# Oh, I can say
0:14:16 > 0:14:20# I had to let you go, babe
0:14:20 > 0:14:24# And right away
0:14:24 > 0:14:28# After what you did
0:14:28 > 0:14:31# I can't stay on
0:14:31 > 0:14:38# And I'll probably feel a whole lot better when you're gone... #
0:14:39 > 0:14:43One of the reasons the music was good is he didn't know the rules...
0:14:43 > 0:14:44at all.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47Knew nothing about it.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50Figured out a chord on his own.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54Figured out another chord,
0:14:54 > 0:14:57put these chords together and then made up the third,
0:14:57 > 0:14:59he hadn't a clue.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04It was very, very refreshing.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07It didn't take long, we'd been inspired by The Beatles,
0:15:07 > 0:15:10for us to realise we needed a bass player and a drummer
0:15:10 > 0:15:14so that's when we got Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke
0:15:14 > 0:15:16to play bass and drums.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19Then we had the band. We had a band.
0:15:19 > 0:15:20THEY SING
0:15:26 > 0:15:32We were as strange a band as I could have imagined because there
0:15:32 > 0:15:39are no five more different human beings that I could possibly devise.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43Completely different people.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46Barely able to speak the same language.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48And yet, chemistry happened.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54And I think it was Gene, a lot, that made the chemistry happen.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06I ended up living with Gene and Michael Clarke.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08We had a tiny little house in Los Angeles.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13Just a little side on this.
0:16:13 > 0:16:19Here we are, poor, and we're getting the band going.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21We are starving and Gene
0:16:21 > 0:16:26and I both were really passing bad cheques to get groceries.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29The minute we made it within six or eight months, we started to make it.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32We had a hit with Tambourine Man. We were working in clubs.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37Gene Clark went back to the landlady and paid the back rent.
0:16:37 > 0:16:38I'll never forget that.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40The Byrds is here!
0:16:43 > 0:16:46It was a tremendous change from being on the street.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49Literally taking buses to rehearsal
0:16:49 > 0:16:52and having one hamburger a day for our meals.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55To having a number one hit.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57I remember we went to Columbia Records
0:16:57 > 0:17:00and sat in the reception area.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04And the secretary didn't know who we were.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07And she was treating us officiously.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11And then she went back and found out we were Columbia's number one act,
0:17:11 > 0:17:13and, "Can I get you anything? Coffee?"
0:17:13 > 0:17:17And I could feel the couch we were on go up like an elevator.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20It's like we went up 40 storeys.
0:17:20 > 0:17:21It was...
0:17:23 > 0:17:25..a lot of fun at first.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27We were driving down Sunset Boulevard...
0:17:28 > 0:17:33..in a '56 black Ford station wagon we had brought from Odetta.
0:17:34 > 0:17:41And the big rock radio station played it and then they played it again.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44They played it two times in a row.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49And we pulled over and we were jumping up and down.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51We were completely freaked out.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55Nobody had ever done that with a song before on the radio. Ever.
0:17:55 > 0:18:00People were talking about The Beatles and Dylan and The Byrds
0:18:00 > 0:18:05as the three bands or people at that time most influential.
0:18:05 > 0:18:11They lit the world on fire. And then they were anointed by The Beatles.
0:18:11 > 0:18:16And that was it. The Byrds were our Beatles.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19# There is a season
0:18:19 > 0:18:21# Turn, Turn, Turn
0:18:21 > 0:18:27# And a time to every purpose, under Heaven. #
0:18:27 > 0:18:32Once you're on an airplane, you're flying to London, England,
0:18:32 > 0:18:34hanging out with The Beatles and Rolling Stones with gigantic crowds
0:18:34 > 0:18:37it's kind of a shocker.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41And at that time I never envisioned there would be any problems.
0:18:41 > 0:18:46# A time to laugh, a time to weep. #
0:18:48 > 0:18:51Gene was the creative glue.
0:18:51 > 0:18:56He wrote those songs that constituted 80% of the albums.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58Gene really wrote a lot of songs.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00He would write five or six songs a week and Mike
0:19:00 > 0:19:02and I would work them up with him
0:19:02 > 0:19:05before we showed them to Roger and David.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09Three of those five or six would be masterpieces.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13That's how good he was. Very prolific.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15Very prolific writer.
0:19:15 > 0:19:21# Hallways and staircases everyday to climb... #
0:19:22 > 0:19:26Gene initially was excited about the success
0:19:26 > 0:19:31but then it started to bother him. The pressure of it.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34The pressure to maintain the success, to write more songs,
0:19:34 > 0:19:36started to bother him.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40On the first album he was the only one who got a lot of money
0:19:40 > 0:19:42and that was about a year after we started the group.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45So the rest of us were still taking buses and walking around LA
0:19:45 > 0:19:49and he had a little MG and he was driving around in it.
0:19:49 > 0:19:54It created a bit of tension between the members of the band.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Supposedly when the first cheques came in, everyone got 4,000
0:19:57 > 0:20:00and Gene got 47,000 and went out and bought a Porsche,
0:20:00 > 0:20:04it was kind of instant hatred and jealousy.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11You take a group of young men...
0:20:14 > 0:20:15..very different young men.
0:20:18 > 0:20:19Uh...
0:20:23 > 0:20:24..give them some money...
0:20:29 > 0:20:31..introduce them to drugs.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41I don't think there was anything wrong with the fact that we
0:20:41 > 0:20:43all of the sudden got laid a lot.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47But the money and the drugs...
0:20:47 > 0:20:49HE WHISTLES
0:20:53 > 0:20:54That will do it every time.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01He wasn't suited to taking any kind of drug
0:21:01 > 0:21:03and it brought out the worst in him.
0:21:03 > 0:21:08And if you throw all that in with the pressure of being a teen idol,
0:21:08 > 0:21:12the travelling, the songwriting and everything else,
0:21:12 > 0:21:18all those things together seem to culminate on
0:21:18 > 0:21:21the 27th of February, '66.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24We were flying to New York to do a Murray the K special.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28This is maybe a year and a half into The Byrds, something like that.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32Gene was already on the plane when I got there
0:21:32 > 0:21:34and he was in a cold sweat.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37And he was going, "I can't stay on this plane."
0:21:37 > 0:21:41And being a sensitive person,
0:21:41 > 0:21:44I thought, "Maybe he knows something.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48"Maybe he's picking up on something wrong with the plane."
0:21:48 > 0:21:52He said, "I can't stay on the plane and I have to get off."
0:21:52 > 0:21:53Big moment.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58Stood up, looked at us...
0:22:01 > 0:22:02..got off the plane.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06And I said, "Gene, you can't be a Byrd..."
0:22:06 > 0:22:07..If you can't fly.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13- And...- That was it.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20I had no idea he had a problem flying. I had no idea.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23We had flown all over the place. I had no idea.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27I remember the day he got off the plane.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29But up until then I had no idea.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32There were other issues involved.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37I remember he came to my house in Laurel Canyon and I said,
0:22:37 > 0:22:39"I don't think you should do this.
0:22:39 > 0:22:40"Why are you leaving?"
0:22:42 > 0:22:45And he just wanted to do something else at the time.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47MUSIC: "Eight Miles High"
0:22:52 > 0:22:56The falling out of The Byrds was really a mistake.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59It was not on purpose by anybody's purpose.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02It only had to do with a bunch of guys who made it so big
0:23:02 > 0:23:04when they were 19,
0:23:04 > 0:23:0820 and 21 years old that they could not possibly fucking handle it.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43I'm sure the management was looking at it like,
0:23:43 > 0:23:46"OK, we can't force him to stay in the band.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50"Maybe he can have a nice solo career and do that?"
0:23:50 > 0:23:53# On the streets you look again
0:23:53 > 0:23:55# At the places you have been
0:23:56 > 0:23:59# For the moments that you thought Where am I going? #
0:24:01 > 0:24:06Gene was experiencing, for the first time, horizontal income.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10By that, I mean lie down on your couch and don't do anything
0:24:10 > 0:24:12and you're making money.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16He was making it off his songs and he instantly recognised what the
0:24:16 > 0:24:20songwriting career was doing for him.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23A lot of people that came to Gene Clark later tend to
0:24:23 > 0:24:28think of him as the mystical poet or person that had come from a rural
0:24:28 > 0:24:33background, and that was part of his personality, as well, of course.
0:24:34 > 0:24:39But he really did love the Hollywood lifestyle. He liked the fast cars.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42He liked the live dancers, the glamorous models.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46We had very little information about how his life was going.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49I had no idea he was dating Michelle Phillips for a while.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55- I found about that later.- He was the first guy to make money in The Byrds.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58Went out and bought a Ferrari.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00Didn't see him happy because of that.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04So all the money in the world and all the things you can acquire
0:25:04 > 0:25:07and all the adulation is not the ticket to happiness.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11One wouldn't know at a young age.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13The world is open to him at that time.
0:25:13 > 0:25:18He can be Bob Dylan plus, with Echoes.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20He can still be the folk guy,
0:25:20 > 0:25:23he can be the rock'n'roll guy, or he can go on the country route.
0:25:23 > 0:25:28# Stopped this morning on my way back home
0:25:28 > 0:25:32# I had to realise this time that I'd be
0:25:32 > 0:25:36# All alone... #
0:25:36 > 0:25:38The first Gene Clark solo album
0:25:38 > 0:25:40is not just the beginning of... in many ways...
0:25:40 > 0:25:42Who knows when country rock began?
0:25:42 > 0:25:46It doesn't matter, but in many ways it kick-started what
0:25:46 > 0:25:48we now know as country rock.
0:25:48 > 0:25:53I worked with the Gosdins and Vern and Rex were straight country.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56He was really thrown by Byrds fans not grasping what
0:25:56 > 0:25:58he was doing with this country-esque music.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02- They wanted... - SINGS "EIGHT MILES HIGH" GUITAR LINE
0:26:02 > 0:26:05..the Eight Miles High, John Coltrane modal solos
0:26:05 > 0:26:07and they got none of that.
0:26:07 > 0:26:12Had Echoes been a hit, I think Gene would have moved in that direction.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17I think he was very proud of that.
0:26:17 > 0:26:23When it failed, I think he...
0:26:23 > 0:26:28he lost confidence in that direction.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30I think he kind of floundered
0:26:30 > 0:26:35and couldn't really find the right voice or the right vehicle.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38Not until we got to Dillard & Clark.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41Doug Dillard was a giant in music at that time,
0:26:41 > 0:26:45in country music, because he was generally regarded as being
0:26:45 > 0:26:48one of the greatest banjo players in the country.
0:26:48 > 0:26:53He was in the Dillards, who were the great bluegrass group
0:26:53 > 0:26:56and they hailed from Missouri, the same state as Gene.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00So he had a strong empathy with Doug Dillard.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03And Doug Dillard was good and bad for Gene Clark.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07I had breakfast with Gene and Doug. It was 10:30 in the morning.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10At the Hamburger Hamlet on Hollywood Boulevard. Never forget.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14And when they ordered Martinis, I went,
0:27:14 > 0:27:16"There's something afoot here."
0:27:16 > 0:27:20Doug probably needed no help to start the evening.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23He was probably blasted already.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26Doug could go on three or four day binges
0:27:26 > 0:27:28and somehow still be upright, still play.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30He wanted to form a band and start recording
0:27:30 > 0:27:33with A&M, so Gene was already with A&M and he asked me
0:27:33 > 0:27:34to join him.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37First of all, he approached me about recording
0:27:37 > 0:27:40and then we decided to put the group together.
0:27:40 > 0:27:47Bernie, Leadon, Doug Dillard, Gene and Don Beck,
0:27:47 > 0:27:53and we started showing up at Dillard's house on Beachwood Canyon.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57And without anybody ever calling.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01I don't recall ever getting a call saying,
0:28:01 > 0:28:06"Let's show up tomorrow," or any of that business.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10- We just showed up there.- We sat down and started writing songs.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12It just sort of came about.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16# And now we shall see what the future will bring
0:28:16 > 0:28:19# As we swing freely as one... #
0:28:19 > 0:28:24Gene would be slumped on the couch, strumming some chords.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27Always interesting chord patterns.
0:28:27 > 0:28:28And spouting some words.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32Often not making any particular sense until much later,
0:28:32 > 0:28:35when things got filled in and he could see where he was going.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39By the end of the day, there was usually a very good song.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42He seemed to really have something that was a little bit
0:28:42 > 0:28:47more into the real soil of American music.
0:28:47 > 0:28:52Coming from Missouri, I think that his roots
0:28:52 > 0:28:58really came through, and of course my idea was that when he hung around
0:28:58 > 0:29:02the Dillards, and the Dillards were rootsy kind of players, you know?
0:29:02 > 0:29:08# I lost ten points just for being in the right place
0:29:08 > 0:29:12# At exactly the wrong time... #
0:29:12 > 0:29:17I was real into starting into the contemporary country thing.
0:29:17 > 0:29:21Of course, that was before the Flying Burrito Brothers
0:29:21 > 0:29:23and The Eagles and everybody else.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27There was no sense of breaking ground.
0:29:27 > 0:29:31No sense of what was to come from this.
0:29:31 > 0:29:36It was just one note at a time. One line at a time.
0:29:36 > 0:29:38And a lot of Martinis.
0:29:39 > 0:29:41And an interspersion of LSD.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45They'd come to the studio and we'd start to play and it was just magic.
0:29:45 > 0:29:49And it was a perfect vehicle for Gene.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53He kind of found his vehicle and his voice at the same time.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56So we had a great time making that album.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59Didn't take very long, happened organically.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01So here we are, we've made the album,
0:30:01 > 0:30:03we're going to open at the Troubadour.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07It's Tuesday night and the press is there.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10So we go to the Troubadour about three or four o'clock
0:30:10 > 0:30:14for the sound check, set up, do the sound check, everything is fine.
0:30:14 > 0:30:18I drive back to Santa Monica, where I was living at the time,
0:30:18 > 0:30:19take a nap, take a shower,
0:30:19 > 0:30:22get ready for the evening's festivities,
0:30:22 > 0:30:26drive back around 7:30, or 8:00 or 9:00, 8:30, I suppose,
0:30:26 > 0:30:32and the doorman says, "You need to go next door to Dan Tanna's."
0:30:32 > 0:30:35"Why do I need to do that?" Knowing full well.
0:30:36 > 0:30:42And he said, "Well, apparently, they have taken LSD
0:30:42 > 0:30:48"and they are drinking Martinis and have been since the sound check."
0:30:48 > 0:30:52Which was over about 4:30, and so, yeah, sure enough,
0:30:52 > 0:30:54I go over there and they are happy.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58So now we get on, it's time to go,
0:30:58 > 0:31:01we get on the stage and the lights come up,
0:31:01 > 0:31:04and Gene is sitting on his amplifier facing the wall.
0:31:05 > 0:31:09Douglas has a violin in his hand
0:31:09 > 0:31:15with one of Douglas's massive smiles
0:31:15 > 0:31:17and he has got this fiddle in his hand and he is ready to play.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20He's got the bow on the thing, but there is no Gene
0:31:20 > 0:31:21and we get it going,
0:31:21 > 0:31:25we got through that first song, and at the very end Douglas is
0:31:25 > 0:31:27holding the note like this, playing away like this,
0:31:27 > 0:31:30and all of a sudden he leans down and puts the violin on the floor
0:31:30 > 0:31:33and jumps up in the air and lands on the violin,
0:31:33 > 0:31:35breaking the entire instrument.
0:31:35 > 0:31:37Little Don Beck looks at me and he says,
0:31:37 > 0:31:39"Well, I think that's enough for me,"
0:31:39 > 0:31:42and turns around and walks off the stage and leaves.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45This is the end of the first song.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49Dillard & Clark, that first album, was a beautiful record
0:31:49 > 0:31:53and I think a portent of what was to come.
0:31:53 > 0:31:58You know...it hit a groove that a lot of people were getting into
0:31:58 > 0:32:04and enjoying tremendously and... But that spluttered out.
0:32:04 > 0:32:05I don't know the reasons.
0:32:05 > 0:32:07I remember the second album.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11I remember when Donna Washburn appeared on the scene.
0:32:12 > 0:32:19She was Doug's girlfriend and really had a big voice. A lot to say.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22A lot to say about what was going to go on
0:32:22 > 0:32:25and she wanted a major piece of...
0:32:25 > 0:32:30you know, the presence on stage and in the recording,
0:32:30 > 0:32:36so the band, you know, dramatically changed and the personnel changed
0:32:36 > 0:32:40and the fun kind of went out of the band.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43And all of a sudden, we just didn't show up at the house any more.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46The songs didn't get written any longer.
0:32:46 > 0:32:48Gene was at that point again in his life
0:32:48 > 0:32:50and this repeated over and over again
0:32:50 > 0:32:54where he was done with that and he was ready to move on.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59And I think at that time he decided he was going to exit
0:32:59 > 0:33:01the Hollywood world.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04MUSIC: "1975" by Gene Clark
0:33:41 > 0:33:46When Gene moved to Mendocino and out of Los Angeles, I think he was
0:33:46 > 0:33:51looking for a return to a more peaceful way of life.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54He was looking for hours of joy.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57He was burnt out, fed up with the rat race,
0:33:57 > 0:34:02so I think he was pretty much going to be satisfied with doing
0:34:02 > 0:34:07a little writing and stuff like this and... He wanted a family.
0:34:07 > 0:34:11At least he thought he wanted a family, let's put it that way.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14One day I came home from work and it was up in the hills
0:34:14 > 0:34:17and it was a really hot day in LA and he was on a beautiful bike
0:34:17 > 0:34:20and asked me if I wanted to take a ride to the beach.
0:34:20 > 0:34:26So we did, we rode down to the state beach and watched the sunset
0:34:26 > 0:34:29and the rest is history.
0:34:29 > 0:34:33# She went off to the city
0:34:33 > 0:34:38# To find what she was looking for... #
0:34:38 > 0:34:41I met Carlie briefly in '69 when I was out there.
0:34:41 > 0:34:43He had just gotten to where he knew...
0:34:43 > 0:34:47Got acquainted with her and it was just a thing...
0:34:47 > 0:34:51He was pushing me out the door while she was coming in.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54Little brother wasn't going to be around for this one.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57All the guys used to, when they were on...
0:34:57 > 0:34:59When they had time in LA,
0:34:59 > 0:35:03they all went to Big Sur, and Gene was never that much of a social
0:35:03 > 0:35:09butterfly, in that he liked hanging out and he was pretty much
0:35:09 > 0:35:13an isolationist at times, especially when he wanted to write.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17And so I think that Gene probably just kept on driving
0:35:17 > 0:35:22and found Mendocino on his own because when we moved there,
0:35:22 > 0:35:25he said he never told anybody else about Mendocino,
0:35:25 > 0:35:27nor had he ever taken anyone there.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31So I think that was his private meditation place.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37# And that life forms are insane... #
0:35:44 > 0:35:50Being in nature and, you know, being up here in Mendocino
0:35:50 > 0:35:55and having this wonderful land around him and being free, you know.
0:35:55 > 0:36:00Being free of all the stress and all the...
0:36:00 > 0:36:06chaos that had gone on in his life during his fame and everything else.
0:36:06 > 0:36:10I think what made him most happy was to let go of all that
0:36:10 > 0:36:15and just kind of be out in nature and relax and enjoy it.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17We were just driving around one day
0:36:17 > 0:36:22and here at the end of this ridge was this big old Victorian farmhouse
0:36:22 > 0:36:25standing at the end of the road overlooking the ocean.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28I said, "Wow, can you imagine living there?"
0:36:28 > 0:36:29He said, "Yeah, I think we should."
0:36:29 > 0:36:31And he had just met Carlie
0:36:31 > 0:36:35and his love for her or their mutual love was...
0:36:35 > 0:36:38She had the same idea, you know,
0:36:38 > 0:36:41although she had never been country person but...
0:36:41 > 0:36:44You know, it was a real dream that they had.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46MUSIC: "Spanish Guitar" by Gene Clark
0:36:46 > 0:36:49# To play on a Spanish guitar
0:36:51 > 0:36:55# With the sun shining down where you are
0:36:57 > 0:37:01# Skipping and singing a bar
0:37:01 > 0:37:05# From music around
0:37:08 > 0:37:13# Just to laugh through the columns of trees
0:37:15 > 0:37:19# To soar like a seagull in breeze
0:37:20 > 0:37:25# To stand in the rain if you please
0:37:25 > 0:37:28# Or to never be found... #
0:37:28 > 0:37:32Of course, we moved up there for keeps, but it wasn't long before
0:37:32 > 0:37:35we had to have a house in LA too and we would go back and forth.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38But Mendocino was always our home base. It's what kept him sane.
0:37:38 > 0:37:43The next year, I guess '71, they got married here on the land.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50And we were tight, you know, close.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53There was always a lot of partying and...
0:37:55 > 0:37:59Not wild parties, just people congregating a lot,
0:37:59 > 0:38:04sitting around in the yard, driving here and there, meeting people.
0:38:07 > 0:38:12Hanging out like that, not in bars. That wasn't until later.
0:38:12 > 0:38:18Jerry Moss was a big fan of the Byrds and a big fan of Gene
0:38:18 > 0:38:23and the writing he did and all the times when Gene hated to
0:38:23 > 0:38:26leave Mendocino, he had a two-record contract,
0:38:26 > 0:38:28two-record-a-year contract,
0:38:28 > 0:38:33and Jerry would actually come to Mendocino and talk Gene into...
0:38:33 > 0:38:37"It'll be OK, I'll put you here, you can bring Carlie..."
0:38:37 > 0:38:41The next step, because we still liked Gene, was for him
0:38:41 > 0:38:43to put some songs together.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46Go into a studio, just make some demos, see how he sounds,
0:38:46 > 0:38:51see what musicians he organised to work with.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54And see if it was worth making a record.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56# The village of the hills
0:38:56 > 0:38:58# Sitting silently at will
0:38:58 > 0:39:05# Like some prophecy forgotten by an age... #
0:39:05 > 0:39:10It is a shame that that early 1970s singer-songwriter crowd,
0:39:10 > 0:39:13that whole movement, was huge in the States, huge.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17James Taylor on the cover of Time magazine. Oh, my God!
0:39:17 > 0:39:20It's amazing that Gene somehow missed that particular
0:39:20 > 0:39:22ship as it left the harbour.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25He was tailor-made for it with a record like White Light.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28I suppose it's that he didn't play the record company game
0:39:28 > 0:39:31of touring and calling radio stations and so on and so forth.
0:39:31 > 0:39:34A&M was largely an artist sort of label
0:39:34 > 0:39:37and we sort of let the artist do what they wanted to do.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40We present opportunities -
0:39:40 > 0:39:42you could do this, you could do that -
0:39:42 > 0:39:45and if they choose them, that was great,
0:39:45 > 0:39:48but if you didn't want to do certain things,
0:39:48 > 0:39:52well, then you didn't want to do certain things, you know.
0:39:52 > 0:39:57And, obviously, the only other thing was, at some point,
0:39:57 > 0:40:00we would not be able to continue with you
0:40:00 > 0:40:05because we couldn't keep promoting and putting money into artists
0:40:05 > 0:40:08that weren't willing to go out and promote the stuff, you know.
0:40:08 > 0:40:17# From a place that I can call my home... #
0:40:17 > 0:40:20It looked like what had happened was they were coming up with
0:40:20 > 0:40:25a pretty strong follow-up to White Light and it seems to be that
0:40:25 > 0:40:28what happened was A&M was getting nervous.
0:40:28 > 0:40:30They pulled the plug because they thought,
0:40:30 > 0:40:33"We're going to have another fine record but our artist isn't going to play the game."
0:40:33 > 0:40:37I don't think that Gene ever didn't seem to react to success
0:40:37 > 0:40:38or not success.
0:40:38 > 0:40:44You know, the bottom line is there were still royalty cheques coming
0:40:44 > 0:40:46and he was happy in Mendocino.
0:40:46 > 0:40:54# I remember the railroad line. #
0:40:57 > 0:41:01We had these two beautiful, adorable children
0:41:01 > 0:41:04and we had this beautiful house overlooking the ocean.
0:41:04 > 0:41:09We could see the ships pass in the night on the horizon.
0:41:09 > 0:41:15We'd wake up and have breakfast till noon and then take a walk or...
0:41:15 > 0:41:18You know, it was a fantasy.
0:41:18 > 0:41:25Gene's interaction with LA after he went up to Mendocino,
0:41:25 > 0:41:28and the music industry altogether, was,
0:41:28 > 0:41:32I think it was a compulsion as much of anything.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35Once you're a top-seated rock'n'roll star,
0:41:35 > 0:41:38you don't just get over that overnight.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40You know, that doesn't go away.
0:41:40 > 0:41:45# Funny how the circle turns around
0:41:45 > 0:41:52# First you're up and then you're down again... #
0:41:52 > 0:41:54David Crosby came over to my house in Malibu,
0:41:54 > 0:41:56accompanied by Elliot Roberts
0:41:56 > 0:41:59and the two of them sat me down and said,
0:41:59 > 0:42:02"You know, some of that stuff you're doing as The Byrds is OK,
0:42:02 > 0:42:04"and some of it isn't.
0:42:04 > 0:42:09"Some of it isn't. And the Byrds brand ought to be better than that.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12"What I would like to propose is that we get all the original
0:42:12 > 0:42:15"members back together and do an album like that."
0:42:15 > 0:42:21Gene was really excited about it and there had been some differences with
0:42:21 > 0:42:26various combinations of the guys and things, but David Crosby
0:42:26 > 0:42:29was in one of his real control trips then,
0:42:29 > 0:42:32but he knew what he was doing too.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36It was amazing, because sitting in the studio
0:42:36 > 0:42:39and hearing what they were doing was as good or better
0:42:39 > 0:42:42than anything I ever heard of The Byrds.
0:42:42 > 0:42:48What was released wasn't that same... The magic wasn't there.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50She's right.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55She's right. It could have been so much better.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01If we had gone at it from the point of view of the songs
0:43:01 > 0:43:03and left the freaking history behind...
0:43:06 > 0:43:09..could've been a great record.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12# And if it's right
0:43:12 > 0:43:15# Brings it back again. #
0:43:17 > 0:43:22Crosby had really the finest pot I'd ever smoked. It was...
0:43:22 > 0:43:24I don't know how much THC was in it
0:43:24 > 0:43:26but it was, like, ten times more than usual.
0:43:26 > 0:43:29You would take a couple of hits and you're floating round the room.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32There was cocaine and... It was a big party.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35It was a party more than a recording session.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38They could have made a fantastic album.
0:43:38 > 0:43:43I was looking forward to it and when I was finished, there were
0:43:43 > 0:43:46maybe three good songs, and two of them were Gene's.
0:43:48 > 0:43:51That were far, far better than anything else.
0:43:51 > 0:43:55# You can tell a change of heart
0:43:57 > 0:44:00# Two faces smiled and yet there is no joy... #
0:44:00 > 0:44:06Gene shined on that record. A couple of great songs saved the record.
0:44:06 > 0:44:10The rest of us handed in some unfinished things
0:44:10 > 0:44:12that I didn't feel were that good.
0:44:12 > 0:44:16The Byrds reunion album was released on Asylum Records
0:44:16 > 0:44:19which was the young, thrusting label of the time.
0:44:19 > 0:44:21They had Joni Mitchell on there, they had Jackson Browne,
0:44:21 > 0:44:24they'd even signed Bob Dylan, for goodness' sake.
0:44:24 > 0:44:30It was the most exciting label to be on, and David Geffen, shrewd,
0:44:30 > 0:44:32could see that Gene Clark was a real talent
0:44:32 > 0:44:37and this was the platform, the perfect platform for Gene Clark.
0:44:37 > 0:44:39Once he was signed to Asylum,
0:44:39 > 0:44:45it was a perfect opportunity for him to make THE Gene Clark record.
0:44:58 > 0:45:03I was producing Bob Newerth for Asylum and David Geffen called me
0:45:03 > 0:45:08to ask me who I'd like to produce next, Gene Clark or Jackson Browne.
0:45:08 > 0:45:11I said Gene Clark, cos I thought that Jackson Browne, you know,
0:45:11 > 0:45:15didn't need to have a producer at the time.
0:45:15 > 0:45:19I've always been a fan of Gene's, so that's how that came about.
0:45:19 > 0:45:21We did the No Other album.
0:45:21 > 0:45:23Thomas Jefferson Kaye had vast experience,
0:45:23 > 0:45:26went right back to the '50s.
0:45:26 > 0:45:33He was a producer, he was himself a songwriter and a performer.
0:45:33 > 0:45:37More importantly, he was Gene Clark's soul mate in waiting.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40That was a friendship that matches some of the greatest
0:45:40 > 0:45:42friendships of all time.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45The closeness between Tommy and Gene, as I saw it.
0:45:47 > 0:45:52Tommy was really one of our legendary producers.
0:45:52 > 0:45:56An extremely creative person. And I think he understood Gene
0:45:56 > 0:45:59and Gene's musical talent probably like nobody else did.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02When he signed with Asylum, he went away for a whole year
0:46:02 > 0:46:04and he wrote all the songs.
0:46:04 > 0:46:08Specifically because HE wanted to change his whole trip.
0:46:21 > 0:46:28A lot of the writing that I did had some kind of spiritual things to it.
0:46:28 > 0:46:32It was during a time when I felt like I was doing a lot of soul-searching.
0:46:32 > 0:46:38# Have you seen the silver raven?
0:46:38 > 0:46:44# She has wings and she can fly
0:46:44 > 0:46:49# Far above the darkened waters
0:46:49 > 0:46:53# Far above the troubled sky... #
0:46:54 > 0:46:56He'd go for days.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59Especially when it came close for him to have to record.
0:46:59 > 0:47:03He would just be writing and scratching it out,
0:47:03 > 0:47:05writing and scratching it out, and then, bam!
0:47:05 > 0:47:09It was like a light went through him and then it just came.
0:47:09 > 0:47:11Yeah, it was amazing.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14I've been fortunate in the sense that I've known some really,
0:47:14 > 0:47:16for me, interesting,
0:47:16 > 0:47:20good artists and have witnessed some of their creative processes
0:47:20 > 0:47:24and I don't think I've ever seen anybody like Gene.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30It's just one of those intimate things that you witness
0:47:30 > 0:47:31and you don't disturb it.
0:47:31 > 0:47:32Oh, my God! Where does he get...?
0:47:32 > 0:47:35He doesn't read books, where does he get this...?
0:47:38 > 0:47:44He would come up with these divinely inspired lines and, you know,
0:47:44 > 0:47:47as songwriters, we were begging for that, you know.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50Gene had gone off into this headspace.
0:47:50 > 0:47:54He starts kind of chanting this melody
0:47:54 > 0:47:56and starts scratching words on the paper.
0:47:56 > 0:48:01This went on for an hour or so and by the time that he had quieted
0:48:01 > 0:48:06back down, the hair was standing up all over my arms and everything
0:48:06 > 0:48:10because he went somewhere and I didn't know where that place was.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13I was grateful to have just been sitting there next to him
0:48:13 > 0:48:16while he went through this writing experience.
0:48:16 > 0:48:21This thing came through him, this incredible mysticism.
0:48:21 > 0:48:25Anybody whom I consider a good poet leaves it up to the listeners'
0:48:25 > 0:48:29or the readers' imagination to analyse it in their own situation,
0:48:29 > 0:48:32to kind of apply it to their own life,
0:48:32 > 0:48:36however they want to do it, or to apply it in a real general basis.
0:48:36 > 0:48:38A lot of stuff on No Other, I feel that about.
0:48:38 > 0:48:40# Have you seen the
0:48:40 > 0:48:46# Changing rivers now they wait
0:48:46 > 0:48:49# Their turn to die... #
0:48:49 > 0:48:53Gene played me the songs and I flipped out and he said,
0:48:53 > 0:48:55"Let's go into another...
0:48:55 > 0:48:57"Let's take it to another place musically."
0:48:59 > 0:49:00We spent an awful lot of time.
0:49:00 > 0:49:03It was a very expensive record to make.
0:49:03 > 0:49:08Gene's songs are fairly dark, to say the least.
0:49:08 > 0:49:10But I've worked with people,
0:49:10 > 0:49:13a lot of singer-songwriters are fairly dark.
0:49:13 > 0:49:19It's not like a pop song at all. It was great material to work with.
0:49:19 > 0:49:20It was very creative.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23It left a lot of interpretation for the musicians.
0:49:23 > 0:49:27The songs would evolve by us just playing them.
0:49:27 > 0:49:29The thing that was great in those days was generally
0:49:29 > 0:49:32when you did a session you had a group of musicians in the room.
0:49:32 > 0:49:36The amount of juices that were flowing in the room of ideas
0:49:36 > 0:49:39and stuff was really intense.
0:49:39 > 0:49:45# You say that you don't want no other... #
0:49:45 > 0:49:48So we're in Village, working,
0:49:48 > 0:49:52and Joe Cocker was in the next room working on his album
0:49:52 > 0:49:54and so we were doing this one song and I don't remember which
0:49:54 > 0:49:57song it was, but it was one of those ones where everybody
0:49:57 > 0:50:00kind of looked at each other when we were about halfway through the song
0:50:00 > 0:50:03and we went, "This is the take." You just feel it. It's just...boom!
0:50:03 > 0:50:06It's just locked in. Well, during the course of this,
0:50:06 > 0:50:10Cocker had come from his studio and gone into the control room.
0:50:10 > 0:50:15And was sitting there, just getting into it, totally digging it,
0:50:15 > 0:50:21and at one point, reaches down, hits the button for the talkback,
0:50:21 > 0:50:26and lets out one of his Cocker screams into the microphone.
0:50:26 > 0:50:30Literally blowing the headphones off of everybody's heads.
0:50:30 > 0:50:35Gene busts down the vocal booth to get at Joe to get out of there.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38Joe's handlers grab him, they drag him back to his studio
0:50:38 > 0:50:41and lock the door, cos he wouldn't be alive today,
0:50:41 > 0:50:43cos Gene was a big, tough dude.
0:50:43 > 0:50:46If he'd have gotten his hands on Joe, it would have been all over.
0:51:00 > 0:51:03The result is one of the most astonishing albums of its era,
0:51:03 > 0:51:07and it still sounds great. It's a Technicolor production.
0:51:07 > 0:51:09He throws everything in there.
0:51:09 > 0:51:11He fuses different musical genres
0:51:11 > 0:51:14without any sense of incongruity whatsoever,
0:51:14 > 0:51:19and produces from that something which is just unique,
0:51:19 > 0:51:23and absolutely incredible.
0:51:23 > 0:51:24'David Geffen was furious,
0:51:24 > 0:51:27'because there were only eight songs on the album.
0:51:27 > 0:51:29'He just didn't get behind it.
0:51:29 > 0:51:33'He wouldn't give us any money to go on a tour, subsidise the band.
0:51:33 > 0:51:34'He didn't put anything into that.'
0:51:34 > 0:51:37Another little thing that happened that didn't help that at all
0:51:37 > 0:51:40was when Gene went after David Geffen at Dan Tanna's
0:51:40 > 0:51:42and nearly took his head off.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45From what I understand from the eyewitnesses,
0:51:45 > 0:51:49he literally jumped over the table and took him by the throat.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51Took him right off the chair.
0:51:51 > 0:51:53Gene got so angry right there in the restaurant
0:51:53 > 0:51:58that he punched him out, which isn't real cool in public.
0:52:00 > 0:52:01Not cool at all, but...
0:52:01 > 0:52:04And that was a real blow to his career,
0:52:04 > 0:52:07because Geffen would have been everything for him.
0:52:07 > 0:52:09Like he was for so many people.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12'I was sorely let down after No Other,
0:52:12 > 0:52:14'the fact there wasn't a hit,
0:52:14 > 0:52:15'because I felt it really was
0:52:15 > 0:52:18'a work of art, in its own way.'
0:52:18 > 0:52:21Of course, funny enough, now, particularly here in the UK,
0:52:21 > 0:52:29it's considered a major, prime one, primo example of a lost classic,
0:52:29 > 0:52:31like Forever Changes by Love,
0:52:31 > 0:52:33or the Smile album by the Beach Boys.
0:52:33 > 0:52:37It's just considered... wow, wow, and wow again.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40Nobody knew what was going to go on.
0:52:40 > 0:52:44You know, there was talk of agents and tours and so on and so forth,
0:52:44 > 0:52:46everybody living day to day,
0:52:46 > 0:52:51and going from country house to country house and playing music.
0:52:51 > 0:52:54When we played music, the world was well.
0:52:54 > 0:52:56You know? We'd count off.
0:52:56 > 0:52:57I was the guy to always count off.
0:52:57 > 0:52:59I'd count off the tunes,
0:52:59 > 0:53:02and the world was right.
0:53:02 > 0:53:04Soon as the music stopped,
0:53:04 > 0:53:06it was chaos.
0:53:06 > 0:53:13# Seems my dreams are the wings of a spirit
0:53:15 > 0:53:20# This vessel's sails can't fill without... #
0:53:21 > 0:53:24'I didn't do anything for a while,
0:53:24 > 0:53:26'and then Tommy and I got back together,
0:53:26 > 0:53:28'and we independently produced
0:53:28 > 0:53:30'Two Sides To Every Story.'
0:53:30 > 0:53:33The RSO album, Two Sides To Every Story,
0:53:33 > 0:53:39was pretty much as we now know, his last chance, and I think...
0:53:40 > 0:53:41He did too little, too late,
0:53:41 > 0:53:44and he should have been doing that all along.
0:53:44 > 0:53:46It's a really fine record in its own sweet way,
0:53:46 > 0:53:50but it's a bit out of time, because he is on the cover as
0:53:50 > 0:53:51this rustic, bearded man,
0:53:51 > 0:53:54which would have been fantastic five years earlier.
0:53:54 > 0:53:57By '77, after disco, with punk/new wave coming in,
0:53:57 > 0:54:00everybody was clean-shaven and a bit more coiffed
0:54:00 > 0:54:02and a bit more well groomed.
0:54:02 > 0:54:03It's just...
0:54:03 > 0:54:06He continually missed ships leaving the harbour,
0:54:06 > 0:54:09in terms of a metaphor for his career.
0:54:09 > 0:54:11It's just heartbreaking.
0:54:11 > 0:54:13I don't think that he enjoyed success.
0:54:13 > 0:54:17I think it was a hugely confusing thing for him.
0:54:17 > 0:54:21I think he was never comfortable with being somebody,
0:54:21 > 0:54:23and not feeling it in here.
0:54:23 > 0:54:27# Weigh the anchor once more... #
0:54:27 > 0:54:29He would do what he liked,
0:54:29 > 0:54:32he would do his music, he would be very happy.
0:54:32 > 0:54:36Then things would start getting complicated,
0:54:36 > 0:54:39because then it would be contracts and managers
0:54:39 > 0:54:43and recording and the business, and that's when he would withdraw,
0:54:43 > 0:54:47and that's when he would go off to the left a little bit sometimes.
0:54:47 > 0:54:53Al Coury was the president of RSO Records, and...
0:54:57 > 0:54:58..and...
0:54:59 > 0:55:02..and they had a dinner for Gene that night.
0:55:02 > 0:55:09They were going to talk over deals and, you know, wheeling and dealing.
0:55:09 > 0:55:13And Gene came in late, and he came in drunk, and he had his old,
0:55:13 > 0:55:16dirty boots on, you know, and he puts them up on the table.
0:55:16 > 0:55:19Comes in, put his feet up on the table...yeah.
0:55:21 > 0:55:25He's having a drink and he looks over at Al Coury, and he says,
0:55:25 > 0:55:27"You look like Sonny Bono."
0:55:28 > 0:55:31Which he did, actually, he looked like Sonny Bono!
0:55:31 > 0:55:34He said, "You look like Sonny Bono."
0:55:34 > 0:55:35And...yeah, and that did it.
0:55:35 > 0:55:37That sealed it. Right there. You know?
0:55:37 > 0:55:42Gene always had these great opportunities.
0:55:42 > 0:55:45He always had a record deal, and they were behind him,
0:55:45 > 0:55:49and he'd make a great record, and then it would fall apart.
0:55:49 > 0:55:52The minute it was time to go out the gates,
0:55:52 > 0:55:55the horse is trained and it's lined up to race.
0:55:55 > 0:55:57The gate opens and the horse falls over.
0:55:58 > 0:56:00That's what would happen.
0:56:00 > 0:56:03Every time. And you're going, "What? What is that?" You know?
0:56:03 > 0:56:08When he did the RKO album, they had decided that
0:56:08 > 0:56:11they couldn't afford to have Kelly and Kai and I live there,
0:56:11 > 0:56:13that they were just going to put Gene up,
0:56:13 > 0:56:15and for me to stay in Mendocino.
0:56:15 > 0:56:17And then I found out that he had gotten a house,
0:56:17 > 0:56:19and there was a gal living there with him.
0:56:19 > 0:56:24So, that was it. And, in retrospect...
0:56:26 > 0:56:29I would have handled it completely different.
0:56:29 > 0:56:35But I was mad, and I just told him I was going to go to Hawaii.
0:56:35 > 0:56:36He...
0:56:36 > 0:56:39was drinking a lot, and it was just...
0:56:39 > 0:56:44It was like I stepped out of what I thought was a fantasy,
0:56:44 > 0:56:47and realised in retrospect that it was insanity.
0:56:49 > 0:56:54# Look around, little darling
0:56:56 > 0:57:01# Do you know who I am?
0:57:03 > 0:57:07# I'm as much your reflection
0:57:09 > 0:57:14# As I am my own man... #
0:57:17 > 0:57:22I don't think he expected it. I think that he had this...
0:57:22 > 0:57:26vision in his mind that he could have both lives.
0:57:26 > 0:57:31And the choice was made for him more than he made it.
0:57:31 > 0:57:34And that's another thing, I think, that bothered him deeply,
0:57:34 > 0:57:39is because that had to be walked out on.
0:57:39 > 0:57:43You know, damaged him immensely.
0:57:43 > 0:57:48You know, that carefree, friendly guy that moved up here was disappearing.
0:57:49 > 0:57:54Even though he was always nice, but he had this dark streak, really.
0:57:55 > 0:58:00# Watch the sun's fading embers
0:58:02 > 0:58:10# Hear the wind as she cries. #
0:58:15 > 0:58:19After having lived in Hawaii for three or four months, I just...
0:58:19 > 0:58:25I couldn't feature living in that insanity any more, you know?
0:58:25 > 0:58:27The drinking was out of control.
0:58:28 > 0:58:32You know, like, Gene has enough Indian in him that
0:58:32 > 0:58:36when he drinks, you know, he's not himself.
0:58:36 > 0:58:39He would tell you that, that he actually is
0:58:39 > 0:58:42up looking at himself when he's drinking.
0:58:42 > 0:58:45I knew two Gene Clarks, as a lot of people did,
0:58:45 > 0:58:48and the Gene Clark in Mendocino was this kick-back,
0:58:48 > 0:58:51totally a cowboy kind of person, that kind of person.
0:58:51 > 0:58:56In LA, his notoriety had been with The Byrds
0:58:56 > 0:58:58and The Byrds were, in a way, like The Beatles to us,
0:58:58 > 0:59:01and you know, that was one of The Beatles' favourite bands
0:59:01 > 0:59:07in the beginning, so in LA, he was very famous.
0:59:07 > 0:59:10And so he did have a totally different persona.
0:59:11 > 0:59:15# I can only make guesses
0:59:15 > 0:59:19# On some of my past addresses
0:59:21 > 0:59:28# And tell you what my broken memory recalls
0:59:29 > 0:59:32The Byrds never got out of him.
0:59:32 > 0:59:34I think The Byrds defined Gene,
0:59:34 > 0:59:39and I think that kind of caged Gene in again, you know?
0:59:39 > 0:59:42Our next guests helped create the whole country-rock trend
0:59:42 > 0:59:44back in the '60s, when they were members of The Byrds,
0:59:44 > 0:59:48with songs like Mr Tambourine Man, Eight Miles High,
0:59:48 > 0:59:51and now, after a 12-year break,
0:59:51 > 0:59:54three of the members got back together with a whole new sound
0:59:54 > 0:59:57that we're all hearing on the Top 40.
0:59:57 > 1:00:00Here are McGuinn, Clark and Hillman.
1:00:00 > 1:00:03For the 20th anniversary, I believe, of the Troubadour,
1:00:03 > 1:00:05I was up on stage doing a solo,
1:00:05 > 1:00:07and Gene Clark was out in the audience,
1:00:07 > 1:00:09and Gene was right in front of me,
1:00:09 > 1:00:11and I invited him up to do Eight Miles High with me,
1:00:11 > 1:00:13and we had so much fun doing it,
1:00:13 > 1:00:16and his friends and other people in the audience said,
1:00:16 > 1:00:19"Why don't you guys go on the road as a duo?"
1:00:19 > 1:00:21We did that, and then Chris Hillman got into it,
1:00:21 > 1:00:24and it became McGuinn, Clark and Hillman.
1:00:24 > 1:00:28Well, my first question is, will this band stay together,
1:00:28 > 1:00:30or is it just an occasional album you've made?
1:00:30 > 1:00:32No, we're going to stay together.
1:00:32 > 1:00:34This is a new thing, McGuinn, Clark and Hillman,
1:00:34 > 1:00:37and we intend to stick with it as long as it stays together.
1:00:37 > 1:00:40Do you think you can avoid the problems, you know,
1:00:40 > 1:00:44that caused The Byrds' split, in this new band?
1:00:44 > 1:00:46Well, we can avoid some of them,
1:00:46 > 1:00:49because we've been through all that stuff before, you know?
1:00:49 > 1:00:51- I don't think it'll happen again, will it?- Never.
1:00:51 > 1:00:53There was still, like I said,
1:00:53 > 1:00:55a lot of old resentments and things,
1:00:55 > 1:00:57and so we never knew
1:00:57 > 1:00:59if Chris would blow up at Roger,
1:00:59 > 1:01:02or Roger would want to choke Gene,
1:01:02 > 1:01:04or...you know, you just never knew.
1:01:04 > 1:01:06So...
1:01:06 > 1:01:09that lent itself to making some good music. It always did.
1:01:09 > 1:01:16I think that negativity always made them create some great shows.
1:01:16 > 1:01:17Live, we were good.
1:01:17 > 1:01:20I've got some great tapes of McGuinn, Clark and Hillman live,
1:01:20 > 1:01:22and it is darn good.
1:01:22 > 1:01:25There were moments when he was back to the old Geno,
1:01:25 > 1:01:27and he was getting it. It was good.
1:01:27 > 1:01:33# Hey O, there's a stage for every star in the show
1:01:34 > 1:01:42# And there's a star for every stage
1:01:43 > 1:01:49# Ten feet away from the stage she can stand
1:01:50 > 1:01:56# Hey O, do you know if she'll think that it's grand... #
1:01:56 > 1:02:00When he was on stage, nobody could touch Gene. You know?
1:02:02 > 1:02:07But I think he was happiest when he was on stage playing,
1:02:07 > 1:02:10because the hour that we played,
1:02:10 > 1:02:13there were still 23 hours left in the day to fill,
1:02:13 > 1:02:16and he spent most of those 23 hours miserable.
1:02:16 > 1:02:19'We walked into a ready-made bed,
1:02:19 > 1:02:21'just by our names only,
1:02:21 > 1:02:22'and we're spoiled with
1:02:22 > 1:02:24'immediate limousines and Learjets,
1:02:24 > 1:02:27'and you know, that kind of thing, it's not...
1:02:27 > 1:02:29'You don't feel like you've earned your money.
1:02:29 > 1:02:31'You don't feel like you've worked for it,
1:02:31 > 1:02:35'and I think that was a lot of the reason why things fell apart.'
1:02:35 > 1:02:37# Don't you write her off like that
1:02:37 > 1:02:40# Don't you write her off like that
1:02:40 > 1:02:42# Don't you write her off like that
1:02:42 > 1:02:45# She's a real fine lady, don't you see?
1:02:45 > 1:02:47- # Don't you write her off like that - Don't you write her off
1:02:47 > 1:02:49- # Don't you write her off like that - Don't you write her off
1:02:49 > 1:02:52# Don't you write her off like that
1:02:52 > 1:02:54# She's a real fine lady, don't you see? #
1:02:58 > 1:03:02Once we got a top 40 hit with Don't You Write Her Off,
1:03:02 > 1:03:04and the pressure was on, and we were doing television
1:03:04 > 1:03:08and radio shows and interviews, the pressure came on again,
1:03:08 > 1:03:10and it started to affect Gene,
1:03:10 > 1:03:12the way he had been affected in The Byrds.
1:03:12 > 1:03:16He was just under pressure, and uncomfortable.
1:03:16 > 1:03:20He started to find relief in other ways.
1:03:21 > 1:03:22As far as...
1:03:25 > 1:03:29..lifestyle choices, substance abuse,
1:03:29 > 1:03:31that hit everybody hard in the '70s.
1:03:31 > 1:03:33It got Gene bad.
1:03:33 > 1:03:36So that McGuinn, Clark and Hillman was the time
1:03:36 > 1:03:38when I did not know if he was going to make it.
1:03:38 > 1:03:42When he came home for that McGuinn, Clark and Hillman concert,
1:03:42 > 1:03:47that was really the time that I knew
1:03:47 > 1:03:49that he was in deep trouble with drugs.
1:03:49 > 1:03:53We waited a good half hour or more in the lobby,
1:03:53 > 1:03:56the whole family, just waiting in the lobby.
1:03:56 > 1:03:59He came downstairs with his sunglasses on.
1:04:00 > 1:04:02First clue.
1:04:02 > 1:04:06And he was literally strutting.
1:04:06 > 1:04:11I mean, he was strutting around, big star. That was just...
1:04:11 > 1:04:14Just the scene right there that,
1:04:14 > 1:04:18you know, the light bulbs all went on. He's in big trouble.
1:04:18 > 1:04:22There were some tough moments with Gene, between Gene and I,
1:04:22 > 1:04:27and I was getting the job done, you know?
1:04:27 > 1:04:30And Roger also, a consummate professional,
1:04:30 > 1:04:34and it was hard to work with somebody who was not there,
1:04:34 > 1:04:36not giving his all,
1:04:36 > 1:04:38and we had moments that were very uncomfortable.
1:04:38 > 1:04:42Unfortunately, Gene sought solace in heroin,
1:04:42 > 1:04:46and he couldn't make the gigs any more, he wasn't working,
1:04:46 > 1:04:48so we just asked him to leave.
1:04:48 > 1:04:51It was rough, but it got to where we couldn't work with him,
1:04:51 > 1:04:53so we'd do the second album,
1:04:53 > 1:04:57and it's, "McGuinn, Hillman, featuring Gene Clark".
1:04:57 > 1:04:59It was sort of easing him out.
1:04:59 > 1:05:01It wasn't as good, and the last one wasn't very good at all,
1:05:01 > 1:05:04so that was the end of that deal, and it was just as well.
1:05:04 > 1:05:07That's really a shame, because...
1:05:07 > 1:05:11especially in Gene's case, because they were just so talented.
1:05:11 > 1:05:14I think he had so many more great songs in him.
1:05:14 > 1:05:17When I hear other people do the songs, it just amazes me
1:05:17 > 1:05:22how great a singer-songwriter he was.
1:05:22 > 1:05:24MUSIC: "Mr Tambourine Man" by Gene Clark
1:05:35 > 1:05:39# My weariness amazes me... #
1:05:39 > 1:05:40Things just didn't feel good.
1:05:40 > 1:05:43Nobody felt good about anything we were doing.
1:05:43 > 1:05:46So I just wanted away for the year, just to cool out, you know,
1:05:46 > 1:05:50clear my head, get my thoughts together,
1:05:50 > 1:05:53and then I came back to the Firebyrd album.
1:05:56 > 1:06:00# Hey, Mr Tambourine Man... #
1:06:00 > 1:06:03When we moved into the '80s, I think it was hard on him,
1:06:03 > 1:06:06cos the reviews weren't very good
1:06:06 > 1:06:10and the money was not there.
1:06:10 > 1:06:14You know, record deals were scarce and far between,
1:06:14 > 1:06:15a lot of bridges were burned
1:06:15 > 1:06:17and people were not looking at him
1:06:17 > 1:06:20the way that they had looked at him in the past or with The Byrds
1:06:20 > 1:06:21and stuff like that.
1:06:29 > 1:06:33I had a new band that I put together and was managing.
1:06:33 > 1:06:37We got the big thing that we were going to headline the Whisky.
1:06:37 > 1:06:41The whole thing about when you open at the Whisky is to have
1:06:41 > 1:06:43celebrities in the audience.
1:06:43 > 1:06:47So, Gene, in all his wonderfulness, was going to be there for us.
1:06:47 > 1:06:50So the stage is set up, ready for my band to go on.
1:06:50 > 1:06:53Gene gets there and he gets hassled at the door.
1:06:53 > 1:06:56He starts getting a little rowdy about it
1:06:56 > 1:06:58and he starts getting real mad about it.
1:06:58 > 1:07:00Well, basically the end result of it
1:07:00 > 1:07:02is that Gene closed us down that night.
1:07:02 > 1:07:06So, uh... He ruined our opening.
1:07:06 > 1:07:07Totally ruined it.
1:07:07 > 1:07:12So later that night we're up in the canyon at my house or someplace
1:07:12 > 1:07:16and really ticked off at Gene. I mean, really ticked off.
1:07:17 > 1:07:23Gene comes up to the house and gave us the old, soft cowboy hat in hands.
1:07:23 > 1:07:25"I'm so sorry."
1:07:26 > 1:07:29I think that's probably the point I loved Gene the most,
1:07:29 > 1:07:35just to see him to go from that tough guy just to that sweet, gentle...
1:07:35 > 1:07:36He was just gentle.
1:07:36 > 1:07:39He was just a little kid with his head hanging down,
1:07:39 > 1:07:41begging forgiveness.
1:07:41 > 1:07:43A lot of mixed PR about...
1:07:45 > 1:07:49Gene's a drunk or Gene is a drug addict, Gene is this, Gene is that.
1:07:49 > 1:07:51Most of it wasn't true.
1:07:53 > 1:07:56Yeah, he had some problems, but he wasn't...
1:07:56 > 1:08:00My God, if you had read or had heard what people were talking about
1:08:00 > 1:08:03without having known the man, you'd have thought he was Jack the Ripper.
1:08:05 > 1:08:08But Hollywood falls for that. They love a good crazy story.
1:08:08 > 1:08:12I think he's just stressed out. Completely stressed out.
1:08:12 > 1:08:13All the time.
1:08:13 > 1:08:16Trying to get back to where he once was, I think.
1:08:18 > 1:08:23How's that got to be, to be on top of the world for, you know,
1:08:23 > 1:08:27ten years and then scraping by,
1:08:27 > 1:08:29waiting for your next royalties cheque?
1:08:29 > 1:08:34You live that lifestyle, you become accustomed to that lifestyle.
1:08:34 > 1:08:38How is it to clip coupons? It just doesn't work.
1:08:38 > 1:08:40He tried to make it work.
1:08:40 > 1:08:43I first met Gene Clark...
1:08:43 > 1:08:48a strange night at a club that, well,
1:08:48 > 1:08:53used to be a club we played at. It was called Madame Wong's.
1:08:53 > 1:08:59One of his friends, Tom Slocum, knew of my band The Textones.
1:08:59 > 1:09:01Anyway, long story short is, he dragged me
1:09:01 > 1:09:03physically up on the stage.
1:09:03 > 1:09:06When they were getting ready to start playing their encore,
1:09:06 > 1:09:09Feel A Whole Lot Better, they're already into the intro of it
1:09:09 > 1:09:11and Gene Clark is standing there.
1:09:11 > 1:09:14Gene reaches over, sticks out his paw and says,
1:09:14 > 1:09:19"Hi, I'm Gene Clark." I said, "I'm Carla Olson, nice to meet you."
1:09:19 > 1:09:20That was it.
1:09:20 > 1:09:23Carla is probably one of the most positive people...
1:09:25 > 1:09:30..you're ever going to meet. She's a sweetheart. These duets they did...
1:09:31 > 1:09:35..they worked. It kept them going. It kept both of their careers going.
1:09:38 > 1:09:41I basically got pulled in, singing harmonies,
1:09:41 > 1:09:44just from hanging around the living room, to be honest.
1:09:44 > 1:09:48Then one day we were sitting there, I guess Gene showed us a song
1:09:48 > 1:09:52that he had written with Rick, his brother Rick Clark, called Del Gato.
1:09:52 > 1:09:56The lyric was just so incredible.
1:09:56 > 1:09:59sort of a Western theme, kind of, Good The Bad And The Ugly.
1:10:01 > 1:10:04# My name is Del Gato
1:10:04 > 1:10:06# Born close to the border
1:10:06 > 1:10:10# Of White blood and Red blood I came
1:10:15 > 1:10:18# I travelled the saddle
1:10:18 > 1:10:21# I followed the cattle
1:10:21 > 1:10:25# Down on the range where they graze
1:10:29 > 1:10:32# And I just ride in
1:10:32 > 1:10:37# From a hard southwestern drive... #
1:10:40 > 1:10:42We thought it was a standard,
1:10:42 > 1:10:45before he said that he'd written it with Rick.
1:10:45 > 1:10:48Gene says, "Hey, we ought to record this."
1:10:48 > 1:10:50Saul says, "Well, let's record a whole bunch of them."
1:10:50 > 1:10:56Carla and Gene just had some just had some obvious kind of...
1:10:56 > 1:10:58simpatico.
1:10:58 > 1:11:01Things seemed to make sense to try and do something together.
1:11:01 > 1:11:05We decided because the voices were the most important thing, obviously
1:11:05 > 1:11:09the songs too, we decided not to put any electric instruments on it.
1:11:09 > 1:11:11Thus, we were the first unplugged.
1:11:11 > 1:11:16# Sing that two-wheeled melody
1:11:18 > 1:11:22# The highway symphony
1:11:25 > 1:11:32# You know she'll never understand
1:11:36 > 1:11:39BOTH: # Gypsy rider
1:11:39 > 1:11:40# Sing
1:11:43 > 1:11:45# Your two-wheeled symphony
1:11:49 > 1:11:54# You know there's nothing
1:11:54 > 1:11:56# To explain... #
1:11:59 > 1:12:03As far as live shows, we did a few around LA,
1:12:03 > 1:12:07but Gene was busy with The Byrds reunion.
1:12:07 > 1:12:13He was in demand at that point for shows with that particular group.
1:12:13 > 1:12:19# You may never pass this way again.. #
1:12:23 > 1:12:28Michael Clarke told me that they were putting together this group.
1:12:28 > 1:12:31I guess it was called The Tribute To The Byrds,
1:12:31 > 1:12:35because who could use the name, who could not use the name?
1:12:35 > 1:12:38It was a very touchy thing.
1:12:38 > 1:12:43They said that if they could have a third former Byrd in this tour
1:12:43 > 1:12:46that it would solidify everything and that it would really happen.
1:12:46 > 1:12:50He was on the road a lot with these various tribute bands,
1:12:50 > 1:12:54so that did sustain him, that kept him busy as well.
1:12:54 > 1:12:56It kind of kept him in trouble a little bit,
1:12:56 > 1:12:58cos there were a few bad boys in some of these incarnations.
1:12:58 > 1:13:03I remember thinking that there were five gigs that I thought
1:13:03 > 1:13:04really had the magic.
1:13:05 > 1:13:07The rest were just like...
1:13:08 > 1:13:10Like being on a pirate ship in a storm.
1:13:12 > 1:13:18It was grind, definitely. It was crappy hotels and doubling up.
1:13:19 > 1:13:22You know, driving the Pinto up to the show.
1:13:22 > 1:13:25He was sober and he was just struggling.
1:13:25 > 1:13:28Touring, getting his career back on track.
1:13:29 > 1:13:31One of the things that was remarkable to me
1:13:31 > 1:13:36is that even though Gene had a reputation for self-destruction...
1:13:39 > 1:13:42..people would always show up who wanted to finance the next project.
1:13:43 > 1:13:45He had that...
1:13:47 > 1:13:51..undeniable quality of genius.
1:13:51 > 1:13:54He had various groups of friends.
1:13:56 > 1:13:58Pat Robinson, who was not really in the band,
1:13:58 > 1:14:01but was a tremendous friend to Gene.
1:14:01 > 1:14:05We felt that we were sort of his protectors.
1:14:05 > 1:14:07MUSIC: "Carry On" by Gene Clark
1:14:15 > 1:14:18We kind of started working together - writing songs,
1:14:18 > 1:14:23that rolled into Cry when John York came along.
1:14:23 > 1:14:27The Cry project was a beautiful idea.
1:14:27 > 1:14:31Pat would invite Gene to write songs up in the studio,
1:14:31 > 1:14:37but the condition was - no drugs, no alcohol.
1:14:37 > 1:14:40We are just going to write songs.
1:14:40 > 1:14:44# So many times that I will make my mistakes
1:14:44 > 1:14:46# Take my heartaches
1:14:46 > 1:14:50# Do what it takes to get along
1:14:50 > 1:14:52# I will lay down my pride
1:14:52 > 1:14:54# Tears I can't hide
1:14:54 > 1:14:59# I've made up my mind to carry on... #
1:14:59 > 1:15:02He had this tape recorder that he would put in the kitchen.
1:15:02 > 1:15:05I could always remember his cowboy boots tapping all night.
1:15:05 > 1:15:09It was kind of like this rhythm. I knew he'd be in the kitchen playing.
1:15:09 > 1:15:11There was always music around, there was always guitars.
1:15:11 > 1:15:13He was always working on stuff.
1:15:13 > 1:15:16It was healing to him to be able to play music all the time.
1:15:16 > 1:15:18It was a release of emotion too.
1:15:18 > 1:15:20# Carry on
1:15:20 > 1:15:23# Till you find your way back home... #
1:15:27 > 1:15:30So that was the idea - that we could do something that had this...
1:15:32 > 1:15:36..higher musical ethic, you know, where...
1:15:38 > 1:15:41..there would be no demons present, really.
1:15:43 > 1:15:45But we weren't able to take it anywhere.
1:15:45 > 1:15:48Part of the problem with getting Gene a new record deal is, again,
1:15:48 > 1:15:50Gene had kind of burned bridges.
1:15:50 > 1:15:53He had a particular reputation as kind of a maverick
1:15:53 > 1:15:57and an outlaw, which he cherished, but I think that didn't do him well.
1:16:02 > 1:16:06We were playing, I think it was in Reno, in casinos there.
1:16:07 > 1:16:10We had to have oxygen backstage for Gene.
1:16:12 > 1:16:17He was so ill. We kept saying, "Gene, let's just cancel this.
1:16:17 > 1:16:19"We don't think it's worth it."
1:16:19 > 1:16:23He would say, "No, no, you guys all have bills to pay, you have families.
1:16:23 > 1:16:24"Let's finish this."
1:16:27 > 1:16:30We... We were really concerned.
1:16:30 > 1:16:32From the airport, he went right to the hospital.
1:16:32 > 1:16:35They took half of his stomach out. I'll never forget it.
1:16:35 > 1:16:38Go to see him after he's had this surgery and he's up walking around.
1:16:38 > 1:16:43He was... His recovery was just unreal.
1:16:43 > 1:16:46This man just had his innards taken out.
1:16:46 > 1:16:47He says, "I've got to have a cigarette."
1:16:47 > 1:16:51I said, "Gene, you've been out of surgery less than 24 hours."
1:16:51 > 1:16:52He was ready to run.
1:16:52 > 1:16:55He was on the phone trying to book dates for the band.
1:16:55 > 1:16:57I remember him coming to me...
1:16:59 > 1:17:00..later...
1:17:03 > 1:17:07..telling me that they'd cut out part of his stomach.
1:17:07 > 1:17:09Told him he could never drink again. Ever.
1:17:11 > 1:17:12A drop.
1:17:14 > 1:17:15CRICKETS CHIRP
1:17:20 > 1:17:22MUSIC: "Feel A Whole Lot Better" by Tom Petty
1:17:27 > 1:17:30Tom Petty recorded his very first solo album.
1:17:30 > 1:17:33The only outside song on an album that sold more than 4 million copies
1:17:33 > 1:17:35was Gene's Feel A Whole Lot Better.
1:17:35 > 1:17:36The money just poured in.
1:17:36 > 1:17:39Then he just started getting huge royalty cheques.
1:17:39 > 1:17:41I don't think he stayed sober much longer after that.
1:17:41 > 1:17:43Started partying a lot.
1:17:44 > 1:17:46He was still doing music,
1:17:46 > 1:17:48but I think it was kind of like a lot of fits and starts.
1:17:48 > 1:17:51So in the midst of all of this happening, everything,
1:17:51 > 1:17:54then we get nominated to the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame.
1:18:01 > 1:18:06I think really, for myself, gratitude is the main thing.
1:18:06 > 1:18:10I've got to be really thankful for all the people in my life
1:18:10 > 1:18:14that have supported me through the years, through MY good and MY bad,
1:18:14 > 1:18:16and especially my brothers here on stage with me,
1:18:16 > 1:18:20with whom I have enjoyed playing more than anybody else in the whole world.
1:18:20 > 1:18:25Most of the bands that are inducted won't speak to each other,
1:18:25 > 1:18:27let alone get on stage and play. We sat together.
1:18:28 > 1:18:33And we played together at the end. It was a very nice ending.
1:18:33 > 1:18:37It was reconciliation, and - I hate this term but I'll use it - closure.
1:18:37 > 1:18:39Byrds over, end of story.
1:18:39 > 1:18:43He was pretty excited when the Tom Petty thing came out,
1:18:43 > 1:18:47Hall of Fame thing came out, but then the new stress came down.
1:18:47 > 1:18:52That was more than having to book a show somewhere by himself.
1:18:52 > 1:18:55He was having trouble with his throat.
1:18:55 > 1:19:01And he was beginning to consume a little bit more alcohol again.
1:19:02 > 1:19:06And I said, "You'd better go to the doctor.
1:19:06 > 1:19:10"Go and see Flashman." And so...
1:19:12 > 1:19:18When he saw Dr Flashman, this was probably a couple of weeks
1:19:18 > 1:19:22before his final gig and he says, "I've got throat cancer.
1:19:22 > 1:19:25- "What am I going to do?" - I think he was worried...
1:19:25 > 1:19:30that he was going to survive, but couldn't sing any more.
1:19:30 > 1:19:33And then what do you do? But my dad was tough.
1:19:34 > 1:19:38He wasn't someone who was going to get, you know, lie in bed all day.
1:19:38 > 1:19:40He powered through it.
1:19:40 > 1:19:44It was more like, "Oh, no, I tried so hard to try and get back
1:19:44 > 1:19:48"on it and stuff is coming together and now I'm getting hit with this."
1:19:48 > 1:19:52I look at that last picture and I just almost cried
1:19:52 > 1:19:54because I saw all that suffering.
1:19:54 > 1:19:58Here was this young, beautiful man that I used to know,
1:19:58 > 1:20:01and then there's this broken down guy.
1:20:01 > 1:20:03Although they were going to be doing the Cinegrill,
1:20:03 > 1:20:07and I guess there was a trip to Europe planned.
1:20:07 > 1:20:11So his music kind of died, but he was dying. Physically.
1:20:11 > 1:20:17The first time I saw him play live was at the Cinegrill in Hollywood
1:20:17 > 1:20:22and, ironically, it would be his last shows which was kind of...
1:20:24 > 1:20:29You know, it's a coincidence that I was there or fate meant it to be.
1:20:29 > 1:20:33We rehearsed at this place called the Alley, North Hollywood.
1:20:33 > 1:20:36- A great old rehearsal hall. - He had been pretty sober.
1:20:36 > 1:20:39He had not been drinking at all for the rehearsals.
1:20:39 > 1:20:45And, er, somebody showed up at the Alley that day, the last rehearsal,
1:20:45 > 1:20:47and I won't mention his name.
1:20:47 > 1:20:51He's a very famous guy, a very famous singer,
1:20:51 > 1:20:55a singer-songwriter, and gave him a...
1:20:55 > 1:21:00Got him kind of high on something, and after that, it was...
1:21:00 > 1:21:02It was a different deal, you know.
1:21:02 > 1:21:08He just kind of went out to another place...I guess you could say.
1:21:08 > 1:21:10Then we rehearse these few tunes, you know,
1:21:10 > 1:21:12but we had them down by the end of the...
1:21:12 > 1:21:15Of course, he gets to the gig and he plays them completely different,
1:21:15 > 1:21:17so in the Hollywood Reporter the next day
1:21:17 > 1:21:20they said, Garth Beckington, I don't know, he seems like he's played
1:21:20 > 1:21:23the guitar before but I don't think he ever played these songs before.
1:21:23 > 1:21:24The Cinegrill was sad.
1:21:24 > 1:21:30It was sort of bittersweet, in that he was in Hollywood
1:21:30 > 1:21:34and all of his buddies were there, Taj Mahal and David Carradine
1:21:34 > 1:21:36and a lot of people came out
1:21:36 > 1:21:40that probably hadn't been to a Gene Clark show in a long time.
1:21:40 > 1:21:45I wasn't thinking of him being close to passing out of here,
1:21:45 > 1:21:46but he looked like...
1:21:46 > 1:21:49He'd definitely been through some stuff, you know.
1:21:49 > 1:21:54Cinegrill was not my favourite moment to see Gene but he did give me
1:21:54 > 1:21:57a kiss on the cheek and said thank you.
1:22:21 > 1:22:23I had a good friend named Howie Epstein who
1:22:23 > 1:22:28played in Tom Petty's band and he was doing a record with John Prine.
1:22:28 > 1:22:31He was going to put Gene on the tracks and I helped set it up.
1:22:31 > 1:22:34Howie called me about noon or one o'clock, I think.
1:22:34 > 1:22:3612:30, maybe it was.
1:22:36 > 1:22:38He said, "Where is Gene?" you know.
1:22:38 > 1:22:41I said, "Well, I don't know where he is."
1:22:41 > 1:22:44So, I said, "I'll go over there."
1:22:44 > 1:22:47I called him up and then was no answer and I went over there.
1:22:47 > 1:22:50And I went in the door in the kitchen because the door was unlocked.
1:22:50 > 1:22:54I went in the kitchen door and I came in and he was on the floor.
1:22:54 > 1:22:56I mean, I knew he was dead right away.
1:22:56 > 1:22:59When I walked in the room, when I walked in the house, I knew he was dead.
1:23:07 > 1:23:15I was in Mendocino when John called from LA and said that CNN
1:23:15 > 1:23:23was at the house and that I'd better let the boys know that Gene was dead.
1:23:23 > 1:23:25The floor opened up and fell away.
1:23:25 > 1:23:28I was just having a cool day, a sunny up in Mendocino,
1:23:28 > 1:23:31and we were skating and my mom showed up there.
1:23:31 > 1:23:37It was really weird. And, er, um...she told me.
1:23:37 > 1:23:42My having to tell those boys that their dad was gone
1:23:42 > 1:23:45was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.
1:23:45 > 1:23:48Right then, I would have gone back with him in a heartbeat.
1:24:08 > 1:24:11# It was more like a dream than reality... #
1:24:14 > 1:24:16Even in death,
1:24:16 > 1:24:21Gene Clark never really got the full retrospection he deserved.
1:24:21 > 1:24:25I think he's still the great missing character
1:24:25 > 1:24:29in terms of commercial appeal, or even in cult status.
1:24:29 > 1:24:32He is grossly underplayed
1:24:32 > 1:24:35and underrepresented in the music business for what he did.
1:24:35 > 1:24:38It's such an irony that the Robert Plant/Alison Krauss album,
1:24:38 > 1:24:42Raising Sand, had two of Gene's songs on it. Two.
1:24:42 > 1:24:45And of course, it sold 2 million copies, that record.
1:24:45 > 1:24:51And all Gene had to do to have caught that particular
1:24:51 > 1:24:54bite of the cherry, that brass ring,
1:24:54 > 1:24:57to have been on that ship as it left the harbour, was not die.
1:24:57 > 1:25:01I remember the last time I saw Gene, he closed his show, he sang,
1:25:01 > 1:25:06"I'm a loser." And then he ran out of the room.
1:25:06 > 1:25:10Got in his car and left. And that's the last time I saw him.
1:25:10 > 1:25:16And I was thinking, "You're not a loser. You're a champion.
1:25:16 > 1:25:18"You're the king of the world."
1:25:18 > 1:25:23It's like any kind of art, whether it is painting or poetry or acting.
1:25:23 > 1:25:28A lot of times the best art is not recognised in its own time.
1:25:28 > 1:25:31A lot of times I'm really pissed off that he was Gene Clark,
1:25:31 > 1:25:37the songwriter and the Byrd, and I just wish he was a carpenter,
1:25:37 > 1:25:39because he'd probably still be around.
1:25:41 > 1:25:46But I'm also proud of, you know, the things he did and the person he was.
1:25:46 > 1:25:54He wrote amazing poetry and songs and had great loves and great wars
1:25:54 > 1:25:58and all that stuff and there are people still talking about him
1:25:58 > 1:26:0020 years later, so...
1:26:00 > 1:26:04When he showed up when I walked in that room,
1:26:04 > 1:26:06when he and Roger were singing those songs...
1:26:09 > 1:26:11He was central to the issue.
1:26:13 > 1:26:17He was one of the people that was going to make rock 'n' roll happen.
1:26:18 > 1:26:19He did what he wanted to do.
1:26:19 > 1:26:23He got to live somewhat what he wanted to do and follow that dream.
1:26:23 > 1:26:29I'm sure learning the guitar and sitting in his bedroom in Bonner Springs, Kansas,
1:26:29 > 1:26:31that's what he wanted to do and he got to do it.
1:26:33 > 1:26:35One, two, three, four...
1:27:05 > 1:27:10# They say everything can be replaced
1:27:12 > 1:27:17# They say every distance is not near
1:27:20 > 1:27:26# So I remember every face
1:27:28 > 1:27:32# Of every man who put me here
1:27:34 > 1:27:40# I see my light come shinin'
1:27:43 > 1:27:48# From the west down to the east
1:27:50 > 1:27:58# Any day now, any day now
1:27:58 > 1:28:03# I shall be released
1:28:06 > 1:28:14# Any day now, any day now
1:28:14 > 1:28:27# I shall be released. #
1:28:31 > 1:28:33LAUGHTER
1:28:33 > 1:28:35Let's listen to that one.