Turn! Turn! Turn!
The Byrds, 1965, from Turn! Turn! Turn!. Solo by Roger McGuinn.
McGuinn's chiming twelve-string break arranges a Pete Seeger song for electric band.
Turn! Turn! Turn! takes a Pete Seeger song built on verses from Ecclesiastes and arranges it for electric band, and Roger McGuinn's chiming twelve-string break is central to the transformation. His playing is bright and melodic, the ringing strings giving the song a sense of openness and hope. The break is short but perfectly placed, adding shimmer to the song's gentle message. The Byrds' approach showed how folk songs could become pop hits without losing their meaning. Listen for the twelve-string's ringing arpeggios, which weave around the vocal harmonies and give the song its luminous, chiming texture.
Turn! Turn! Turn! by The Byrds is featured in our Folk Rock (#15) list. The solo is played by Roger McGuinn and the song was released in 1965.
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Who played the guitar solo on Turn! Turn! Turn!?
Roger McGuinn played the solo on The Byrds's Turn! Turn! Turn! (1965).