Turn! Turn! Turn! is the second studio album by American rock band the Byrds, released on December 6, 1965, by Columbia Records.[1] Like its predecessor, Mr. Tambourine Man, the album epitomized the folk rock genre and continued the band’s successful mix of vocal harmony and jangly twelve-string Rickenbacker guitar.[2] The album’s lead single and title track, “Turn! Turn! Turn!“, which was adapted by Pete Seeger from text in the Book of Ecclesiastes, had previously been arranged in a chamber-folk style by the Byrd’s lead guitarist Jim McGuinn for folk singer Judy Collins‘ third album,[3] but the arrangement he used for the Byrds’ recording of the song utilizes the same folk-rock style as the band’s previous hit singles.[4]
The album peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and went to number 11 in the United Kingdom.[5][6] The “Turn! Turn! Turn!” single preceded the album by two months and topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[7] Another single taken from the album, “Set You Free This Time“, was less successful and failed to break into the top 50 in the U.S.[7]
On Turn! Turn! Turn!, McGuinn’s contributions to songwriting increased and rhythm guitarist David Crosby received his first writing credit on a Byrds’ album, but the band’s prolific songwriter Gene Clark still contributed most of the original material.[8] The album included two Bob Dylan covers: “The Times They Are a-Changin’” and the then-unreleased song, “Lay Down Your Weary Tune“.[8] It would be the last Byrds’ album to feature the full participation of Gene Clark until the release of the original quintet’s 1973 reunion album, Byrds.[9]
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