Gene Clark Chris Hillman Flyte

On November 10, 1964, The Byrds inked a deal with Columbia Records. Or more accurately, Jim (later Roger) McGuinn, Gene Clark and David Crosby signed to Columbia Records, with Michael Clarke and Chris Hillman officially joining the roster later. But before that auspicious major label signing, The Byrds’ bags were packed, pre-flyte, it was zero hour…and after that day, they were destined to be high as a kite…eight miles high. (Pardon the mixing of musical metaphors.) The band’s pre-Columbia days have been anthologized over the years almost as extensively as their “official” catalogue, with the earliest release coming in 1969 on Together Records, simply titled Preflyte.