Flying Burrito Monkees

Another little gem from youtube that I never knew the existence of: The Flying Burrito Brothers lip-spynching their way through "Older Guys" (mistitled on the video). It must have come from some variety show, because it's introduced by John Byner ( a bargain-basement Rich Little), who's cut off in this clip.

I know who most of these guys are, but from what particular point in the history of the band this comes I neither know nor care--this was before Gram Parsons got thrown out, and before they were filmed at Altamont in Gimme Shelter singing "Six Days on the Road." The history of the Burrito Brothers rivals that of a Byzantine ruling family in complexity. The group here includes two members of the original Byrds, Chris Hillman (I'm sure of) and Michael White (I think). Hillman, like so many bass players in other groups, was probably the finest musician in the Byrds. White was the drummer, although it's rumored Hal Blaine did all the drumming on the first album. Gram Parsons was a brief member of the post-Crosby Byrds, until he got kicked out.

The other two musicians are a pre-Eagles Bernie Leadon (who did a lot of fierce, choice work on the album) and Sneaky Pete Kleinow on pedal steel. Kleinow just died, which I only learned about because I read a blog about animation, Cartoon Brew by Jerry Beck. I never knew that besides being one of the best pedal steel players in the business, Kleinow was a stop-motion technician for Art Cloakey, and had worked on series like Gumby. Far out, as Arlo would say.

This video is blatant in the way it rips off the Richard Lester-via-the Monkees sensibility that seemed to rule so much video work then. Gram looks incredibly fey hanging in and out of the doors, and I wonder if anyone has shown Hillman and Leadon the shots of their popping out of the hatches. I bought the album this song appeared on because it featured "Wild Horses," a Jagger/Richards song that had not yet appeared on a Stones album; Gram got real buddy-buddy wiv Keef, and Gram's influence can be seen in that song and "Dead Flowers." So the Burrito Brothers were supposed to be cool, and I would have cringed to see this video then.

Now I just grin.