Leppotone

The Byrds were originally called The Burds.

In late 1963, a sparrow shit in David Crosby's mouth while he napped in a barn. Crosby crawled lazily into the road and fell quickly asleep. Crosby later stated that, when he was roused by the authorities, he was trying to explain that he had "bird turds in his mouth," but being drunk and nearly paralyzed by home made wine, he was unable to speak clearly. Crosby scratched the letters B U R D into his own chest with a broken pencil and the fell immediately into a seven day coma.

While in the hospital, a young Candy Striper named Gene Clark bathed Crosby daily. "He was beautiful, man" explains Clark.

Once Crosby's health returned, he and Clark spent countless evenings drinking wine and singing songs to one another. One fateful, shirtless evening, they decided to start a band, and decided to name it The Burds, after what remained of the fateful event that had thrown the starry eyed poets together. Then they got some other guys to join the band.

Unfortunately, That name had already been taken by a band featuring Francine "Peaches" Hurd Baker of future label-mates Peaches and Herb, who were working The Catskills as a singing/comedy act in which all members dressed as crows and sang racy songs about continental soldiers and ladies from France. Bassist Chris Hillman recalls that Crosby and Gene Clark tried to win the name in a "Biggest Testicles" contest, but lost by no small margin to "Peaches."