Today please join me in celebrating two special anniversaries.

One involves music and 50 years.

Another not yet a decade but many people think much longer.

This eve, as some who follow Gotham’s music listserve know, the first of two anniversary concerts recognizing the 50^th Anniversary of the iconic Byrds LP, “Sweetheart of the Rodeo,” takes place at Town Hall. I first learned of the tour featuring original members Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman supported by Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives when I read a newsletter sent by Fred Klein’s muse, Bob Lefsetz. I found a number of the performances on YouTube. I still have my original LP and you can find it in my iTunes collection; probably the best known song on the LP remains their cover of Dylan’s You Aint Goin’ Nowhere. I was able to score tickets for tonight; the setlist for the previous shows also includes fave tunes including My Back Pages, Mr Tambourine Man, Turn Turn Turn, Mr. Spaceman and So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star (Check out this version tweeted by Roger following their performance at the Egg in Albany on Wednesday eve.). And if you know about Byrds’ lore, Marty plays the late Clarence White’s telecaster during much of the concert.

(Other than Poco, its founder Richie Furay, and the Allman Brothers, I attended more concerts by McGuinn. Hillman is up there too. Indeed if combined I only attended Poco more than shows by anyone else but the Byrds and its former members.)

Two years ago, ahead of it falling on a Friday, I blogged ahead of this special anniversary of shorter duration. I titled it, “Seeding a friendship,” noting that I shared the story the previous Friday at a lunch in Princeton (Indeed we visited there two weeks ago ahead of the Picnic. The definitive version of that story appears appears in the March 2016 Gotham City Gazette®. Gazette editor John Buscarello titled it, “When Corey met Fred, or is When Fred met Corey?” So everyone please join us a Happy Anniversary wish.

And to help celebrate why not watch one of my fave live performances of Chestnut Mare and of an entire Thunderbyrd show from 1977