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mahatmakanejeeves

(60,291 posts)
Wed Sep 25, 2024, 09:37 AM Sep 25

On this day, September 25, 1946, Love guitarist Bryan MacLean was born.

Bryan MacLean


MacLean, ca. 1970.

Background information
Birth name: Bryan Andrew MacLean
Born: September 25, 1946; Los Angeles, California, USA
Died: December 25, 1998 (aged 52); Los Angeles, California, USA
Website: www.bryanmaclean.com

Bryan Andrew MacLean (September 25, 1946 – December 25, 1998) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with the influential rock band Love. His famous compositions for Love include "Alone Again Or", "Old Man" and "Orange Skies".

{snip}

Early life

Bryan MacLean's mother was an artist and a dancer, and his father was an architect for Hollywood celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor and Dean Martin. Neighbor Frederick Loewe, of the songwriting team Lerner & Loewe, recognized him as a "melodic genius" at the age of three as he doodled on the piano. His early influences were Billie Holiday and George Gershwin, although he confessed to an obsession with Elvis Presley. During his childhood, he wore out show music records from Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma, South Pacific and West Side Story. His first girlfriend was Liza Minnelli, and they would sit at the piano together singing songs from The Wizard of Oz (1939). He learned to swim in Elizabeth Taylor's pool, and his father's good friend was actor Robert Stack. MacLean appears in the 1957 Cary Grant film An Affair to Remember, singing in the Deborah Kerr character's music class. Maria McKee is his half-sister.

At 17, MacLean heard the Beatles: "Before the Beatles I had been into folk music. I had wanted to be an artist in the bohemian tradition, where we would sit around with banjos and do folk music, but when I saw A Hard Day's Night everything changed. I let my hair grow out and I got kicked out of high school."

{snip}

Music career

MacLean started playing guitar professionally in 1963. He got a job at the Balladeer in West Hollywood, playing folk and blues guitar. The following year, the club changed its name to the Troubadour. His regular set routine was a mixture of Appalachian folk songs and Delta blues, and he also frequently covered Robert Johnson's "Cross Road Blues". It was there he met Gene Clark and Roger McGuinn, the founding musicians of the Byrds, when they were rehearsing as a duo. MacLean also became good friends with David Crosby. During that time, MacLean also became friends with songwriter Sharon Sheeley, who fixed him up on his first date with singer Jackie DeShannon.

With MacLean as equipment manager, the Byrds went on the road to promote their first single, "Mr. Tambourine Man". By the time the Byrds left for their first UK tour, MacLean was left behind and very disappointed.

After an unsuccessful audition for a role in The Monkees, MacLean got into a car on the Sunset Strip that Arthur Lee was driving. Lee's band, the Grass Roots (not to be confused with the popular rock band of the same name), was the house band at a club called the Brave New World. Lee knew that the colorful dancers and scene that had followed the Byrds would follow MacLean if he joined Lee's band, so Lee had MacLean sit in with them at the Brave New World.

{snip}

Let's get to it.


Seven and Seven Is

Love

92.2K subscribers

232,875 views Mar 17, 2014
Provided to YouTube by Rhino/Elektra

Seven and Seven Is · Love

Da Capo

℗ 1966 Elektra/Asylum Records

Drums: Alban Pfisterer
Guitar, Vocals: Arthur Lee
Guitar: Bryan Maclean
Guitar: John Echols
Bass Guitar: Ken Forssi
Percussion: Michael Stuart
Producer: Paul Rothchild
Flute, Saxophone: Tjay Cantrelli
Writer: Arthur Lee

Auto-generated by YouTube.


[excerpt"]Love - 7 And 7 Is
299,652 views • Oct 18, 2010

bananabushes
2.42K subscribers
Lyrics

When I was a boy I thought about the times I'd be a man
I'd sit inside a bottle and pretend that I was in a jam
In my lonely room I'd sit my mind in an ice cream cone
You can throw me if you wanna 'cause I'm a bone and I go
Oop-ip-ip oop-ip-ip, yeah!

If I don't start cryin' it's because that I have got no eyes
My father's in the fireplace and my dog lies hypnotized
Through a crack of light I was unable to find my way
Trapped inside a night but I'm a day and I go
Oop-ip-ip oop-ip-ip, yeah!

One... Two... Three... Four!

Source: Musixmatch

I didn't associate the title with the song. Now I recognize this.


Alone Again Or (2015 Remaster)
606,018 views • Sep 26, 2015

Love - Topic
4.29K subscribers

Provided to YouTube by Rhino/Elektra

Alone Again Or (2015 Remaster) · Love

Mon Sep 25, 2023: On this day, September 25, 1946, Bryan MacLean was born.

Sun Sep 25, 2022: On this day, September 25, 1946, Bryan MacLean was born.

Hat tip, This Day in Music

Born Today In Music

September 25th

1946 - Bryan MacLean


Bryan MacLean, guitar, vocals, Love, 1966 US No.33 single '7 And 7 Is', 1968 UK No.24 album Forever Changes. He died of a heart attack on 25th December 1998.

Fri Sep 25, 2020: On this day, September 25, 1946, Bryan MacLean was born.
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