Why Didn't Binder Correct Elvis' Mispronouncing The Byrds?

[OnStage55]

I have always heard Elvis say The Beards and just thought he was being funny about it, nothing more nothing less.

..

[JerryNodak]

I agree with you.

[midnightx]

What is funny about it? The guy was name-dropping some contemporary artists to show that he listened to contemporary music and mispronounced The Byrds. Not a big deal, but it certainly was not an attempt at being funny.

[Dnorman90]

Never realized he meant The Byrds. I always thought he said The Beards... I was always like "hmm, i'll have to check that band out sometime". Honestly I never gave it that much thought.

[donwebster449]

I think he say Beards for joke. He would know of no such popular group known as Beards so he can say Beards for fun!

[drjohncarpenter]

I think he say Beards for joke. He would know of no such popular group known as Beards so he can say Beards for fun!

In June 1968 the Byrds were probably still Los Angeles' #1 rock and roll band, or a close second to the Doors. Elvis knew exactly what he was doing. And Steve Binder recognized this. Remember they spent a lot of time together, along with writers Chris Bearde and Allan Blye, discussing music, events of the day and a whole lot more.

[Tomek]

Damn shame this didn't make it to "Having Fun with Elvis On Stage" album, maybe FTD will release it in classic series and add this a as bonus.

[luckyjackson1]

Man, he just worked there!

[dannyboy1]

Well we can each have our theories. Elvis could easily have said "birds" if he chose to.
It's just a matter of speculation as to why he said "beards".
IMO most probably a joke reference to the Byrds. Likely also a reference to the hippie culture and the look of new musicians.
But who can say for sure?

Anyone who thinks they have the definite answer is kidding themselves.

[chop983]

Perhaps it was bad handwriting on the prompt sheet he was reading from.

[Ryan73]

Well we can each have our theories. Elvis could easily have said "birds" if he chose to.
It's just a matter of speculation as to why he said "beards".
IMO most probably a joke reference to the Byrds. Likely also a reference to the hippie culture and the look of new musicians.
But who can say for sure?

Anyone who thinks they have the definite answer is kidding themselves.

Excellent post

[r&b]

Well we can each have our theories. Elvis could easily have said "birds" if he chose to.
It's just a matter of speculation as to why he said "beards".
IMO most probably a joke reference to the Byrds. Likely also a reference to the hippie culture and the look of new musicians.
But who can say for sure?

Anyone who thinks they have the definite answer is kidding themselves.

This is exactly how it came across to me in 1968, and I still believe that today. Had nothing to do with The Byrds.

[donwebster449]

Just talk about funny group names. Animals. Dreamers. Pretty Things. Byrds. Beards. Now it all fit!!

[r&b]

Just talk about funny group names. Animals. Dreamers. Pretty Things. Byrds. Beards. Now it all fit!!

Also Iron Butterfly, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Velvet Underground. All bands in 1968

[Juan Luis]

I thought it amusing that he said he liked a lot of the new music but could hardly name anyone, coming up with The Beatles, The Beards, which I took to be a generic meaningless name, and whoever. To me, this was almost dismissive of "the new music" and I think it's funny.

Another valid point! I find the real Elvis didn't really give that much of a hoot about the "new" groups or even knew or cared about most of them. But he was honest (his demeanor shows) when he stated how he thought rock and roll music "sprang from"...the unedited segment also shows at the end how uncomfortable Elvis was with that by stating, "I'm just mumbling" as if annoyed/bored to tears. The excellent Binder editing (dissolving into Gospel segment) got what he needed. And the final product is what counted! "Whoever" indeed! The King was back!







Later edits for punctuation/grammar only.

[Tmorelli01]

If southerners all pronounce 'Bird' as 'Beard' (which I have never seen myself and I live in the south) then there must be a lot of gay men and their companions running for the hills whenever a good old boy grabs his rifle and says that he is 'going beard hunting...'

[Ciscoking]

I remember thinking back in Dec 1968 while watching this scene, "Who are the Beards?". It took me quite a while to figure out he meant "The Byrds". Maybe if the cue card had spelled it "Birds" this "accent" would not have been as noticeable. But then again there is always "Chritmas".

I find two scenarios likely:

1. He actually thought it was pronounced Beards or
2. It was like an inside joke where he ALWAYS referred to The Byrds as The Beards, much like we say Feltone around here (I say Fail-Tone).

The one in red might be the correct answer.

My mother tongue is not English and with not knowing the group I'd most probably pronounce it beards..

[Juan Luis]

I searched and found an email I received from Mr. Marty Lacker last year (8-14) about this very subject...

Juan
He was asked a question what he thought of that days music and the new groups that became popular and especially about the English invasion into America by their groups. He was half joking and half serious because he really wasn't into many of them or even knew who some of them were so he jokingly said, well I know about The Beatles, the Beards and some of those others. He said Beards because he really didn't know their names but knew they were different than what he was part of in the past. Unless he heard them on the radio in the car or sometimes on TV he did not know that much about all those groups or artists, he didn't play their records.

Take care,
Marty

[brian]

So Elvis never saw the Byrds on television and never heard Mr.Tambourine man or Turn! Turn! Turn!.

Hmm.

[drjohncarpenter]

Perhaps it was bad handwriting on the prompt sheet he was reading from.

Elvis is not reading from any cue sheet when he makes his statement. And all the ones I have seen are typed, not hand-written.

[DEH]

If southerners all pronounce 'Bird' as 'Beard' (which I have never seen myself and I live in the south) then there must be a lot of gay men and their companions running for the hills whenever a good old boy grabs his rifle and says that he is 'going beard hunting...'

I know southerners in Memphis.lol and they know how to say birds.

[DEH]

Just talk about funny group names. Animals. Dreamers. Pretty Things. Byrds. Beards. Now it all fit!!

yes. people have read to much into it.lol

[skatterbrane]

Unlike the movie gangsters from the 40s who said "boyds"...nyeah..see?

[Mr. Powers]

I searched and found an email I received from Mr. Marty Lacker last year (8-14) about this very subject...

Juan
He was asked a question what he thought of that days music and the new groups that became popular and especially about the English invasion into America by their groups. He was half joking and half serious because he really wasn't into many of them or even knew who some of them were so he jokingly said, well I know about The Beatles, the Beards and some of those others. He said Beards because he really didn't know their names but knew they were different than what he was part of in the past. Unless he heard them on the radio in the car or sometimes on TV he did not know that much about all those groups or artists, he didn't play their records.

Take care,
Marty

Thanks for that.

It has always been my impression that he cared more about the music than the groups. If he owned records by the Byrds (and like one other poster here, I'll admit that I have no idea how to pronounce it correctly because English is not my native tongue - but I'm assuming that it's supposed to be pronounced "Birds"?) then he probably rarely played them. Not enough at least to see the name "Byrds" enough on covers to know exactly how to pronounce their name ... my impression was that he knew The Beatles, and kinda knew of The Byrds, but mispronounced the name and thus added "Whoever" because he couldn't have cared less that he misremembered the name of the group.

(kinda like how I've always thought that he liked "My Way" enough to sing it, but not enough to memorize it - as I think he's often reading the cue cards during the song in both Aloha concerts and then just plainly reading it, sometimes, off paper in the CBS Special ...well the first few words)

[skatterbrane]

The Byrds misspelled their name to copy how The Beatles misspelled theirs. Although The BEATles was a cleaver play on words.