Joseph Byrd, the visionary leader of the groundbreaking psychedelic rock band The United States of America, passed away in November at the age of eighty-seven. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, and raised in Tucson, Arizona, Byrds musical journey was deeply rooted in the avant-garde. He studied under renowned composers like John Cage and LaMonte Young, even participating in Cages experimental Fluxus movement. After moving to Los Angeles, Byrd formed the New Music Workshop and co-founded The United States of America with Dorothy Moskowitz. Their band uniquely blended avant-garde elements with American folk music and the burgeoning psychedelic sound of the era. The band released one self-titled album in nineteen sixty-eight, which is now celebrated as one of the most adventurous and innovative albums of the acid rock period. Byrd continued to make music after the bands breakup, including his nineteen sixty-nine album The American Metaphysical Circus, which featured his early use of both the synthesizer and vocoder. Joseph Byrds legacy extends far beyond his band, as he contributed to Phil Ochs classic song Crucifixion, became a professor of American music, and even created the robot sounds for the nineteen seventy-two sci-fi film Silent Running.

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