It's frustrating enough when your band's fading success is overshadowed by increasingly artificially created musical groups, but it's even worse when your parody of their songs becomes one of your favorites - take an example from The Byrds , who encountered this phenomenon with the song "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star.".
The 1967 composition arrived at a creative and commercial crossroads for the American group, who were finding that the initial excitement of 1964 and early 1966, when rock and folk music gained widespread cultural currency, was beginning to give way to a sharp decline.
«We watched [the film about The Beatles ] «A Hard Day's Night» »We were just at the beginning of our career and were fascinated by him,” the Byrds bassist said. Chris Hillman magazine Classic Rock in 2017. The 1964 film, with its iconic opening scene of screaming fans chasing the Fab Four down the street to the tune of the title track, became a benchmark for cinematic excellence during the unprecedented year the band witnessed. It influenced other rock bands, receiving a warm (though not quite as stellar) reception from adoring audiences.
However, by 1966, the situation began to change. That same year, The Beatles stopped touring—partly due to fatigue, partly due to a shift to studio recordings, away from screaming fans and substandard stadium speakers, and partly due to growing dissatisfaction with rock bands, perhaps most famously the American fans' reaction to John Lennon's comments on Jesus and Christianity.
«"We started performing, and girls would run after us and jump on the car. But in just two years, we suddenly looked like tired old men who'd seen a lot in their time," Hillman continued.
«By the end of »66 and the beginning of ’67 we were on the verge of bankruptcy,” the guitarist echoed. Jim McGinn . "We were sitting at Chris's house, flipping through some teen magazine, laughing at all these one-hit wonders that would disappear the next week.".
One of the rock bands that gained fame during that period was The Monkees , a British-American band that was literally created for television and teenage audiences. The group of actors and musicians, consisting of Mickey Dolenz , Davy Jones , Michael Nesmith и Peter Tork , was assembled by NBC executives for a television show of the same name. The Monkees, a sitcom named after them, premiered in 1965, and after the release of their debut album in 1966, the band achieved four consecutive number-one hits, outselling The Beatles in 1967.
This shift to a more commercialized, family-oriented rock 'n' roll inspired the song "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star," a sarcastic piece that poked fun at the genre's new, corporate face. So how does one become a rock 'n' roll star? In the words of the Byrds:« Just buy an electric guitar / Then take the time and learn to play / And with the right hair and the right pants / Everything will be alright ».
While a modern music fan might see this as a "mock" of the Monkees, McGuinn maintains it was all meant ironically. "'Rock & Roll Star' was NOT about the Monkees, it was about all of pop music," he said. Planting Seed Records. «"Mike [Nesmith] and I were friends and would jam together a lot.".
Perhaps a bit ahead of its time, "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star" only peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100, but subsequently found success, primarily among rock icons. Since its release 59 years ago, the track has been covered by artists such as Patti Smith , Tom Petty , and was often heard at concerts Pearl Jam . Thanks to REM, it even received a slightly modernized version.
«"When we played 'Rock 'n' Roll Star,' where there's the part where he goes 'la-la-la-la-la-la-la,' [McGuinn] was playing in the key of CDG," the REM guitarist said. Peter Buck The Aquarian Weekly, talking about how McGuinn joined the band on stage during a 1984 concert in New Jersey to perform a cover of the song (information obtained via East Coast Rocker ). "I said, 'That's weird, we're playing C- D -G". Then he played it like that and said: "You know, I like it better this way. I think I'll change it.".
This article was originally published in Men's Journal on June 6, 2026, in the News section. Add Men's Journal to your list of preferred sources by clicking here.