The Mynah Birds with Rick James & Neil Young is the Weirdest Rock Misadventure

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  • Опубліковано 26 січ 2020
  • Before Rick James or Neil Young were famous they played in a band together in Toronto. The Mynah Birds also had future bassist of Buffalo Springfield, Bruce Palmer and future members of Steppenwolf Goldy McJohn and Nick St Nicholas.
    Songs (in order of appearance)
    Space Gators - Surfin’ Gator
    The Squires - Aurora
    Audionautix - Ticket to Nowhere Man (Creative Commons)
    The Mynah Birds - The Mynah Bird Hop
    The Mynah Birds - It’s My Time
    The Mynah Birds - Cry If You Want To
    Buffalo Springfield - Mr Soul
    This video contains footage from the 2015 documentary "Yorkeville" about the famous Toronto neighborhood & music scene during the 1960s.
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 215

  • @Pb-ij4ip
    @Pb-ij4ip 4 роки тому +225

    That’s pretty amazing: Manager steals the bands money, effectively gets them dropped from their label, then dies while all or most of the people he screwed over find success.

    • @NiskRanThawll
      @NiskRanThawll 4 роки тому +35

      karma, its one hell of a drug

    • @Microtonal_Cats
      @Microtonal_Cats 3 роки тому +7

      That's so Motown to drop them for complaining that their manager robbed them....

    • @televinv8062
      @televinv8062 3 роки тому +3

      Had no idea their manager went all bat sh$t rip off on them...wow.

    • @AngelRipper1023
      @AngelRipper1023 3 роки тому +8

      @@Microtonal_Cats I think they dropped the band because the manager ratted on James for draft dodging. That’s how I interpreted it.

    • @strings53notlob50
      @strings53notlob50 3 роки тому +3

      It would have been better if he lived completely destitute watching their stars rise.

  • @jordan390a
    @jordan390a 4 роки тому +133

    Somehow I just can't see Neil Young doing Motown choreographed dance moves in a velvet suit....!

    • @ya9thelatinogringo
      @ya9thelatinogringo 2 роки тому +1

      @@youtubeillegallydeletesacc1525 the dance moves aren't hard, it's just the music neil would go on to make is aesthetically the opposite of that

    • @ya9thelatinogringo
      @ya9thelatinogringo 2 роки тому

      @@youtubeillegallydeletesacc1525 ​ go back and look at those performances, it's not cirque du soleil. with some proper choreography lessons, which those acts did receive, it should be no problem.

    • @AdolfStalin
      @AdolfStalin 2 роки тому

      What are boy bands?

    • @craig68able
      @craig68able 2 роки тому

      And they all did it well!!! Amazing sound!!

  • @Tony808
    @Tony808 2 роки тому +51

    So as a 16 year old I snuck out a night to Toronto’s Yorkville village to go and see the Mynah Birds perform. The buzz about this group was huge at my school. Their closing song was Neil pumping out the Stones’ “Satisfaction”. Later that night I went to the Riverboat Cafe to hear Joni Mitchell. I was in luuuvvv with her. Anyway, fun times, I can’t believe it was 56 years ago.

    • @plev10
      @plev10 2 роки тому +7

      @Tony Osborne that's a helluva story! You're a lucky man to have had those experiences.

    • @stingray1irwin0
      @stingray1irwin0 2 роки тому +4

      you and my mom probably partied together in those days. crazy to see what yorkville has become.

    • @Jackie31281
      @Jackie31281 2 роки тому

      …to have been there.
      James Ambrose J. hanging out with Cher & an Allman Bro in our hometown after Neil f’n Young got Mynahs together. Love.

    • @jerryrainey4658
      @jerryrainey4658 Рік тому

      I'm from buffalo I was his drum Tek we did it

    • @Tony808
      @Tony808 Рік тому

      @@jerryrainey4658 Did you come up to T.O. often?

  • @calebclunie4001
    @calebclunie4001 4 роки тому +245

    I've been a Mynah for a Heart Of Gold, but it was gettin' old.

    • @Wormtongue13
      @Wormtongue13 3 роки тому +1

      UA-cam really ought to set up the emoji system. I would have used the laughing one for this comment.

    • @curtisthomas2670
      @curtisthomas2670 3 роки тому +2

      👍👍👍👍👍👏👏👏👏👏

    • @glennsmusicchannel
      @glennsmusicchannel 3 роки тому +2

      OK, that's the only way I'll ever sing that song again

    • @kazparzyxzpenualt8111
      @kazparzyxzpenualt8111 2 роки тому +1

      I agree I endorse this comment and will sponsor the award. You get the prize. I'm calling it " the made my day prize"

    • @mell0wdem0n
      @mell0wdem0n 2 роки тому

      dope

  • @fiquitoyunque
    @fiquitoyunque 4 роки тому +156

    Superfreaking in the free world.

  • @yseson_
    @yseson_ 4 роки тому +189

    In a parallel universe the Mynah Byrd's are still touring

    • @richorichards4655
      @richorichards4655 4 роки тому +8

      Where do we get tickets?

    • @yseson_
      @yseson_ 4 роки тому +9

      @@richorichards4655 Parallel Ticket Master but our universe has been cut off due to Covid 19

    • @Coolbindus
      @Coolbindus 3 роки тому +2

      @@yseson_ there is np covid in parallel universe))

    • @kristencowan7146
      @kristencowan7146 3 роки тому

      @@yseson_ Haha!

    • @jamieflowers1493
      @jamieflowers1493 3 роки тому +4

      And Neil Young is doing those flashy Motown dance moves.

  • @willtheangrydudeist9120
    @willtheangrydudeist9120 4 роки тому +53

    "I wanted to be Bob Dylan,
    but Mr. James, he wanted to be someone alittle more funky..."

    • @bcubed72
      @bcubed72 4 роки тому +4

      Oh, wow! Nice, obscure reference, and soooo relevant!
      Seriously underrated comment.

    • @willtheangrydudeist9120
      @willtheangrydudeist9120 4 роки тому +3

      @@bcubed72
      Thanks 👍

    • @dropkickninja5379
      @dropkickninja5379 3 роки тому +5

      Counting Crows reference, nice.

    • @StevenMW
      @StevenMW 3 роки тому +1

      "...he wanted to be Mick Jagger".

    • @zachbos5108
      @zachbos5108 3 роки тому +6

      @@StevenMW And the text says he was known as "the black Mick Jagger". Kinda strange when you think about how Mick was mostly imitating black artists.

  • @ethansloan
    @ethansloan 3 роки тому +16

    This needs to be made into a movie.

  • @Boss429..
    @Boss429.. 3 роки тому +22

    5:40 Neil Young rolls into L.A. in a hearse to begin his long, successful journey into music, fame, & fortune. He rolls into this new life the same vehicle most people leave this Earth in. The irony.

    • @mykull666
      @mykull666 2 роки тому +1

      A hearse only gets you from the funeral home to the cemetery, it doesn't take you off of this earth. So far, only spaceships have been able to accomplish leaving this planet.

  • @cheapthrilll6323
    @cheapthrilll6323 4 роки тому +79

    Rick James is underrated as an artist.

    • @labluvver
      @labluvver 2 роки тому +2

      by who?

    • @seansweeney3532
      @seansweeney3532 2 роки тому +1

      yea, I think he gets his props... his stuff in the 60s could have been ground breaking... but his popular stuff didn't really push boundaries, but was accessible funk/R&B... I remember covering 4 of his songs... and everyone got on the floor. someone always mentioned our playing RJ...

    • @anthonytaylor7928
      @anthonytaylor7928 11 місяців тому

      Are u high with that dumb comment

    • @nursevanhelsing4413
      @nursevanhelsing4413 5 місяців тому

      And overrated as a good guy! Lol 😂

  • @adamrodaway9116
    @adamrodaway9116 3 роки тому +9

    On a similar note, Richard Thompson and Hugh Cornwell were once in a band together.

  • @Jonni1027
    @Jonni1027 4 роки тому +26

    Neil Young said in an interview that he and Rick James were also roommates. He referred to him as “Ricky”, which I just love

  • @SarahRWilson
    @SarahRWilson 4 роки тому +20

    You had me at Electro-Glitch, which was a wonderful story. Just finished with this video, as I had been watching the list from the bottom up. Excellent channel, well researched and assembled.

  • @user-gh8wt2zi2n
    @user-gh8wt2zi2n 4 роки тому +105

    They were a Supergroup before they were super

    • @MarkKramKarmVI
      @MarkKramKarmVI 4 роки тому +4

      Nice...

    • @curtisthomas2670
      @curtisthomas2670 3 роки тому +6

      An early incarnation of the band had two members, Hudson and Helm, who would end up in the group The Band

  • @MrBrewer7736
    @MrBrewer7736 4 роки тому +29

    Twist ending. Rick Neilson (Cheap Trick) and James Young (Styx), were also in the band.

    • @harrygaul4475
      @harrygaul4475 2 роки тому

      Tricky Sticks is their new bands name..LOL

  • @foxopossum
    @foxopossum 3 роки тому +3

    Never would I have known this. Thank you, sir!

  • @ottocox_
    @ottocox_ 4 роки тому +15

    Excellent content, thank you! I hope your channel grows and grows!

  • @greypilgrim26
    @greypilgrim26 4 роки тому +41

    Honest to goodness I am loving all your videos - they are left of centre and have introduced me to some incredible music. Thanks so much for making them and keep up the great work!

  • @colecrouse754
    @colecrouse754 4 роки тому +54

    Could someone tell me where the "I did not know Neil Young was such a beloved white figure" is from?

    • @Bandsplaining
      @Bandsplaining  4 роки тому +28

      That's Patrice O'Neal! Here's the full clip ua-cam.com/video/v1qKy4cMPUI/v-deo.html

    • @tylerpendley2389
      @tylerpendley2389 4 роки тому +1

      @@Bandsplaining awesome! Thank you

    • @tzulutron3323
      @tzulutron3323 4 роки тому +14

      Patrice O'Neal in that same interview has a great bit about how Radiohead's Creep is the anthem for white loserdom 😆😆😆truly funny and the best RIP Patrice

    • @wilsoncruz1952
      @wilsoncruz1952 3 роки тому +1

      Patrice O’Neal: race hustler extraordinaire.

    • @booognish
      @booognish 2 роки тому +2

      @@wilsoncruz1952 maybe, but he made it so goddamn funny

  • @domenicgalata1470
    @domenicgalata1470 4 роки тому +10

    Check out Mike Judge’s Tales From the Tour Bus Season 2. They go into all the crazy stories from the Funk music scene and Rick James gets a great overview.

  • @golomoth9734
    @golomoth9734 4 роки тому

    Very well put together documentaries! Keep it up mate I am learning a lot of interesting music history from you, so thanks x

  • @thegreatdominion949
    @thegreatdominion949 4 роки тому +7

    By what standard was it a "misadventure"? Maybe it didn't work out, but it was good while it lasted and led to bigger and better things.

  • @ericmuschlitz7619
    @ericmuschlitz7619 3 роки тому +8

    The history of rock and roll could've been very different. Say they stayed together, And Neil went along for the funk conversion. Folk rock of the csny wouldn't have as much sway, letting the Detroit proto punk scene get just a little more traction. Just imagine ever slightly less segregated scene, where funk and punk would've been an integrated movement, resulting on a more influential and organized counterculture in the late '70's. Ronald Reagan might not'tve become president,

  • @ethankenvarg2750
    @ethankenvarg2750 4 роки тому

    Your videos are great! Well researched, informative, interesting, and nicely edited! Please keep making more!

  • @unclety3082
    @unclety3082 4 роки тому +1

    Just found your channel, super interesting and informative! Keep making them!!!

  • @boxy9963
    @boxy9963 4 роки тому +5

    Would’ve been great if they got big but listening to Rick James and neil young solo is something special

  • @msstress7641
    @msstress7641 4 роки тому

    Oh my gosh what an AMAZING channel. I can't wait for more!!

  • @gordonsmith33
    @gordonsmith33 3 роки тому +3

    Please tell me you are working on the rest of the Neil Young biography movie!! Wow this is great . We want more!!

  • @j58688grgrs
    @j58688grgrs 4 роки тому +1

    Dude I absolutely love your channel. Keep up the good work!

  • @seanwelch71
    @seanwelch71 4 роки тому +16

    It wasn’t a goofy project. Read Young’s last books and you’ll see that Mynah was a just a real band made up of great musicians, cut short only because James got deported,

    • @lauraveney1412
      @lauraveney1412 4 роки тому +6

      Rick went to jail for going AWOL

    • @ozziewarrens8804
      @ozziewarrens8804 2 роки тому +1

      Their druggie no class manager squealed on Rick dodging the draft.

  • @epicfox567
    @epicfox567 4 роки тому +1

    Fantastic channel keep the content coming!

  • @giri.goyo_yt
    @giri.goyo_yt 4 роки тому +1

    This is awesome history and with great film clips and photos. You rock. Subbed!

  • @markjamesmeli2520
    @markjamesmeli2520 4 роки тому +2

    Very cool. Didn't know about the Steppenwolf connections.

  • @zakkyummms
    @zakkyummms 4 роки тому +2

    Thanks, Ray Romano.

  • @SevereRepugnance
    @SevereRepugnance 4 роки тому

    Wow, how have I not heard of this. Thanks for the video.

  • @bossfan49
    @bossfan49 4 роки тому +7

    ...narrated by Harold Ramis.

  • @lesschoenberger3070
    @lesschoenberger3070 3 роки тому +3

    They were on the same scene as the "Sparrows" when John Kay just joined them, bassist Bruce Palmer was with them first then they "traded" him for Nick St. Nicholas. Art Ayre was the keyboardist in the Sparrows until Goldy McJohn joined, surprised this wasn't touched on more here.
    I always found this Rick James Neil Young combination "odd" like the rest of you!

  • @killianguthrie8502
    @killianguthrie8502 4 роки тому

    I love a deep dive in up music history! Keep it up :)

  • @ExperimentIV
    @ExperimentIV 3 роки тому +2

    lmao im glad you put the paragraph on screen, i figured if it was a department store in downtown toronto in the 60s it HAD to be eatons

  • @ryanellis4474
    @ryanellis4474 4 роки тому

    Thank you for not having some preposterous ad at the end of your video

  • @AlbPerNil
    @AlbPerNil Рік тому

    This Channel is Amazing

  • @mamaral77
    @mamaral77 3 роки тому +1

    This video made me reflect on the tour Van Halen did where Kool and the Gang opened for them, now that was a nice mix. Hard Rock and Funky Soul.

  • @UGLY-MONEY17
    @UGLY-MONEY17 11 місяців тому

    that droning synth line you use in all these videos makes some of these clips sound so ominous lmao

  • @anuncolonizedmind6296
    @anuncolonizedmind6296 4 роки тому +3

    Wow.. that's so cool! I learned something new today.

  • @JLittleBass
    @JLittleBass 4 роки тому +1

    Holy crap what a story! This just blew my mind!

  • @715Tyler
    @715Tyler 4 роки тому

    best content on UA-cam! cheers

  • @SunuAkkad
    @SunuAkkad 4 роки тому

    Wow! I learn something new everyday!

  • @DieNetaDie
    @DieNetaDie 4 роки тому +4

    so glad I subscribed

  • @UGLY-MONEY17
    @UGLY-MONEY17 11 місяців тому

    Lmao I was not expecting to see a clip of Patrice on here. Respect

  • @newagecult4292
    @newagecult4292 4 роки тому

    So many mindblowing connections,

  • @mikedavis1084
    @mikedavis1084 4 роки тому

    Wow thanks ..never knew this..what a band.

  • @jasons5916
    @jasons5916 4 роки тому +3

    I thought that was Dave Chapelle in the thumbnail, then I saw the title.

  • @modularmuse
    @modularmuse 4 роки тому +5

    Well hello Mr. Soul I just dropped by to pick up a reason.

    • @MrStupidHead
      @MrStupidHead 4 роки тому

      Interesting. Explains that. In a Neil sortta way!

  • @alfloxxddy
    @alfloxxddy 3 роки тому +1

    For anyone who hasn’t listened
    It’s really fucking good , Rick James was a hell of a songwriter and his voice sounds really good in this

  • @olekaarvaag9405
    @olekaarvaag9405 4 роки тому +1

    So when are you doing a video on Kaizers Orchestra? The Norwegian band that rose to fame through using oil barrels as percussives and singing in such a thick accent they could barely be understood in their own language yet sold out shows in Poland, Germany and Denmark where the full packed rooms all sang flawlessly along with them? Check out "Live at Vega", a concert recorded in Denmark. The crowd even took over one of the songs played and sang the whole thing without the vocalist joining.

  • @egdirro
    @egdirro 4 роки тому

    Mind Blown, this is what the internets should be for. Thank you bandsplain away.

  • @Dreamsofahomesickalien
    @Dreamsofahomesickalien 4 роки тому

    Anyone catch the Opie and Anthony clip with Patrice in the beginning? Nice touch. I remember that episode.

  • @briandaniels2126
    @briandaniels2126 3 роки тому

    Oh I'm sure there are much stranger Rock-N-Roll mishaps and weird style or personnel combinations.A lot of them are kept secure in secrecy by the participants and others just haven't made it to print yet.

  • @The.Big.Stumpkowski
    @The.Big.Stumpkowski 4 роки тому

    Very cool

  • @dominicvega9267
    @dominicvega9267 4 роки тому +1

    Rick James holding a Charvel. That's awesome

  • @tylerrjohnson68
    @tylerrjohnson68 2 роки тому

    I had no idea
    Wow!

  • @ejay1474
    @ejay1474 4 роки тому +3

    Wish the dude woulda shut up for a minute so we could hear what they played.....alas

  • @leoayoroa7217
    @leoayoroa7217 2 роки тому

    It’s always the manager like Jeffry

  • @otaku1524
    @otaku1524 4 роки тому +1

    Good luck finding any Mynah songs out there.

    • @MrFartboy79
      @MrFartboy79 4 роки тому +2

      Dana Moore I have a single they released a few years back. Two tracks, both with Neil. It’s actually the single shown at 3:26

  • @RandomAccessedMemes
    @RandomAccessedMemes 4 роки тому

    Good video but when I saw the tittle I was thinking in Inki and The Minah Bird hehe

  • @LDuke-pc7kq
    @LDuke-pc7kq 2 роки тому

    Some people are just made for stardom 🤩✨ And the universal shall conspire to such events⭐😉

  • @tylerpendley2389
    @tylerpendley2389 4 роки тому +12

    Love for Patrice O'neal!

  • @RockHardRiffs
    @RockHardRiffs 4 роки тому +1

    Strange bedfellows for sure

  • @fredkeele6578
    @fredkeele6578 4 роки тому

    Ray, is that you narrating?

  • @smoluk1
    @smoluk1 4 роки тому

    Jeez WoW what could've been?

  • @canuckle7shucks
    @canuckle7shucks 4 роки тому

    Bassist Bruce Palmer and Neil Young left Toronto after that gig and went to California to join Stills and Buffalo Springfield and the rest is history.

    • @curtisthomas2670
      @curtisthomas2670 3 роки тому

      Two early members Helm and Hudson went on to The Band

  • @hotlov72
    @hotlov72 2 роки тому +1

    Judging by that one single they mad together, James, Young and the rest of the Minah Byrds would have been huge stars at Motown!! What a story though, their manager blowing all their money of drugs, Rick James beating up the Motown Record exec? What a mess.

  • @robertmckinnon7003
    @robertmckinnon7003 4 роки тому +4

    This feels incomplete.

  • @phoule76
    @phoule76 4 роки тому +1

    Crazyhorse is one hell of a drug.

  • @Jack_Straw
    @Jack_Straw 4 роки тому

    My mind is fuckin blown right now

  • @jaolin6042
    @jaolin6042 4 роки тому

    5:36 The interviewer looks like David Bowie in the 80's!

  • @huyivant5190
    @huyivant5190 3 роки тому

    Pretty cool

  • @Stonecrow25
    @Stonecrow25 3 роки тому

    The shot at 1:04 is Rochester, not Buffalo

  • @Meidan_Bass
    @Meidan_Bass 4 роки тому +2

    Hey man loving your videos, been searching a long time for a channel like this
    If youre interested in doing a video on the indie music scene in tel aviv hit me up, im a musician here in the israeli scene

  • @dameinbell3097
    @dameinbell3097 4 роки тому

    wow

  • @rossturcotte419
    @rossturcotte419 3 роки тому

    glitch & cursed, but the 7” rsd single of theirs i have is killer. NY4EVR

  • @philsophkenny
    @philsophkenny 4 роки тому

    😮😮😮

  • @jakesmith3230
    @jakesmith3230 4 роки тому

    It’s so odd how all that came together. Seemed planned

  • @SWOTBWOT
    @SWOTBWOT Рік тому

    Choreography school? NEIL YOUNG? 😜😂

  • @mikequinn6273
    @mikequinn6273 4 роки тому +1

    Why didn't Jimmy Fallon cover Super Freak as Neil Young. Or a

  • @ChrisSaddlerSam
    @ChrisSaddlerSam 4 роки тому +1

    5:31 WTF happened there?!? Why did u end it just like that?!?

  • @abbeyf410
    @abbeyf410 3 роки тому

    Yeszzzzzzsssss. This. My fav

  • @mattriddell8983
    @mattriddell8983 4 роки тому

    lol there's more Dave in this video than Rick.

  • @Legion_not_obligated
    @Legion_not_obligated 4 роки тому +1

    How did they get the name Mynah Birds

    • @johnrichards2365
      @johnrichards2365 4 роки тому +3

      The club where they played in was the Mynah Bird. Saw them a few times around "65 or so

    • @Legion_not_obligated
      @Legion_not_obligated 4 роки тому

      Nice going much Aloha 👍🏼

  • @SoftDrinksOfChoice
    @SoftDrinksOfChoice 3 роки тому

    I had no idea Rick James was a Buffalo native. That's pretty dope

    • @jabom99
      @jabom99 3 роки тому +1

      You got to see "Tales from the Tour Bus" It tells the whole insane story of Rick James.

    • @SoftDrinksOfChoice
      @SoftDrinksOfChoice 3 роки тому

      @@jabom99 is it on UA-cam?

    • @jabom99
      @jabom99 3 роки тому

      @@SoftDrinksOfChoice There are clips, but the whole series is on hulu, amazon,...some others I think.

  • @BeauregardHall
    @BeauregardHall 4 роки тому

    Well that’s one way to end a video.

  • @TRCOnline1
    @TRCOnline1 Рік тому

    What if....? I'll just leave that there.

  • @RobKandell
    @RobKandell 4 роки тому +4

    4:19 - If they were going to Detroit, why would they take the Blue Water Bridge?

    • @Bandsplaining
      @Bandsplaining  4 роки тому +6

      Hah! Good eye. In my quest to find 60s public domain Canada bridge crossing footage I had to take some creative liberties.

    • @RobKandell
      @RobKandell 4 роки тому

      Bandsplaining - Fair enough. At least you had them crossing from the correct side. lol
      I suppose we really don’t know and it is possible that Shelman was already strung out and took a wrong turn in London. OK, that’s obvious BS, but it’s a rock & roll story. :-)

  • @rodneywoodcock8235
    @rodneywoodcock8235 3 роки тому

    Rick James and Neil Young in the same band is like a bad SNL or Chappelle Show skit, only it's true.

  • @stanky98035
    @stanky98035 4 роки тому

    Who knew.

  • @jasonrackawack9369
    @jasonrackawack9369 4 роки тому

    Keep on rockin in the brick house.......this is some kind of reverse mandella effect right?

  • @josefk5659
    @josefk5659 4 роки тому +2

    What the hell!?! Rick James was a draft dodger who lived in Toronto for 2 years and played in a band with Neil Young!?! 🤯

    • @starman2089
      @starman2089 Рік тому

      That's pretty much everyone's reaction when I tell them this factoid 😂.

  • @sevelev
    @sevelev 4 роки тому +4

    Am I the only one who's hearing the narrator call him Neil Yun?

  • @ChristopherCopeland
    @ChristopherCopeland 4 роки тому

    So Neil Young was played by John Mulaney irl?

  • @a.lmurderr601
    @a.lmurderr601 4 роки тому

    Read about this years ago ,, all of my friends thought I was nutts .. I was told the classic line ( dont believe everything you read ) .. lol