Why (The Byrds song)
| "Why" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
West German picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by the Byrds | ||||
| A-side | "Eight Miles High" | |||
| Released | March 14, 1966 | |||
| Recorded | January 24–25, 1966 | |||
| Studio | Columbia, Hollywood | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:59 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | David Crosby, Jim McGuinn | |||
| Producer(s) | Allen Stanton | |||
| The Byrds singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| "Why" | |
|---|---|
| Song by the Byrds | |
| from the album Younger Than Yesterday | |
| Released | February 6, 1967 |
| Recorded | December 5–8, 1966 |
| Studio | Columbia, Hollywood |
| Genre | Psychedelic rock, raga rock |
| Length | 2:45 |
| Label | Columbia |
| Songwriter(s) | Jim McGuinn, David Crosby |
| Producer(s) | Gary Usher |
"Why" is a song by the American rock band the Byrds, written by David Crosby and Jim McGuinn and first released as the B-side of the band's "Eight Miles High" single in March 1966. The song was re-recorded in December 1966 and released for a second time as part of the band's Younger Than Yesterday album.
Born from Crosby's fondness for the music of Ravi Shankar, the song was an attempt to assimilate traditional Indian music into a rock and pop format. However, rather than actually using Indian instruments on the song, the band instead used McGuinn's raga-flavored guitar playing to emulate the sound of the sitar. "Why", along with "Eight Miles High", was influential in developing the musical styles of psychedelic rock and raga rock.