{"id":350064,"date":"2025-12-15T12:40:25","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T12:40:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/350064\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T12:40:25","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T12:40:25","slug":"united-states-of-america-bandleader-joseph-byrd-dead-at-87","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/350064\/","title":{"rendered":"United States of America bandleader Joseph Byrd dead at 87"},"content":{"rendered":"

First reported<\/a> by The New York Times and later confirmed by his family to The Los Angeles Times, Joseph Byrd, a co-founder of the band United States of America, passed away at his Medford, Oregon, home on November 2. He was 87 years old.<\/p>\n

Born in Louisville on December 19, 1937, Byrd was later raised in Tucson, learning how to play accordion and vibraphone as a child. He attended the University of Arizona, studying composition and later entering a graduate program at Stanford and then the University of California, Berkeley. While in New York, Byrd was heavily influenced by John Cage. Terry Riley and Steve Reich were also prominent figures in his life. With the help of La Monte Young, he played his first concert in 1961 in Yoko Ono\u2019s apartment. Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Byrd joined the communist party and started a blues band with Linda Ronstadt.<\/p>\n

Byrd and Moskowitz founded the United States of America in LA in 1967 with Gordon Marron, Rand Forbes, and Craig Woodson. Their self-titled debut album is credited as an early document of electronic rock music, though the group disbanded shortly after its release in 1968. Byrd was a notable leftist and put his beliefs into the music, making the United States of America one of the most radical groups of its time. True pioneers of California\u2019s avant-garde world, the band\u2019s utilization of synths, ring modulators, calliope, and audio processors was primitive. Psych-rock owes a thing or two to Byrd and Moskowitz.<\/p>\n

After the United States of America was over, Byrd recorded an underground classic, The American Metaphysical Circus, under the name Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies. He eventually became a professor of American music at California State University, Fullerton, and scored movies for Robert Altman and Agnes Varda.<\/p>\n

0 \"United <\/a> music United States of America bandleader Joseph Byrd dead at 87 By Matt Mitchell December 15, 2025 | 7:00am <\/a> \"The <\/a> tv The A.V. Club’s best TV shows of 2025 By A.V. Club Staff December 15, 2025 | 4:00am <\/a> \"I <\/a> tv I Love LA drops its best episode yet By Manuel Betancourt December 14, 2025 | 11:12pm <\/a> \"IT: <\/a> tv IT: Welcome To Derry drowns its finale’s promise under tons of franchise business By William Hughes December 14, 2025 | 10:10pm <\/a> \"IT: <\/a> tv IT: Welcome To Derry drowns its finale’s promise under tons of franchise business By William Hughes December 14, 2025 | 10:10pm <\/a> \"Halfway <\/a> tv Halfway through Landman’s second season, the vibes are (somewhat) improving By Noel Murray December 14, 2025 | 3:01pm <\/a> \"Every <\/a> music Every #1 hit song from 1985 ranked worst to best By Matt Mitchell December 14, 2025 | 9:00am <\/a> \"What's <\/a> tv What’s on TV this week\u2014Fallout and Emily In Paris return By Christina Izzo December 14, 2025 | 8:00am <\/a> \"Josh <\/a> tv Josh O’Connor recedes pleasantly in his Saturday Night Live debut By Jesse Hassenger December 14, 2025 | 2:52am <\/a> \"Time <\/a> music Time Capsule: Supertramp, Breakfast in America By Cassidy Sollazzo December 13, 2025 | 12:30pm <\/a> \"Paul <\/a> music Paul Thomas Anderson and Benny Safdie film Cameron Winter’s sold-out Carnegie Hall concert By Matt Mitchell December 12, 2025 | 2:00pm <\/a> \"This <\/a> music This week’s best new albums to stream By Paste Staff December 12, 2025 | 2:00pm <\/a> \"Bad <\/a> movies Bad taste and moral panic are the lasting legacy of Silent Night, Deadly Night By Greg Cwik December 12, 2025 | 12:00pm <\/a> \"Artist <\/a> music Artist of the Year: Hayley Williams By Matt Mitchell December 12, 2025 | 10:00am <\/a> \"Dropping <\/a> music Dropping Apple Music saved me from becoming a lean-back listener By Matt Schimkowitz December 12, 2025 | 9:00am <\/a> \"TikTok's <\/a> music TikTok’s 2025 Global Song of the Year is 63 years old By Matt Mitchell December 12, 2025 | 7:00am <\/a> \"A <\/a> tv A haunting and hilarious Pluribus stresses “The Gap” between Carol and Manousos By Noel Murray December 12, 2025 | 3:00am <\/a> \"Sundance <\/a> movies Sundance winner Atropia wages a tepid satirical war on the War On Terror By Natalia Keogan December 11, 2025 | 4:00pm <\/a> \"5 <\/a> music 5 songs you need to hear this week By Paste Staff December 11, 2025 | 2:00pm <\/a> \"A <\/a> movies A sensational sensory delight, Resurrection revels in the past and present of film By Jacob Oller December 11, 2025 | 11:00am <\/a> \"This <\/a> music This Is Lorelei refurbishes the past on Holo Boy By Manon Bushong December 11, 2025 | 10:00am <\/a> \"The <\/a> music The 15 best EPs of 2025 By Matt Mitchell and Paste Staff December 11, 2025 | 9:30am <\/a> \"Heated <\/a> tv Heated Rivalry raises the bar for queer sex on TV By Hunter Ingram December 11, 2025 | 6:00am <\/a> \"American <\/a> tv American mockumentaries somehow got both nicer and more realistic this year By Saloni Gajjar December 10, 2025 | 4:00pm <\/a> \"Has <\/a> music Has The xx\u2019s debut album always sounded this limp and dull? By Benny Sun December 10, 2025 | 1:30pm <\/a> \"Gallery: <\/a> music Gallery: TRA\u0418\u01a7A: A Celebration at Powerhouse Arts By Paste Staff December 10, 2025 | 1:10pm <\/a> \"Ella <\/a> movies Ella McCay resides in the emotional uncanny valley By Caroline Siede December 10, 2025 | 12:00pm <\/a> \"Well-lubed <\/a> music Well-lubed and swerving all together: Drive-By Truckers get back to Decoration Day By Matt Mitchell December 10, 2025 | 12:00pm <\/a> \"Robert <\/a> movies Robert Pattinson and Zendaya awkwardly plan a wedding in first The Drama teaser By Drew Gillis December 10, 2025 | 10:22am <\/a> \"Little <\/a> tv Little Disasters is a mediocre, mom-centered mystery By Meredith Hobbs Coons December 10, 2025 | 9:00am <\/a> \"Cult <\/a> movies Cult Of Criterion: Pee-wee’s Big Adventure By Jacob Oller December 10, 2025 | 6:00am <\/a> \"A <\/a> movies A monstrous murder-for-hire plot is child’s play in the delightful Dust Bunny By Natalia Keogan December 9, 2025 | 5:00pm <\/a> \"A <\/a> movies A monstrous murder-for-hire plot is child’s play in the delightful Dust Bunny By Natalia Keogan December 9, 2025 | 5:00pm <\/a> \"Hollywood's <\/a> movies Hollywood’s gateways to horror are crumbling By Trace Sauveur December 9, 2025 | 3:00pm <\/a> \"Bob <\/a> music Bob Dylan’s never-ending Rough and Rowdy Ways tour just got longer By Matt Mitchell December 9, 2025 | 1:45pm <\/a> \"Gene <\/a> music Gene Simmons can\u2019t stop putting his foot in his mouth By Matt Mitchell December 9, 2025 | 1:05pm <\/a> \"The <\/a> music The 27 best debut albums of 2025 By Paste Staff December 9, 2025 | 11:00am <\/a> \"No <\/a> music No Album Left Behind: Emily Hines sounds timeless and familiar on These Days By Steven Edelstone December 9, 2025 | 9:00am <\/a> \"In <\/a> tv In 2025, TV finally reflected the lingering effects of living through COVID-19 By Mary Kate Carr December 9, 2025 | 7:00am <\/a> \"This <\/a> tv This Monster Wants To Eat Me’s sapphic horror delights in discomfort By Elijah Gonzalez December 8, 2025 | 3:00pm <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"First reported by The New York Times and later confirmed by his family to The Los Angeles Times,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":350065,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-350064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}