Is this one of the few bands who got famous by not writing their

Every band that plays blues rock.

Every (non jazz) band before about 1965 was required to do a lot of covers.

>>71940812
Have you ever listened to jazz op?

joe cocker

>>71940864
Coltrane did a shit load of covers though. They were more reimaginings

No one felt they had to write their own music in the 20s-50s. Louis Armstrong did which was cool.

>>71940911
>No one felt they had to write their own music in the 20s-50s.
Well that's not true. People like Ellington wrote tonnes of compositions that defined the genre. People played a lot of standards, but not a huge amount more than they did going into the 60s and through to present day.
>Louis Armstrong did which was cool.
Weird example. He was a much better improviser than he was a composer. Potato Head Blues isn't incredible because the head and changes are really well written.

>>71940812
bob dylan. simon and garfunkel.

The Byrds did get notoriety for quite a few of their own songs though, Eight Miles High being the most obvious example. They wouldn't have been as well known without Dylan's words coming put of their mouths but they'd still be known.

>>71940864
>>71940911
>>71940978
Blues and jazz were both based around standards and traditions that had been passed down and arranged differently since the 19th century. Blues moreso as jazz evolved a lot more radically and moved out of earlier styles like ragtime and embraced improvisation early on in the 20th century.

>>71941367
Their covers are definitely what made them famous, but they were actually pretty good songwriters in their own right. Fifth Dimension, Notorious Byrd Brothers, and Sweetheart of the Rodeo are all near-perfect. It's a shame that the Byrds aren't as widely appreciated as the Beatles and Stones.