Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 23, 2026

Thunderbyrd

Thunderbyrd is an album by the American musician Roger McGuinn, released in 1977 on the Columbia Records label. Following the success of his 1976 album Cardiff Rose, McGuinn intended to make another album in collaboration with its producer Mick Ronson. This project however never materialized. Instead he put together a new band, Thunderbyrd, and recorded this album with them.

Last revised
Jul 23, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
351 w
Citations
4
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Thunderbyrd
Studio album by
Roger McGuinn
ReleasedMarch 1977
Recorded1976
StudioWally Heider Studios, Haji Sound
GenreRock
Length37:34
LabelColumbia
ProducerDon DeVito
Roger McGuinn chronology
Cardiff Rose
(1976) 		Thunderbyrd
(1977) 		McGuinn, Clark & Hillman
(1978)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStar1
Christgau's Record GuideB2
The Rolling Stone Album GuideStarStarStar3

Thunderbyrd is an album by the American musician Roger McGuinn, released in 1977 on the Columbia Records label. Following the success of his 1976 album Cardiff Rose, McGuinn intended to make another album in collaboration with its producer Mick Ronson. This project however never materialized. Instead he put together a new band, Thunderbyrd, and recorded this album with them.4

The album contains four original compositions by McGuinn and his old songwriting collaborator Jacques Levy. It also includes a version of Tom Petty's "American Girl", originally a hit the year before from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers's eponymous debut album.

Thunderbyrd was not well received by critics or record buyers and was to be McGuinn's last solo album until 1991's Back from Rio.

Track listing

All tracks written by Jacques Levy and Roger McGuinn except where noted.

  1. "All Night Long" (Peter Frampton, Mick Gallagher) – 4:19
  2. "It's Gone" – 3:57
  3. "Dixie Highway" – 3:29
  4. "American Girl" (Tom Petty) – 4:30
  5. "We Can Do It All Over Again" (Barry Goldberg, Mentor Williams) – 4:44
  6. "Why Baby Why" (Darrell Edwards, George Jones) – 3:48
  7. "I'm Not Lonely Anymore" – 3:07
  8. "Golden Loom" (Bob Dylan) – 4:07
  9. "Russian Hill" – 5:03

Personnel

  • Roger McGuinn – vocals, guitar
  • Rick Vito – guitars, vocals, dobro, harmonica
  • Charlie Harrison – bass, vocals
  • Greg Thomas – drums, percussion

with:

  • Marty Grebb – keyboards
  • Tom Scott – saxophone solo on "American Girl"
  • Janis Oliver-Gill, Kristine Oliver-Arnold, Jennifer O'Neill – backing vocals on "We Can Do It All Over Again"
  • Bruce Barlow – bass on "It's Gone" and "Russian Hill"
  • Steve Forman – percussion on "Russian Hill"
Notes

Notes

  1. AllMusic review
  2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: M". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 7, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 462.
  4. Sandova, Andrew (1991). Born to Rock and Roll (CD booklet). Columbia. p. 10. CK 47494.