The Byrds were the product of strong egos, the LA folk scene, and lets be honest here: The Beatles. The Beatles come into play in a couple of different factors. American record companies were desperate to put out bands that had the same look, feel and groove as those wonderful lads from Liverpool. They also happened to be the coolest thing going in 1964, so of course American bands were going to feed off that.
"Laurel Canyon: The Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Legendary Neighborhood" chronicles the rock scene in L.A. from the early 60's onward. Author Michael Walker describes how The Byrds were kind of a rag tag band thrown together quickly to meet the sudden and dramatic rise in the popularity of Rock and Roll.
Chris Hillman played bass for the band. He literally had never played electric bass before joining The Byrds. Before that, he was a bluegrass mandolin player. In the book he describes how none of the guys in the band even knew anything about rock and roll. They all came from the folk scene.
"The Byrds weren't a rock band," Hillman says. "We didn't know anything from that stuff. We didn't even know how to act on stage."
His statements can be confirmed by looking at their early singles of 1965. On their first hits with "Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There is a Season)" the entire backing instrumental tracks were played by seasoned L.A. session musicians. The only actual member of The Byrds to play on the recordings is Roger McGuinn. Oklahoma's very own Leon Russell played the piano on the sessions for "Tambourine Man."
While they may have had a rocky start and an even rockier career, The Byrds solidified the folk rock movement and bridged the gap between Bob Dylan and The Beatles quite nicely.
Here are some links:
The first two tracks are early byrds. The last track is later on in 1968.
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