John York Foley (born August 3, 1946) is an American bassist and guitarist. He is best known for his work with the Byrds.

History

Prior to joining the Byrds, John York was a member of the Bees and the Sir Douglas Quintet, and also worked as a session musician for the Mamas & the Papas and Johnny Rivers. He was also the bassist in ex-Byrd Gene Clark's touring band. York joined The Byrds in September 1968, as a replacement for the band's original bass player Chris Hillman. He remained with the group until September 1969, when he was replaced by Skip Battin. Despite only being with the Byrds for a year, his bass playing and singing appear on two of the group's studio albums, Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde and Ballad of Easy Rider, as well as on the non-album single "Lay Lady Lay". He wrote "Fido", which appears on Ballad of Easy Rider, and co-wrote "Candy", which is included on Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde. He also appears on the Columbia/Legacy Byrds' live album Live at the Fillmore - February 1969. Following his departure from the Byrds, York worked with Clark during the mid-1980s, along with Pat Robinson, in the group CRY. He served as an integral member of the Tribute to the Byrds band along with Gene Clark, Michael Clarke, Rick Roberts and others in the mid to late 1980s. York has maintained a lengthy career as a guitarist and bass player, and since the 1980s has worked with artists including Chris Darrow, Katie Trickett, Steven T., Nick Binkley, and Carla Olson, among others. In 1988, he recorded a number of songs with fellow ex-Byrds bass player Skip Battin, and these recordings were issued as the Family Tree album in 2001. He released three solo albums, Sacred Path Songs (1991), Claremont Dragon (1998), and Arigatou Baby (2006), and recorded the albums Clan Mother Songs with Jamie Sams, and Koto with Yukiko Matsuyama. In 2008, York teamed-up with singer-songwriter Barry McGuire for a live tour entitled Trippin' the 60's.

Selected discography

The Bees

Sir Douglas Quintet

The Byrds

The Museuns

John York

CRY

Family Tree

Selected album guest appearances