Before They Were Stars (2-for-1 Special): Rick James and Neil Young Perform with The Minah Byrds

I have to thank my fellow purveyors at Cracked.com for providing me with this material in one of yesterday’s articles: “5 Shocking Early Versions of Famous Musicians”. The Minah Byrds were a seemingly unremarkable Canadian R&B band from the 1960s who are notable for providing early gigs for two very famous musicians: Rick James and Neil Young. The group actually did sign a contract with Motown Records and were in the midst of recording their first album when an unexpected problem came up: it turns out Rick James had enlisted with the U.S. Navy during his teens, but decided to go AWOL and flee to Canada. James was eventually arrested and spend one year in a naval prison, which essentially put an end to the Minah Byrds, though this one single called “It’s My Time” still survives from their unfinished album.