The article argues that Keith Richards indirectly disrupted The Byrds’ work on their 1968 country-rock album, *Sweetheart of the Rodeo*, by becoming close to the group’s newest and most influential member, Gram Parsons. Parsons’ growing interest in spending time with Richards and Mick Jagger coincided with his departure from the band, leaving The Byrds without a key creative force shortly after the album’s completion.

*Sweetheart of the Rodeo* helped establish country rock, with Parsons contributing songs and vocals, but his role was complicated by contractual disputes that led to some of his lead vocals being replaced. He left before a planned South African tour, publicly citing opposition to apartheid; bandmate Chris Hillman later suggested Parsons’ new friendship with the Rolling Stones was effectively “the end” of his time in The Byrds.