 Just prior to the release of Ballad of Easy Rider , the Byrds underwent yet another change in personnel when bassist John York was asked to leave the band in September 1969 . York had become disenchanted with his role in the Byrds and had voiced his reluctance to perform material that had been written and recorded by the group before he had joined . The rest of the band had begun to doubt his commitment and so , a consensus was reached among the other three members that York should be fired . He was replaced , at the suggestion of Parsons and White , by Skip Battin , a freelance session musician and one @-@ time member of the duo Skip & Flip . Battin 's recruitment marked the last personnel change to the group for almost three years and as a result , the McGuinn – White – Parsons – Battin line @-@ up became the most stable and longest @-@ lived of any configuration of the Byrds . 
