 Although McGuinn was widely regarded as the Byrds ' bandleader by this point , the band actually had multiple frontmen , with McGuinn , Clark , Crosby and later Hillman all taking turns to sing lead vocals in roughly equal measures across the group 's repertoire . Despite the dizzying array of personnel changes that the group underwent in later years , this lack of a dedicated lead singer would remain a stylistic trait of the Byrds ' music throughout the majority of the band 's existence . A further distinctive aspect of the Byrds ' image was their unsmiling air of detachment , both on stage and in front of the camera . This natural aloofness was compounded by the large amounts of marijuana that the band consumed and often resulted in moody and erratic live performances . Indeed , the contemporary music press was extremely critical of the Byrds ' abilities as a live act during the mid @-@ 1960s , with the reaction from the British media during the band 's August 1965 tour of England being particularly scathing . 
