 Between June and August 1969 , the Byrds worked with Melcher to complete the Ballad of Easy Rider album . Musically the album consolidated and streamlined the band 's country rock sound , consisting mostly of cover versions and traditional material , with three self @-@ penned original songs . The first single to be released from the album was the title track , issued in October 1969 in America and reaching number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart . Composed primarily by McGuinn , with some input from Bob Dylan ( although not credited ) , " Ballad of Easy Rider " was written as the theme tune for the 1969 countercultural film Easy Rider . However the Byrds ' recording of the song does not appear in the film , instead an acoustic version credited to McGuinn alone was used . However the Byrds ' song " Wasn 't Born to Follow " from The Notorious Byrd Brothers album was featured in Easy Rider and also included on the Easy Rider soundtrack album in August 1969 . The Byrds ' association with the film heightened their public profile and when the Ballad of Easy Rider album was released in November 1969 , it peaked at number 36 in the U.S. and number 41 in the UK , becoming the band 's highest charting album for two years in America . A second single taken from the album , " Jesus Is Just Alright " , was released in December 1969 but it only managed to reach number 97 . Despite this lack of commercial success , the Doobie Brothers ' later hit version of " Jesus Is Just Alright " features an arrangement that was heavily influenced by the Byrds ' recording . 
