 Following their stay in Nashville , the band returned to Los Angeles and throughout April and May 1968 , they worked on completing their new country @-@ oriented album . During this period , Parsons attempted to exert a controlling influence over the group by pressuring McGuinn to recruit either JayDee Maness or Sneaky Pete Kleinow as the band 's permanent pedal steel guitar player . When McGuinn refused , Parsons next began to push for a higher salary , while also demanding that the group be billed as " Gram Parsons and the Byrds " on their forthcoming album . Even Hillman , who had previously been Parsons ' biggest supporter in the band , began to grow weary of his forceful demands . Ultimately , Parsons ' behavior led to a power struggle for control of the group , with McGuinn finding his position as band leader challenged . However , the April 1968 release of " You Ain 't Goin ' Nowhere " served to strengthen McGuinn 's position as head Byrd , with the guitarist 's familiar drawl occupying the lead vocal spot and negligible input from Parsons , despite the single 's obvious country leanings . 
