 " Eight Miles High " also exhibits the influence of sitarist Ravi Shankar , particularly in the droning quality of the song 's vocal melody and in McGuinn 's guitar playing . However , the song does not actually feature the sound of the sitar , despite the Byrds having appeared brandishing the instrument at a contemporary press conference held to promote the single . In a 1966 promotional interview , which was added to the expanded CD reissue of the Fifth Dimension album , Crosby said that the song 's ending made him " feel like a plane landing . " 
