Following his recruitment, Parsons began to lure Hillman away from McGuinn's proposed concept album idea and towards a blend of what Parsons would later term "Cosmic American Music". In essence, this was a hybrid of various roots music forms, primarily oriented towards honky tonk country music but also encompassing American folk, soul, rhythm and blues, rock ’n’ roll and contemporary rock. Hillman, who had come from a musical background firmly rooted in bluegrass, had himself successfully persuaded the Byrds to incorporate country influences into their music in the past, beginning with the song "Satisfied Mind" on their 1965 album, "Turn! Turn! Turn!" Many of Hillman's songs on the "Younger Than Yesterday" and "The Notorious Byrd Brothers" albums also had a pronounced country feel to them, with several featuring Clarence White (a renowned bluegrass guitar player and session musician) on lead guitar, rather than McGuinn. During time spent singing old country songs with Parsons, Hillman became convinced that Parsons' concept of a country-oriented version of the Byrds could work.