Ballad of Easy Rider is the eighth album by the American rock band The Byrds and was released in November 1969 on Columbia Records (see 1969 in music). The album was named after the song "Ballad of Easy Rider", which had been written by The Byrds' guitarist and singer, Roger McGuinn (with help from Bob Dylan), as the theme song for the 1969 film, Easy Rider. The title was also chosen in an attempt to capitalize on the commercial success of the film, although the majority of the music on the album had no connection with it. Nonetheless, the association with Easy Rider heightened The Byrds' public profile and resulted in Ballad of Easy Rider becoming the band's highest charting album for two years in the U.S.