Posting a couple of links for some historical fun.

Original D&D Bards: OG Bards starting page 10
Advanced D&D Bards (1e): The Bards I grew up with (sorry for the ancient internet weirdness)

The connection to Druids was present in both forms, although the class morphed quite a bit (and still is, I guess). Too bad that the connection is no longer there - it was a nice bit of world-building.