About Chris Hillman

“Without Chris Hillman acting as the connective tissue between West Coast country music traditions and the rock ‘n’ roll generations, from Buck Owens to The Byrds, there would be no modern country music.”

                                                                                                                        -Dwight Yoakam

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Country Rock pioneer, Chris Hillman has never stopped making music, but these last few years have seen the music, the milestones, and the special events happening at an exceptional pace.  Most recently, Chris joined the lineup of SiriusXM’s Dwight Yoakam and The Bakersfield Beat (Ch. 349) with his new weekly show, Chris Hillman’s Burrito Stand, which launched in May of 2022.  Chris will be talking with the artists that shaped Southern California’s country and country rock music. Special guests will include Roger McGuinn, Bernie Leadon, Al Perkins, Herb Pedersen, Dwight Yoakam and Marty Stuart.

Hillman can also add author to his accomplishments with the November 2020 release of his acclaimed autobiography, Time Between:  My Life as a Byrd, Burrito Brother, and Beyond (BMG Books with a forward by Dwight Yoakam).  Spanning nearly six decades of Hillman’s prolific career, Time Between became one of the most celebrated music memoirs of the year.

In October of 2021, Time Between was released in paperback, with a brand new cover, and Random House Audio simultaneously released an outstanding audiobook, narrated by Chris Hillman with a forward narrated by Dwight Yoakam.  The Time Between audiobook, directed by Scott Sherratt, features newly recorded excerpts of 21 songs that have been part of  Hillman’s musical legacy. Commenting on the experience, Hillman said, “Recording my narration for the book was far more challenging than I could have ever imagined. For me it was completely different from going into a studio and recording music, and vocals, which I’ve been doing for decades. We tossed around the idea of adding a bit of music to embellish the title of each chapter. Each chapter was named after a song I had written, and or had recorded. This began to take on a whole new dimension in the presentation.”

In his memoir, Hillman vividly recounts the groundbreaking years when he joined Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Gene Clark and Michael Clarke to form The Byrds, creating one of the most influential bands in the history of rock music.  They were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.  Now, the three surviving original members (McGuinn, Hillman and Crosby) have curated  the ultimate collectible tabletop book, THE BYRDS:  1964-1967, to be released in the Fall of 2022.  The Super Deluxe Editions are currently available for presale exclusively at www.byrdsbook.com).  THE BYRDS:  1964-1967 is the first in-depth visual book about the Byrds and the first collaborative book by the surviving members.  It’s also the first time McGuinn, Hillman and Crosby have all worked on a project together since 1990 when they recorded new tracks for a retrospective box set.  The 400-page book caters to the collector’s market, featuring more than 500 images, many of them never previously published. 

Another pivotal chapter in Time Between is devoted to The Desert Rose Band.  Formed by Hillman, Herb Pedersen and John Jorgenson in 1986 (joined by Jay Dee Maness, Bill Bryson and Steve Duncan) this eponymous group would become Hillman’s most commercially successful project since the Byrds. Their self-titled debut album produced the number one singles, “He’s Back and I’m Blue,” and “One Step Forward” as well as the Top Ten country hit,  “Love

Reunited.”  From 1987 to 1993 the band recorded seven albums and had 16 country music hits earning  three Academy of Country Music awards, as well as Country Music Association and Grammy nominations. As co-writer (with Steve Hill) of “Love Reunited” and “One Step Forward, (with Bill Wildes) Hillman received BMI’S One Million Broadcasts Award for each of these songs.

Also included in Time Between are the details behind Hillman’s 2017 album, Bidin’ My Time, his first solo release in 12 years.  Produced by Tom Petty and executive-produced by Herb Pedersen, Bidin’ My Time was  praised as “an understated masterpiece,” successfully comprising  all of the influences that contributed to Hillman’s music from folk to rock and roll, bluegrass and country. Bidin’ My Time went on to earn its place in the Top 100 on Americana Radio’s airplay albums of 2017. 

Collectively, the album reflects the storytelling and virtuosity that first inspired Hillman

and remains at the heart of his music. The songs of Bidin’ My Time were first performed live in the Fall of 2017, with the tour ending October of 2017 at the Troubadour in Los Angeles.  The event was historical because the Byrds played one of their first concerts there in the 60s.  It was also a poignant evening because  Bidin’ My Time was one of the last projects completed by Tom Petty.  With his unexpected death, the homecoming show became a heartfelt tribute to him, as well.  The bittersweet aspects of the show notwithstanding, the Los Angeles Times praised the magic of the performances on stage that night, saying “Hillman’s sweet tenor voice is as fluid and expressive as ever and it blends hauntingly with the piercing purity of Pedersen’s voice, making it no surprise that they’ve returned to one another’s company so often for more than half a century.”

Rounding out the memoir, is Chris’ account of the 2018 tour celebrating the 50^th Anniversary of the Byrds’ groundbreaking Sweetheart of the Rodeo album. When the album was originally released In 1968, Sweetheart of the Rodeo literally launched the country rock movement and is widely considered to be one of the most influential albums in this genre.  In 2003, the album was ranked #120 on Rolling Stone’s list of “The 500 Greatest Albums.”  The anniversary tour featured Hillman and fellow Byrds alum Roger McGuinn, joined by Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives (all huge Byrds fans).   It more than lived up to it stature with Hillman and McGuinn delivering a rich narrative for the album by telling the stories that initially brought the project to life.  As Hillman writes, “We remembered every little nuance and anecdote in the making of the album.  It was so much fun revisiting the music and having a conversation with each other on  stage… it was one of if not the best tour I had ever been a part of in my almost six decades of playing music.” Along with Marty Stuart and the Fabulous Superlatives, it was the perfect combination of stellar vocals and outstanding instrumentation that recreated the sounds of the Sweetheart album.  The troupe (all having connections to Tom Petty) also paid tribute to the late rock star with performances of his “American Girl,” “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” and “Wildflowers,” the latter of which was also recorded by Hillman for Bidin’ My Time.

Throughout the book, Hillman opens up about career encounters and accomplishments. With engaging detail, he describes meetings and experiences with characters such as Lenny Bruce, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bo Diddley, Otis Redding, Chuck Berry and Buck Owens, as well as his musical collaborations with Clarence White, Bernie Leadon,

Stephen Stills, Dan Fogelberg, Herb Pedersen, John Jorgensen, Al Perkins, Jay Dee Maness, Tom Brumley and more.  And he recounts his numerous band affiliations including a memorable stint recording as a member of Stephen Stills’ Manassas. Other groups  included Souther-Hillman-Furay (with JD Souther and Poco’s Richie Furay), McGuinn, Clark & Hillman (with fellow former Byrds Roger McGuinn and Gene Clark) and Rice, Rice, Hillman & Pedersen. He

recorded as a solo artist, and as a duo, Chris and Herb Pedersen had success with a number of releases including Bakersfield Bound (1996), Way Out West, (2002) a 17-track collection of country, roots rock and Americana, The Other Side (2005) and Live At Edwards Barn (2010). 

While giving insight into the recording of such Byrds’ classics as “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “Turn, Turn, Turn,” and “Eight Miles High,” Chris also sheds new light on his complicated relationship with Gram Parsons and the real man behind the Parson’s myth. The historic moment when Chris quit the Byrds is followed by breaking new “outlaw country” ground with The Flying Burrito Brothers, including the release of their landmark album, The Gilded Palace of Sin in 1969.

The rich musical details in Time Between share space with many experiences and impressions from Hillman’s  personal journey.  He writes in an honest and unadorned style while taking the reader back to earlier, sometimes nostalgic eras.  Hillman describes his youth and the quintessentially Southern California experience of the 50s where even within the bucolic atmosphere of Rancho Santa Fe there is a social conflict that made a lasting impression on him.  He continues reflecting on his early love of TV cowboys and getting his first horse and goes on to describe another first when he is introduced to folk artists, bluegrass music and eventually the Beatles. As a teen, he spent hours practicing acoustic guitar and mandolin.  By 18, he was playing the mandolin in two bands, The Scottsville Squirrel Barkers and The Golden State Boys which included Vern and Rex Gosdin.  Hillman goes on to share  the story of borrowing a bass – an instrument he’d never played – to try out for the Byrds, offering up details on why Miles Davis was responsible for their success.  

Hillman speaks honestly about the shocking tragedy that struck his family when he was a teenager, his subsequent struggles with anger, and how his spiritual journey led him to a place of deep faith that allowed him to extend forgiveness and experience wholeness.  He writes of overcoming his overwhelming shyness, building a family with his beloved wife Connie, earning a second degree blackbelt in karate,  battling a life-threatening disease, and escaping three house fires.

Reflecting on the process of telling his multi-layered story, Hillman says, “It became almost cathartic as I got deeper in with the story – sometimes opening up old doors I thought I had locked down decades ago. But it wasn’t just the music that propelled me on; it was the gradual growth from who I was to who I became – through heartache and triumph, things we all have to deal with in life.”

Today, Chris Hillman is quick to point out that Time Between is his story “at least so far”  with many chapters yet to be written.  “I’ve had a great life,” says Hillman.  “And it’s not over – we’re not done.”  With that affirmation, it is safe to say, more of the best is yet to come.