From Byrds To Burritos And Beyond: Chris Hillman Looks Back In New Memoir

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Chris Hillman is chronicling his legendary career as one of the pioneers and founding fathers of country rock in a new memoir, Time Between: My Life as a Byrd, Burrito Brother and Beyond, due out Nov. 17 on BMG Books.

In the book Hillman takes readers behind the curtain of his quintessentially Southern Californian experience. Raised in San Diego County’s then-rural Rancho Santa Fe, Chris grew up in an idyllic 1950s environment that was filled with TV cowboys, horseback riding, exploring the outdoors, surfing, and falling in love with music. When his older sister came home from college with records by folk artists such as Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly, Chris was hooked. He soon fell in love with the bluegrass music of Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, and The Stanley Brothers, spending hours mastering the guitar and mandolin.

After playing the Southern California folk and bluegrass circuit, he joined Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Gene Clark and Michael Clarke as an original member of The Byrds. He went on to partner with Gram Parsons to launch The Flying Burrito Brothers, recording a handful of albums that have become touchstones of the Americana genre.

In the new book he sheds new light on his sometimes-complicated relationship with Gram Parsons and offers insight into the real man behind the myth. He reveals what really happened on the Opry stage when the Byrds made their controversial appearance during the recording of the Sweetheart of the Rodeo sessions, and offers up details on the band’s disastrous trip to South Africa. From becoming one of the first musicians to move to the artistic enclave of Laurel Canyon, to quitting the Byrds, breaking new “outlaw country” ground with the Flying Burrito Brothers, recording with Manassas, and making the connections that launched the careers of Buffalo Springfield and Emmylou Harris, Hillman opens up the fascinating pages of his life and career with engaging detail.

The memoir includes a foreword by Dwight Yoakam and dozens of photos from Chris’ personal collection, and is packed with his encounters with characters like 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 Jorgenson, Al Perkins, and more. From tales of hanging out at the famed Ash Grove club in L.A. as a teen to Hillman’s 2018 Sweetheart of the Rodeo anniversary tour with Roger McGuinn and Marty Stuart, the engaging book always comes back around to Hillman’s first love.

“I never thought about the money, the future, or chasing down stardom,” he writes. “It was always all about the music. And it’s not over — we’re not done.””

Lorie Hollabaugh
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