THE SIGNAL from David Katznelson
There is nothing like a dream to create the future.-Victor Hugo
Chris Hillman has had just an incredible career. If he was just a member of the legendary band The Byrds…as a musician, singer and songwriter…that would be enough to earn legendary status. And then there is the fact that while in the Byrds he ushered in the country rock genre. That too is pretty incredible. And then he shimmied to starring in The Flying Burrito Brothers with the genius and wasted Gram Parsons: as a record collector who was too young to experience much of Hillman’s early career in real-time, seeing his name pop up on album after album of incredible music is just a wonder. In fact, his name on a record is a trademark of quality…it calls to the record store shopper that the LP in hand is worth taking home and giving a listen.
Hillman, who is still totally active making great records, recently released a tell-most-of-all memoir called Time Between: My Life as a Byrd, Burrito Brother and Beyond named after one of his first compositions that many consider to be the first country rock song. As Tom Petty once said, “Chris invented country rock, more than anyone I can think of. As far as taking country music and trying to nurture it into a new form, he is absolutely the first guy that really did that.” The book is a great read with Hillman as Ancient Mariner living to tell the tale (both physically and mentally) of one of the greatest chapters in modern music.
He agreed to answer five questions from me. And while the answers are brief, they do provide small insights to an incredible musical life….
5-ish Questions for Chris Hillman
David: Of all the bands you worked with…and I include the different incarnations of bands, was there one that you look back on and say…that one was more magical than the rest…working with those particular people at that particular time was unlike any other?
Chris: The Byrds will always remain special, but all of the bands I’ve been a part of had some magic. The Byrds, possibly more.
David: When you were in The Byrds…in The Burritos…you were also taking a lot of session gigs. Whenever I see your name as part of the cast on the record, it gives me more reason to pick it up and throw it on. Is there a session that you were on that stands out above the rest? Of the sessions you were on, who was the most inspirational artist to work with?
Chris: For me, it was with Hugh Masekela, the South African trumpet player. It was so inspiring that when I was back home, after the session, I started writing songs that night
David: I have been listening to the Barry McGuire and the Doctor record since I learned about it recently. From what I read, even though the record that came out of it is really an unknown classic to my ears, it sounded like a mess of a session. Do you have memories of playing on that record? Anything to share?
Chris: I don’t recall playing the session for Barry and Eric. But I do recall Eric Hord, “The Doctor”, from my early days in San Diego. I ran into him in the early days of The Byrds (when we were all very poor); he gave me ten dollars which bought a good amount of food in those days.
David: It is safe to say that your work is revered by new generations of musicians. Are there any that have come to your attention whose music you are particularly excited by?
Chris: The Earls of Leicester, Daley and Vincent, Vampire Weekend, The Shelters
David: Is there a dream musical project you would like to do?
Chris: I haven’t focused in on anything just yet. A strong contender would be a project with Dwight Yoakam, and Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives.
**
And there you have it. Chris Hillman. Short and sweet. If interested in hearing a selection of the songs that Hillman had writing credits and played on, I made a mix here.
And on an unrelated note: what ever happened to Eric Hord, the Doctor? He played on some incredible albums…helped define the sound of the Mamas and the Papas…and then just disappeared from the scene. An underappreciated guitar slinger who wandered out of musical radar range after the failure of his incredible record with Barry McGuire….
Happy Monday!
Poem
By Jorie Graham
The earth said
remember me.
The earth said
don’t let go,
said it one day
when I was
accidentally
listening, I
heard it, I felt it
like temperature,
all said in a
whisper—build to-
morrow, make right be-
fall, you are not
free, other scenes
are not taking
place, time is not filled,
time is not late, there is
a thing the emptiness
needs as you need
emptiness, it
shrinks from light again &
again, although all things
are present, a
fact a day a
bird that warps the
arithmetic of per-
fection with its
arc, passing again &
again in the evening
air, in the pre-
vailing wind, making no
mistake—yr in-
difference is yr
principal beauty
the mind says all the
time—I hear it—I
hear it every-
where. The earth
said remember
me. I am the
earth it said. Re-
member me
