Chris Hillman
Chris Hillman
Christopher "Chris" Hillmanis an American musician. He was one of the original members of The Byrds, which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby and Michael Clarke. With frequent collaborator Gram Parsons, Hillman was a key figure in the development of country rock, defining the genre through his work with The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Manassas and the country-rock group Desert Rose Band...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionRock Singer
Date of Birth4 December 1944
CityLos Angeles, CA
CountryUnited States of America
I loved playing the stuff we did in the Byrds. It was a good band. I was lucky to be in it.
You don't ever want to touch that money,
We couldn't get played on FM rock or country radio. Now the Burritos are more popular than ever. Who knew?
Sixty is the new 40, ... That's about the only thing of Bill Maher's I agree with.
We had to guess each year what interest rates would do in the coming year, which is difficult to do in today's markets, and budget for that,
Those Laurel Canyon days were great. I have a real fondness for that era, 'til about '68. Musically, it was wonderful, and there was this great innocence, an idyllic view of the world. After that, everything got a little... edgy.
All along, I did what I was comfortable doing, which was to play the music I enjoyed and try to stretch the parameters a bit. Country and bluegrass and folk were my foundation.
You know what I do on Sundays? I sing in a choir. I sing in a Greek Orthodox choir, and I'm the only hillbilly tenor in the Orthodox Church.
When I was playing bluegrass, I was living down in West Hollywood - starving.
The Byrds weren't rock n' roll guys. We were kinda like your Seekers... folkies who took it a step further.
My dad founded the 'Rancho Santa Fe Times' and won a lot of journalism awards.
I was a lucky kid. You could have got 10 kids to be in The Byrds who were better than I was.
The Squirrel Barkers always have a special place in my heart.
You're bare naked up there. It's very one-dimensional. You have to take that vision and enlarge it into a two- or three-dimensional presentation. It keeps me on my toes. I wouldn't go back for any amount of money.