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Chris Hillman

RIYL

The Desert Rose Band, Poco, Manassas, Little Feat, the Flying Burrito Brothers, the Byrds, Roger McGuinn, Hearts and Flowers, the Eagles, Jack Tempchin, David Bromberg, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Influences

Flatt and Scruggs, Johnny Cash, Buck Owens, Chet Atkins, Roy Clark, the Stanley Brothers

Discography

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Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer and former Byrd/Flying Burrito Brother Chris Hillman is best known as the founder of the Desert Rose Band and the folk supergroup Manassas. Having grown up in North County San Diego, one of his earliest local bands, the Scottsville Squirrel Barkers, also included guitarist Ed Douglass, who founded the original Blue Guitar shop on Midway Drive and later operated the Double Eagle guitar shop, through 2007.

After co-founding the Byrds, Hillman cowrote the Top 40 song “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘N’ Roll Star” (1966), as well as arranging and cowriting two songs on the band’s 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo. In 1991, Hillman’s work with the Byrds got him inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He next cofounded the Flying Burrito Brothers with fellow former Byrd Gram Parsons, before spending time with Stephen Stills in Manassas and releasing a 1976 solo album, Slippin’ Away.

The Desert Rose Band was launched in 1986, releasing several albums and earning two Grammy nominations. Having gone on hiatus around 1993, that band reunited in 2008 and remains extant. Hillman also continues to record with fellow Desert Rose vet Herb Pedersen.

As of 2010, Hillman was living in Santa Barbara. In February 2011, he took part in Point Loma Nazarene University’s annual Writer’s Symposium by the Sea, as a speaker and performer. He played with the Desert Rose Band at Albert Lee's 70th birthday party on January 9, 2014, at the Canyon in Agoura along with fellow famous former neighbor Rosie Flores. The bill also included Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Peter Asher, Jerry Donahue of the Hellcasters, Lauence Juber, Jack Sh*t Band, Scarlet Rivera, and more.

His 2017 album Bidin' My Time was recorded with Tom Petty. The following summer, he joined fellow Byrds co-founder Roger McGuin for a short tour performing 50th anniversary sets of their Sweetheart of the Rodeo album with guest Marty Stuart, as well as appearing with Herb Pedersen at Bernardo Winery on August 12.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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