Former Squirrel Barker to Perform Here Awhile
By FRANK ROBERTS
By Frank Roberts
Correspondent
Chris Hillman is a musical drifter. He never stays within one genre. He’s always moving on.
Hillman’s performed with and/or led 10 different groups, ranging from the mostly unknown Scottsville Squirrel Barkers to the well- known The Byrds. And he’s done some solo work since entering the music scene in the 1960s.
He and his “like-a-brother-to-me” friend, Herb Pedersen, an ex- Desert Rose bandmate, are touring the country playing what they do best – almost everything. They will offer folk-rock and country rock, bluegrass and jazz fusion at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts. It will be a treat for those whose palette of musical tastes runs the gambit.
“This is not a big band situation,” Hillman said. “I’ll be playing acoustic.”
He will chat with the audience, minus the use of four-letter words or sexual chatter.
“I’m probably the only conservative Christian in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” he said. He may also be the only folkie and cowboy.
Hillman, credited with pioneering the country-rock field, garnered 16 top-10 hits and netted several Academy of Country Music awards.
With each new band, his reputation as an outstanding musician/ songwriter/picker blossomed.
“I’ve had a great time,” he said, during a phone interview from his California home.
The highlights were his stints with groundbreaking groups such as The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers and the Desert Rose Band that blended country with rock, salsa, bluegrass and the blues.
Their “Sweetheart Of the Rodeo” introduced many fans to country music. “A lot of people who wouldn’t have bothered with country learned about country through that album.” Hillman said.
But, it is The Byrds (the name is a take-off on the Beatles) who were the most recognizable. One of their biggest hits was, “So You Want To Be A Rock and Roll Star,” which took a poke at The Monkees.
“If I found a cure for cancer tomorrow they’d still say: ‘Ex- Byrd finds cancer cure,’” said Hillman, who adds that the Desert Rose Band was a more personal highlight.
“We were accepted by the country music community,” the ex-rocker said. “It wasn’t based on what I did in the past. I led the band, wrote the material, sang the lead. The other groups were my apprenticeship.”
Desert Rose split on very friendly terms in 1993.
“We might get back together and do one more album. We might try it in the fall. We’re 90 percent there. It will be one last hurrah,” Hillman said. “We’ll have all the original guys. We won’t try to make a living with it. I’m happy with what we’re doing right now.”
Hillman, a third-generation Californian, was raised on a ranch.
As a youngster, he joined his family listening to the Bakersfield sound of Buck Owens and Cliffie Stone, the western swing of Spade Cooley, and the swing music of ’30s-’40s big bands such as Count Basie and Duke Ellington.
He had 78 rpm records, cassettes, long-playing discs. Today, he talks about downloading, but adds, “I don’t even know how. I still like the old stuff. I do have an iPod. My kids showed me how to use it. I listen to Ella, Bill Monroe, gospel,” said Hillman, who praises the old music and the old values.
“We didn’t write songs with lyrics like they have today. When my daughter was 13 – she’s 24 now – I took some CDs away from her because of the sexually explicit language. We never wrote lyrics like the junk you can hear today – this rap stuff about killing cops, or beating up women.”
Hillman says little about the state of country music today, but does have praise for Brad Paisley, calling him, “the number one guy. He’s such an entertainer – so giving. He sings great and plays a phenomenal guitar.
“Many of today’s artists rely on so many smoke and whistles,” he added. “They replace the record sales that aren’t what they used to be.”
By the time he entered “semi-retirement” in 1994, Hillman had worked with the best of the music industry: Emmy Lou Harris, Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Linda Ronstadt, John Denver, Bob Dylan, The Oak Ridge Boys, Roy Rogers and others. Many famed folk recorded his compositions as well.
Some of his songs echo his beliefs. “Darkness In the Playground” tells of the dangers of drug use by children; “Summer Wind” is the male view of divorce. “Homeless” and “Walk On By” concerned a woman who lived on Southern California streets.
According to his Web site, a song called “Our Songs” came from personal experiences – “musicians who knew the power and importance of music but were dismayed to see it abused by the current entertainment industry.”
Hillman credits his parents with his ability to survive in that industry without having to write tomes about having to battle drugs, liquor or the devil. “My parents were wonderful. They gave me a good moral upbringing. They were affectionate and loving. They taught me the value of family, and how to work for the things you need.”
His close friend, Appellate Court Justice Steve Perrin is quoted on Hillman’s Web site as saying, “he has a wonderful social conscience – his passion for good family and upbringing is unbounded. I have never seen a better father more dedicated to raising his children.”
He almost comes across as Saint Hillman, not too typical of the music world that has had more than its share of tragedy.
The problems besetting Hillman’s close friend, Gram Parsons, were particularly hurtful to Hillman. Parsons, a member of The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, died of a drug overdose in 1973.
“For months, I’d watch him just disintegrate. He was seduced by the trappings of rock ‘n’ roll. That was his downfall.”
Hillman and Connie, his sweetheart-wife of many decades, live comfortably and happily, taking pride in the past, enjoying the present.
“In today’s world, I feel fortunate,” he said. “I experienced the best part of it all. I enjoyed everybody I worked with. I lost a lot of good friends to excess, to making bad choices. By the grace of God, I didn’t go that route.
“If my career stopped tomorrow I’d look for a rocking chair,” Hillman said. “I had a great time.”
Frank Roberts, or
FRoberts73@yahoo.com
going?
What Chris Hillman with Herb Pedersen
When 8 p.m. Saturday
Where Suffolk Center For Cultural Arts
Cost Reserved seat tickets are $35 and $30
Info Call 923-0003
(c) 2008 Virginian – Pilot. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.