Few artists carry the history of American music the way Chris Hillman does, but if you ask him, he’d rather talk about the work than the legacy.
Revisiting our 2021 conversation, Hillman spoke with a mix of humility and clarity about a career that helped define folk rock, country rock, and everything in between.
From his early days with The Byrds to the genre-shaping years alongside Gram Parsons, Hillman never set out to “invent” anything. “I got to do something I loved,” he says simply—an outlook that still guides him decades later.
That perspective carried into his return to the stage after the Pandemic in 2021 with Time Between: An Evening of Stories and Songs, a show that blended music with personal storytelling drawn from his memoir. For Hillman, the goal is straightforward: give the audience something real. “My job… is to make them feel great when they walk out,” he says. It’s a philosophy rooted in experience—one that values connection over nostalgia, and performance over myth. Even when reflecting on iconic songs like “Turn! Turn! Turn!”, Hillman embraces the responsibility that comes with them, approaching each performance “as if it’s opening night on Broadway.”
More than six decades into his career, Hillman remains focused not on what’s behind him, but on what still matters: the music, the audience, and the moment. “Be aware and be prepared,” he says—a simple mantra that feels as relevant now as ever.
For an artist whose work helped shape generations, it’s that grounded perspective that continues to resonate most.
Listen to the Chris Hillman Interview: THE JEREMIAH SHOW
Photo Credit: Photos for MAGNET by Wes Orshoski
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