On his last release, Sweethearts—an all-encompassing tribute to The Byrds’ classic, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, which Glide Magazine called “Tender, faithful renditions that capture the groundbreaking character of the original album, just as his own versions are distinctive"—upstate New York recording artist Christian Parker wanted to prove his skills as an astute music student.

Singer/songwriter/guitarist David Crosby, who passed away on Wednesday, January 18, at age 81, was a Renaissance Man among musicians. When a good many artists of his generation stopped producing meaningful new music as they entered their ‘Golden Years’ – and were apparently content to ride on the coattails of their own career, it seemed that he was only getting started.

Today BMG announces The Byrds: 1964-1967, a new large-format 400-page collectible art book curated by the band’s three surviving founding members, and available in three versions, including a Super Deluxe Limited Edition signed by Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman, and David Crosby.

The Byrds: 1964-1967 is available for preorder now at www.byrdsbook.com

When the Byrds released “Mr. Tambourine Man” in 1965, they introduced Bob Dylan’s songs to a new audience and launched a career that would make them among the most influential rock bands of all time. With their unmistakable harmonies and Roger McGuinn’s innovative12-string Rickenbacker guitar, the Byrds never stopped experimenting. They incorporated folk, country, and jazz influences into a fresh blend that helped define an era. “And not to be too shallow,” Tom Petty once wrote, “but they also were just the best-dressed band around.

Chris Hillman’s new audiobook, Time Between: My Life as a Byrd, Burrito Brother, and Beyond (Random House Audio; on sale October 19, 2021), features newly recorded excerpts of 21 songs that have been part of the artist’s musical legacy. Hillman is a three-time ACM award winner and inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a founding member of the Byrds.
 

Chris Hillman is arguably the primary architect of what’s come to be known as country rock. After playing the Southern California folk and bluegrass circuit, he joined Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Gene Clark and Michael Clarke as an original member of The Byrds. He went on to partner with Gram Parsons to launch The Flying Burrito Brothers, recording a handful of albums that have become touchstones of the Americana genre.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member, Chris Hillman brought his latest tour to a sold-out audience at the historic Lobero Theater in Santa Barbara, Friday, February 16th. The current tour is in support of his highly praised new album Bidin’ My Time, produced by the late Tom Petty. Hillman fronted an acoustic foursome, featuring two of his longtime collaborators, Herb Pedersen and John Jorgenson, both of whom appear on the new album.

By 1970, weary and wary of the fame game in Los Angeles with the trappings of “the star-maker machinery” surrounding him at every turn, ex-Byrds songwriter and singer Gene Clark was looking for a refuge.