Chris Hillman On Tom Petty Convincing Him To Make A New LP
Out today (September 21) is Bidin’ My Time, the Tom Petty-produced album for Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Chris Hillman — a founding member of the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers and the Desert Rose Band, among others.
Hillman, who in recent years has worked in a folk-style duo with musical partner Herb Pedersen, tells us he was resigned to no longer making albums but that Petty and Pedersen talked him into it:
“This really fell into my lap. I had some songs that I had not recorded but I was sort of winding down…I just didn’t have the inclination…I didn’t think I would ever make another record, and it wasn’t coming out of any kind of bitterness. It was, ‘OK, I’ve had a great 54-year- career and, y’know, looking at the way the business is I don’t know what would be the point. This really fell into my lap. I had some songs that I had not recorded but I was sort of winding down…This just came along through Herb and Tom Petty, and after I had a conversation with Tom in the fall, November, I said, ‘Are you sure you can to do this?’ and he was, ‘Do you want me to?’ I said, ‘Well, yeah…Of course I’d love to work with you.’ He said, ‘Great. We’ll use my studio and everything.'”
In addition to some new Hillman songs, “Bidin’ My Time” features new versions of the Byrds’ “Bells Of Rhymney” and the group’s rarity “Here She Comes Again,” as well as Petty’s “Wildflowers.”
Hillman and Pedersen, meanwhile, are back on the road, joined by guitarist John Jorgenson, who also played on the album.
Gary Graff is an award-winning music journalist who not only covers music but has written books on Bob Seger, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen.
