The Byrds’ Chris Hillman announced today the release of his first studio album in over ten years. The album, Bidin’ My Time, was produced by Tom Petty, and features his old Byrds bandmates, David Crosby, Roger McGuinn, and Herb Pederson, as well as other musical affiliations of The Heartbreakers. The album will new incarnations of old Byrds songs, as well as several Hillman originals.

Hillman is a studied bluegrass musician who originally learned to play guitar, but joined The Byrds as a bassist. Hillman quickly developed his skills on the bass and created a unique sound using the bluegrass sound as his guiding star. Hillman was always the least outspoken member of the band, choosing to remain in the background while the others wrote and sang on most songs. However, his role in the band increased as their time together wore on.

Hillman is often credited as being a father of country rock. He and Gram Parsons, another Byrds member who replaced David Crosby, are considered responsible for the shift in the band’s sound that came with their album, Sweetheart of the Rodeo. The 1968 album features classic songs such as “You Ain’t Going Nowhere” and “I Am A Pilgrim.” The Byrds really came into their own as an important band with Sweetheart of the Rodeo, and that change in sound is in large part due to the creativity of Hillman and Parsons. Hillman and Parsons later worked together in their own band, The Flying Burrito Brothers, which had a similar country rock feel. Hillman also worked with Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, on Stills’ solo album, Manassas, which garnered wide critical acclaim. For Hillman, who is one of the original shapers of American country music, to be making a new album after a decade is quite exciting to a lot of people.

Tracklist:
01 “Bells Of Rhymney”
02 “Bidin’ My Time”
03 “Given All I Can See”
04 “Different Rivers”
05 “Here She Comes Again”
06 “Walk Right Back”
07 “Such Is The World That We Live In”
08 “When I Get A Little Money”
09 “She Don’t Care About Time”
10 “New Old John Robertson”
11 “Restless”
12 “Wildflowers”

Bidin’ My Time is out 9/22 via Rounder Records.