To try and describe the musical contribution of Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen to the various genres of music that they have encompassed or the number of artists that they have played with over the last 60 years would take far longer than I would be allowed in this article. They will both turn 80 years old this year and have recorded either as a member of various groups (Byrds, Desert Rose Band to name but two out of at least 20), on their own, as session players for major artists (think Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne or John Prine in the case of Pedersen) and as a duo. They continue to appear live together though Hillman has retired from touring. Encompassing bluegrass, rock (Hillman was inducted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame as part of The Byrds in 1991), country rock, folk and folk rock they have both equally pioneered the music we now know as americana. From a slew of performances I’ve picked this beautiful song (written by Pedersen in the early 70s and appearing on his 1976 debut solo album ‘Southwest’ ), because it sounds as fresh now as it did then and it highlights Hillman’s prowess on the mandolin (his favourite instrument) and the guitar-playing of John Jorgenson (a very unsung guitar hero). It’s a timeless classic love song.
