Time Between: My Life as a Byrd, Burrito Brother, and Beyond

Hillman, a founding member of the Byrds, shares his passion for making music in this poignant but underwhelming memoir. Born and raised in rural Southern California, Hillman had an idyllic 1950s childhood that later inspired him to develop the mixture of country, rock, and folk music the Byrds pioneered. The narrative trudges dutifully from one phase of his life to the next as Hillman describes how his love of folk and bluegrass led him to a spot in his first band, the Scottsville Squirrel Barkers. Then, in the mid-1960s, he joined forces with Jim McGuinn, Gene Clark, and David Crosby to form the Byrds. He and Gram Parsons, a musician who had flitted through the Byrds for one album, started the Burrito Brothers in 1968, cowriting classics such as “Sin City.” Finally, in 1998, after surviving kidney failure, Hillman wrote his first solo album, which Tom Petty produced in 2017. Readers looking for gossip or an inside scoop may be disappointed, as the narrative is a broad chronological overview without any dramatic reveals. Though Hillman’s fans will love his book, this memoir’s appeal will not extend far outside of that circle. (Nov.)