drums. They then hired Gram Parsons to replace Crosby. Hillman, who had brought country music into the Byrds' earliest recoding of "Satisfied Mind", found another lover of country music, with Gram Parsons. Sweetheart of the Rodeo was recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles and continues to inspire musicians in the American format. Parsons left the band shortly thereafter; Hillman brought in former Kentucky Colonels guitarist Clarence White as a replacement and White suggested that the group replace Kelley with Gene Parsons (no relation to Gram) on drums, but this line-up was short-lived and Hillman himself left the Byrds due to financial misappropriation by their management. The Flying Burrito Brothers Hillman teamed with Gram Parsons again (this time as vocalist, guitarist and songwriter) to form the Flying Burrito Brothers. Further honing their pioneering country-rock hybrid sound by combining the energy, instrumentation and attitude of rock and roll with the issues and themes of country music, the Burritos recorded the landmark The Gilded Palace of Sin followed by 1970's Burrito Deluxe. Parsons was fired from the line-up by June 1970 (replaced by guitarist Rick Roberts) when the band toured Canada as part of the Festival Express tour, with Hillman reverting to bass guitar. Hillman stayed with the band for two more records, The Flying Burrito Brothers and Last of the Red Hot Burritos. 1970s Before the Flying Burrito Brothers disbanded, Hillman joined Stephen Stills' band Manassas; he remained with Manassas until 1973, when he briefly re-joined the original line-up of the Byrds for a reunion album on Asylum Records. In 1974, Hillman teamed with singer-songwriter Richie Furay (who co-founded Buffalo Springfield and Poco) and songwriter J. D. Souther (who co-wrote much of the Eagles' early repertoire) in the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band. The trio never quite gelled, and broke up in 1975 after two albums and internal squabbles. Hillman released two solo albums, Slippin' Away and Clear Sailin''', which included several songs co-written with Crawdaddy magazine editor Peter Knobler. One of their songs, "Step on Out," was recorded by The Oak Ridge Boys on their 1985 album and became the title cut. He was also an in-demand studio musician, playing and singing on sessions for Gene Clark, Dillard & Clark, Poco, Dan Fogelberg and others. After an early 1977 UK tour reunited him with Roger McGuinn and Gene Clark, the trio stayed together as McGuinn, Clark & Hillman for two albums (on which Hillman