The Desert Rose Band

The Desert Rose Band
Pictured from left to right Herb Pedersen, Chris Hillman and John Jorgenson
Background information
Origin	California, United States
Genres	Country, country rock
Years active	1985–1994; 2008–present
Labels	MCA, Curb
Associated acts	The Byrds Flying Burrito Brothers
Members	Chris Hillman Herb Pederson John Jorgenson Bill Bryson
Past members	JayDee Maness Steve Duncan Tom Brumley Jeff Ross Tim Grogan

The Desert Rose Band is a US country rock band from California founded by Chris Hillman (formerly of the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers) along with Herb Pedersen and John Jorgenson in 1985. Rounding out the original lineup were Bill Bryson on bass guitar, Jay Dee Maness on pedal steel guitar, and Steve Duncan on drums. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band charted several hit singles on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts until disbanding in February 1994.

Formation

The Desert Rose Band was formed in 1985 by frontman Chris Hillman, formerly a member of The Byrds, and co-founder, along with the late Gram Parsons of the country-rock band The Flying Burrito Brothers. Additional members included John Jorgenson, who was mainly responsible for the instrumental arrangements of the songs; Herb Pedersen for the vocal arrangements. Herb sang the high tenor part above Chris' tenor and each Desert Rose Band album featured Herb on one lead vocal. Drummer Steve Duncan and bassist Bill Bryson provided background vocals. Pedal steel player Jay Dee Maness rounded out the group.

Career

1987-1988: The Desert Rose Band

Their eponymous debut album was issued in 1987 on MCA/Curb. It contained their first hit "Ashes of Love" which was a Johnnie & Jack song from the early 1950s. It was the second time Hillman and Pedersen recorded "Ashes of Love," the first being on Hillman's just prior album Desert Rose on the Sugar Hill label. The Desert Rose Band's debut also featured a remake of Chris Hillman's "Time Between" which he previously recorded as a member of the Byrds, as well as the band's first chart-topper "He's Back and I'm Blue".

1988-1989: Running

Their second album Running (1988) featured the John Hiatt-penned hit "She Don't Love Nobody", "Running", and a remake of Buck Owens's "Hello Trouble".

1989-1990: Pages of Life and Jay Dee Maness departure

The third album Pages of Life featured a remake of "Desert Rose" as well as a remake of Pedersen's folk song about his daughter "Our Baby's Gone" which was originally recorded on his 1976 album Southwest. Jay Dee Maness left the band in 1990 and was replaced on pedal steel guitar by Tom Brumley whom Jay Dee replaced in the Buckaroos. Jay Dee Maness would again play with Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen on their post Desert Rose Band duo albums Bakersfield Bound and Way Out West.

1991-1993: True Love and Life Goes On

The fourth album, True Love, was released in 1991. It was followed by 1993's Life Goes On, released only in Europe. Several prominent country and bluegrass musicians made guest appearances on Life Goes On including Sam Bush on fiddle, Tony Rice and Larry Park (of Boy Howdy) on guitar, and Al Perkins on dobro. Before the release of this final studio album, was the 1993 compilation Traditional.

Post-Desert Rose Band

John Jorgenson and Steve Duncan left the band in 1991. Jorgenson would go on to form the Hellecasters with Will Ray and Jerry Donahue; Duncan would join the Hellecasters as well. John Jorgenson is currently playing gypsy jazz with his John Jorgenson Quintette. Chris and Herb recorded an acoustic album called The Other Side in 2005. They continue to tour as an acoustic duo. Former Buck Owens steel player Tom Brumley played with Joey Riley's band in Branson, Missouri. He died on 3 February 2009.

2008-Present reunion

Chris Hillman, Herb Pedersen, JayDee Maness, John Jorgenson, Bill Bryson, and Steve Duncan performed their first reunion concert on August 27, 2008, at the Belly Up in Solana Beach, CA. Before this date Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen were, as a duo, joined by John Jorgenson on 2 May 2008 for a small DRB set. The full lineup is the best known and included all of the original members present on the hit albums and singles from the 1980s. At this show in Nashville, Hillman stated that it was the first time that they had played together in 19 years. They went through a string of DRB hits, but were unable to play "He's Back & I'm Blue" because Hillman had forgotten the words. This sold-out show prompted Hillman and the band to play a handful of other reunion shows at clubs and music festivals throughout the U.S. Several of the reunion shows were to be recorded for inclusion on an upcoming live album. This would be the only official live album released by the Desert Rose Band. However, the project was later delayed and pushed back until further notice.

As a result of their reunion, the Desert Rose Band continue to perform live dates around the world.

Takamine 50th Anniversary

In January 2012, the Desert Rose Band performed at the 50th Anniversary celebration for Takamine guitars. Jorgenson, Hillman and Pedersen each played Takamine guitars. The concert was professionally filmed and can be seen on the official Takamine YouTube channel.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Music videos

Notes

• A^ "Summer Wind" reached number 12 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks before the chart archive stops.^[3]

References

• Humphrey, Mark. Paul Kingsbury, ed. The Encyclopedia of Country Music. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 143–4. ISBN 0-19-511671-2. 

External links

• CMT.com profile
• chrishillman.com
• herbpedersen.com
• johnjorgenson.com
• drb-fans.com