Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a
folk rock
Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...
supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to:
* Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields
* Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry
* Supergroup ...
made up of American singer-songwriters
David Crosby
David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...
and
Stephen Stills
Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. As both a solo act and member of two successful bands, Stills has com ...
and English singer-songwriter
Graham Nash
Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, photographer, and activist. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and the supergroups Crosby, Stills ...
. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
as a fourth member, they are called Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY). They are noted for their lasting influence on
American music and
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
, and for their intricate vocal harmonies, often tumultuous interpersonal relationships, and political activism.
CSN formed in 1968 shortly after Crosby, Stills and Nash performed together informally in July of that year, discovering they harmonized well. Crosby had been asked to leave
the Byrds
The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...
in late 1967, and Stills' band
Buffalo Springfield
Buffalo Springfield was a rock band formed in Los Angeles by Canadian musicians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin and American musicians Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely known for the song "For What It's Worth", rele ...
had broken up in early 1968; Nash left his band
the Hollies
The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke (singer), Allan Clarke and Graham ...
in December, and by early 1969 the trio had signed a recording contract with
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
. Their first album, ''
Crosby, Stills & Nash
Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member ...
'', was released in May 1969, from which came two
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
hits, "
Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" (No. 21) and "
Marrakesh Express
"Marrakesh Express" is a song written by Graham Nash and performed by the band Crosby, Stills and Nash (CSN). It was first released in May 1969 on the self-titled album, ''Crosby, Stills and Nash'', and released on a 45-RPM single in July of the ...
" (No. 28). In order to tour the album, the trio hired drummer
Dallas Taylor and session bassist
Greg Reeves
Gregory Allen Reeves (born ) is an American bass guitarist. He is best known for playing bass on Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's album ''Déjà Vu'' (1970).
Early life
Reeves grew up in Warren, Ohio, and graduated from Warren Western Reserve Hi ...
, though they still needed a keyboardist;
Ahmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegun (, Turkish spelling: Ahmet Ertegün; ; – December 14, 2006) was a Turkish-American businessman, songwriter, record executive and philanthropist.
Ertegun was the co-founder and president of Atlantic Records. He discovered and ch ...
suggested
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
, who had played with Stills in Buffalo Springfield, and after some initial reluctance, the trio agreed, signing him on as a full member. The band, now named Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, started their tour, and played their second gig at the
Woodstock
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
festival in the early morning hours of August 18, 1969. The first album with Young, ''
Déjà Vu
''Déjà vu'' ( , ; "already seen") is a French loanword for the phenomenon of feeling as though one has lived through the present situation before.Schnider, Armin. (2008). ''The Confabulating Mind: How the Brain Creates Reality''. Oxford Univer ...
'', reached number one in several international charts in 1970, and remains their best selling album, going on to sell over 8 million copies with three hit singles: "
Woodstock
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
", "
Teach Your Children
"Teach Your Children" is a song written by Graham Nash in 1968 when he was a member of the Hollies. Although it was never recorded by that group in a studio, the Hollies did record it live in 1983. The song first appeared on the album ''Déjà Vu ...
", and "
Our House". The group's second tour, which produced the live double album ''
4 Way Street
''4 Way Street'' is the third album by Crosby, Stills & Nash, their second as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and their first live album. It was originally released as Atlantic Records SD-2-902, shipping as a gold record and peaking at No. 1 on the ...
'' (1971), was fraught with arguments between Young and Taylor, which resulted in Taylor being replaced by
John Barbata
John Barbata (born April 1, 1945) is an American drummer who was active especially in pop and rock bands in the 1960s and 1970s, both as a band member and as a session drummer. Barbata has served as the drummer for The Turtles, Crosby, Stills, ...
, and tensions with Stills, which resulted in his being temporarily dismissed from the band. At the end of the tour the band split up. The group have since reunited several times, sometimes with and sometimes without Young, and have released eight studio and four live albums.
Crosby, Stills & Nash were inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
and all three members were also inducted for their work in other groups: Crosby for
the Byrds
The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...
; Stills for
Buffalo Springfield
Buffalo Springfield was a rock band formed in Los Angeles by Canadian musicians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin and American musicians Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely known for the song "For What It's Worth", rele ...
; and Nash for
the Hollies
The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke (singer), Allan Clarke and Graham ...
. Neil Young has also been inducted as a solo artist and as a member of Buffalo Springfield but not as a member of CSN. They have not made a group studio album since 1999's ''
Looking Forward
''Looking Forward'' is the third and final studio album by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and their fifth, overall. It is the fourteenth and final album when conflated with releases by the trio of Crosby, Stills & Nash. It was released on Reprise ...
'', and have been inactive as a performing unit since the end of 2015. Whether or not this break is permanent remains to be seen, as the group has often been inactive for years at a time.
History
CSN formation and debut album: July 1968 – May 1969
Prior to the formation of CSN, each member of the band had belonged to another prominent group. David Crosby played guitar, sang and wrote songs with
the Byrds
The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...
; Stephen Stills had been a guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist and songwriter in the band
Buffalo Springfield
Buffalo Springfield was a rock band formed in Los Angeles by Canadian musicians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin and American musicians Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely known for the song "For What It's Worth", rele ...
(which also featured Neil Young); and Graham Nash had been a guitarist, singer and songwriter with
The Hollies
The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke (singer), Allan Clarke and Graham ...
.
Crosby had been sacked from the Byrds in October 1967 due to disagreements over his songwriting. At the
Monterey Pop Festival
The Monterey International Pop Festival was a three-day music festival held June 16 to 18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix ...
, Crosby had filled in for Neil Young (who quit the band before the gig) for Buffalo Springfield. By early 1968, Buffalo Springfield had disintegrated, and, after aiding in putting together the band's final album, ''
Last Time Around
''Last Time Around'' is the third and final studio album by the Canadian-American folk rock band Buffalo Springfield, released in July 1968. The line-up at the time officially consisted of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay, Dewey Martin, ...
'', Stills was without a band. Stills and Crosby began meeting informally and jamming. The result of one encounter in Florida on Crosby's
schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
was the song "
Wooden Ships", composed in collaboration with another guest,
Paul Kantner
Paul Lorin Kantner (March 17, 1941 – January 28, 2016) was an American rock musician. He is best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist, and vocalist of Jefferson Airplane, a leading psychedelic rock band of the counterculture era. He cont ...
of
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...
. Graham Nash had been introduced to Crosby when the Byrds had toured the United Kingdom in 1966, and when the Hollies ventured to California in 1968, Nash resumed his acquaintance with him. Nash met Stills at a party at
Peter Tork
Peter Halsten Thorkelson (February 13, 1942 – February 21, 2019), better known by his stage name Peter Tork, was an American musician and actor. He was best known as the keyboardist and bass guitarist of the Monkees and a co-star of the TV ...
's house in Laurel Canyon. He was captivated by Stills "banging the shit out of" a piano in a "
Brazilian, and
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, and
boogie woogie
Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pia ...
, and rock and roll" style. In July 1968, over dinner at a party at another Laurel Canyon house (the home of either
Joni Mitchell
Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...
or
Cass Elliot
Ellen Naomi Cohen (September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), known professionally as Mama Cass and later on as Cass Elliot, was an American singer and voice actress. She was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the Papas. After the group brok ...
, accounts by the three members differ), Nash invited Stills and Crosby to perform a Stills composition, "You Don't Have to Cry". They did so twice, after which Nash had learned the lyrics and improvised a new harmony part on a third rendition. The vocals gelled, and the three realized that they had a very good vocal chemistry. While singing the third time, they broke out in laughter. The Byrds, the Buffalo Springfield, and the Hollies had been harmony bands, with Nash later saying in a 2014 interview, "We knew what we were doing," referring to the success of each of the individual bands. He continued, "Whatever sound Crosby, Stills, and Nash has was born in 30 seconds. That's how long it took us to harmonize."
Creatively frustrated with the Hollies, Nash decided to quit the band in December 1968 and flew to Los Angeles two days later. The trio traveled to London in early 1969 to rehearse for what turned out to be an unsuccessful audition with
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
'
Apple Records
Apple Records is a record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mar ...
. However, back in California,
Ahmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegun (, Turkish spelling: Ahmet Ertegün; ; – December 14, 2006) was a Turkish-American businessman, songwriter, record executive and philanthropist.
Ertegun was the co-founder and president of Atlantic Records. He discovered and ch ...
, who had been a fan of Buffalo Springfield and was disappointed by that band's demise, signed them to
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
. From the outset, given their previous experiences, the trio decided not to be locked into a group structure. They used their surnames as identification to ensure independence and a guarantee that the band could not continue without one of them, unlike both the Byrds and the Hollies. They picked up a management team in
Elliot Roberts and
David Geffen
David Lawrence Geffen (born February 21, 1943) is an American business magnate, producer and film studio executive. He co-created Asylum Records in 1971 with Elliot Roberts, Geffen Records in 1980, DGC Records in 1990, and DreamWorks SKG in 199 ...
, who got them signed to Atlantic and helped to gain clout for the group in the industry. Roberts kept the band focused and dealt with egos, while Geffen handled the business deals, since, in Crosby's words, they needed a "shark" and Geffen was it.
Stills was already signed to Atlantic Records through his Buffalo Springfield contract. Crosby had been released from his Byrds deal with Columbia, as he was considered to be unimportant and too difficult to work with. Nash, however, was still signed to
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America
Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
through The Hollies. Ertegun worked out a deal with
Clive Davis
Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000.
From 1967 to 1 ...
to essentially trade Nash to Atlantic in exchange for
Richie Furay
Paul Richard Furay (born May 9, 1944) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member (with Buffalo Springfield). He is best known for forming the bands Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Bruc ...
(who was also signed to Atlantic by virtue of his membership in Buffalo Springfield) and
Poco
Poco was an American country rock band originally formed in 1968 after the demise of Buffalo Springfield. Guitarists Richie Furay and Jim Messina, former members of Buffalo Springfield, were joined by multi-instrumentalist Rusty Young, bassi ...
, his new band.
The trio's first album, ''
Crosby, Stills & Nash
Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member ...
'', was released in May 1969. The eponymously titled album was a major hit in the United States, peaking at No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' album chart during a 107-week stay that spawned two
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
hits ("
Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"
21and "
Marrakesh Express
"Marrakesh Express" is a song written by Graham Nash and performed by the band Crosby, Stills and Nash (CSN). It was first released in May 1969 on the self-titled album, ''Crosby, Stills and Nash'', and released on a 45-RPM single in July of the ...
"
28 and significant airplay on
FM radio
FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM). Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is cap ...
. The album ultimately earned a RIAA
triple platinum
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
certification in 1999 and
quadruple platinum certification in 2001. With the exceptions of drummer
Dallas Taylor and a handful of rhythm and acoustic guitar parts from Crosby and Nash, Stills (accorded the moniker "Captain Many Hands" by his bandmates) handled most of the instrumentation (including every lead guitar, bass and keyboard part) on the album, which left the band in need of additional personnel to be able to tour, a necessity given the debut album's commercial impact.
CSNY, Déjà Vu to 4 Way Street: August 1969 – April 1971
Retaining Taylor, the band tried initially to hire a keyboard player. Stills initially approached virtuoso multi-instrumentalist
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...
, who was already occupied with the newly formed group
Blind Faith
Blind Faith were an English supergroup featuring Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Ric Grech. They were eagerly anticipated by the music press following on the success of each of the member's former bands, including Clapton a ...
. Ertegun suggested former Buffalo Springfield member Neil Young, also managed by Elliot Roberts, as a fairly obvious choice; though principally a guitarist, Young was a proficient keyboardist and could alternate on the instrument with Stills and Nash in a live context. Stills and Nash initially held reservations; Stills because of his history with Young in Buffalo Springfield, and Nash because of his personal unfamiliarity with Young. But after several meetings, the trio expanded to a quartet with Young a full partner. The terms of the contract allowed Young full freedom to maintain a parallel career with his new band,
Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse ( lkt, Tȟašúŋke Witkó, italic=no, , ; 1840 – September 5, 1877) was a Lakota war leader of the Oglala band in the 19th century. He took up arms against the United States federal government to fight against encroachment by wh ...
.
They initially completed the rhythm section with former Buffalo Springfield bassist
Bruce Palmer
Bruce Palmer (September 9, 1946 – October 1, 2004) was a Canadian musician best known as the bassist in the seminal Canadian-American folk rock band Buffalo Springfield, who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
Early y ...
. However, Palmer was let go due to his persistent personal problems following rehearsals at the
Cafe au Go Go
The Cafe Au Go Go was a Greenwich Village night club located in the basement of the New Andy Warhol Garrick Theatre building in the late 1960s, and located at 152 Bleecker Street in Manhattan, New York City. The club featured many musical groups, ...
in New York City's
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
; according to Crosby, "Bruce Palmer was into
another instrument and his head was not where it should have been."
[Zimmer and Diltz, p. 94] Teenaged
Motown
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...
session bassist
Greg Reeves
Gregory Allen Reeves (born ) is an American bass guitarist. He is best known for playing bass on Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's album ''Déjà Vu'' (1970).
Early life
Reeves grew up in Warren, Ohio, and graduated from Warren Western Reserve Hi ...
joined in Palmer's place at the recommendation of
Rick James
James Ambrose Johnson Jr. (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004), better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in ...
, a friend and former bandmate of Neil Young.
With Young on board, the restructured group embarked on a four-leg, 39-date tour that ended with three European concerts in January 1970. Their first major public gig was on August 16, 1969, at the
Auditorium Theatre
The Auditorium Theatre is a music and performance venue located inside the Auditorium Building at 50 Ida B. Wells Drive in Chicago, Illinois. Inspired by the Richardsonian Romanesque Style of architect Henry Hobson Richardson, the building was d ...
in Chicago, with
Joni Mitchell
Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...
as their opening act. They mentioned they were going to someplace called
Woodstock
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
the next day, but that they had no idea where that was. Their one-hour show at the
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
in the early morning of August 18, 1969, was a
baptism by fire
The phrase baptism by fire or baptism of fire is a Christian theological concept originating from the words of John the Baptist in Matthew 3:11.
It also has related meanings in military history and popular culture.
Christianity
The term ''bapti ...
. The crowd of industry friends looking on from offstage was intimidating and prompted Stills to say, "This is the second time we've ever played in front of people, man. We're scared shitless." Their appearance at the festival and in the subsequent movie ''
Woodstock
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
,'' along with recording the Joni Mitchell
song memorializing Woodstock, boosted the visibility of the quartet. CSNY appeared at other prominent festivals that year. Footage from two performances from the
Big Sur Folk Festival
The Big Sur Folk Festival, held from 1964 to 1971 in California, was an informal gathering of prominent and emerging folk artists from across the United States. Nancy Jane Carlen (1941-2013) was working at the Esalen Institute when Joan Baez was ...
(held on the grounds of the
Esalen Institute
The Esalen Institute, commonly called Esalen, is a non-profit American retreat center and intentional community in Big Sur, California, which focuses on humanistic alternative education. The institute played a key role in the Human Potential ...
on September 13–14, 1969) appears in the movie ''
Celebration at Big Sur''. They also appeared at the violence-plagued
Altamont Free Concert
The Altamont Speedway Free Festival was a counterculture rock concert in the United States, held on Saturday, December 6, 1969, at the Altamont Speedway outside of Livermore, California. Approximately 300,000 attended the concert, and some a ...
on December 6, 1969, alongside
Santana
Santana may refer to:
Transportation
* Volkswagen Santana, an automobile
* Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles
* Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer
Boats
* Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...
,
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...
,
The Flying Burrito Brothers
The Flying Burrito Brothers are an American country rock band, best known for their influential 1969 debut album, ''The Gilded Palace of Sin''. Although the group is perhaps best known for its connection to band founders Gram Parsons and Chris ...
and the headlining
Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
. During Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's set, Stills was reported to be repeatedly stabbed in the leg by a "stoned-out" Hells Angel, with a sharpened bicycle spoke. At the band's request, their performance was not included in the subsequent film ''
Gimme Shelter
"Gimme Shelter" is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones. Released as the opening track from band's 1969 album ''Let It Bleed''. The song covers topics of war, murder, rape and fear. It features prominent guest vocals by American singe ...
'' (1970).
Great anticipation had built for the expanded supergroup and their first album with Young, ''
Déjà Vu
''Déjà vu'' ( , ; "already seen") is a French loanword for the phenomenon of feeling as though one has lived through the present situation before.Schnider, Armin. (2008). ''The Confabulating Mind: How the Brain Creates Reality''. Oxford Univer ...
'', which arrived in stores in March 1970. It topped the charts during a 97-week stay in the United States and generated three hit singles, including the Stills-sung cover of Mitchell's "
Woodstock
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
"
11and both of Nash's contributions ("
Teach Your Children
"Teach Your Children" is a song written by Graham Nash in 1968 when he was a member of the Hollies. Although it was never recorded by that group in a studio, the Hollies did record it live in 1983. The song first appeared on the album ''Déjà Vu ...
"
16and "
Our House"
30. Certified
septuple platinum by
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
, the album's domestic sales currently sit at over 8 million copies; as of 2017, it remains the highest-selling album of each member's career.
''Déjà Vu'' was also the first release on the Atlantic Records SD-7200 "superstar" line, created by the label for its highest-profile artists; subsequent solo albums by Crosby, Stills, and Nash were the next releases in this series.
In consultation with other band members, Stills fired Reeves from the group shortly before the beginning of their second American tour in April 1970 "because
esuddenly decided he was an
Apache
The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...
witch doctor
A witch doctor (also spelled witch-doctor) was originally a type of healer who treated ailments believed to be caused by witchcraft. The term is now more commonly used to refer to healers, particularly in regions which use traditional healing ...
."
[''Crosby, Stills & Nash: The Authorized Biography''. Zimmer & Diltz, pp. 124.] He further opined that "
eevesfreaked too much on the bass and no one could keep up because
edid not play one rhythm the same… he could play bass imaginatively, but he has to be predictable as well," while "Greg also wanted to sing some of his songs on the CSN&Y show, which I thought was ludicrous, only because the songs weren't great. We'll sing any song if it's great, but not just because it happens to be written by our bass player."
He was replaced by
Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuels Calvin may refer to:
Names
* Calvin (given name)
** Particularly Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States
* Calvin (surname)
** Particularly John Calvin, theologian
Places
In the United States
* Calvin, Arkansas, a hamlet
* Calvin ...
, a homeless West Indian musician recently discovered by Stills at
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
' London studios. Shortly thereafter, Taylor (who frequently clashed with Young over the band's tempos during the first tour and ''Déjà Vu'' sessions) was also dismissed when Young threatened to leave the group following the first performance of the tour at the
Denver Coliseum
Denver Coliseum is an indoor arena, owned by thCity and County of Denver operated by itsDenver Arts & Venuesand located in Denver, Colorado. The arena holds 10,200 people and was built from 1949 to 1951. The coliseum is located in Denver's Elyria ...
on May 12, 1970. Notwithstanding these previous tensions, Taylor later asserted that his dismissal stemmed from a flirtation with Young's first wife (Topanga Canyon restaurateur Susan Acevedo) amid renewed conflict between Stills and Young in the aftermath of Reeves' firing. Shortly thereafter, drummer
John Barbata
John Barbata (born April 1, 1945) is an American drummer who was active especially in pop and rock bands in the 1960s and 1970s, both as a band member and as a session drummer. Barbata has served as the drummer for The Turtles, Crosby, Stills, ...
(formerly of
The Turtles
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
) was hired for the remainder of the tour and associated recordings.
A week before the Denver performance, Young and Crosby were staying at a house near
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
when reports of the
Kent State shootings
The Kent State shootings, also known as the May 4 massacre and the Kent State massacre,"These would be the first of many probes into what soon became known as the Kent State Massacre. Like the Boston Massacre almost exactly two hundred years bef ...
arrived, inspiring Young to write the protest song "
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
". Recorded and rush-released weeks later with the new rhythm section, it peaked at No. 14 in August 1970, providing another American
Top 20
A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...
hit for the group. Their previously recorded song "
Teach Your Children
"Teach Your Children" is a song written by Graham Nash in 1968 when he was a member of the Hollies. Although it was never recorded by that group in a studio, the Hollies did record it live in 1983. The song first appeared on the album ''Déjà Vu ...
" was still climbing up the billboards, yet the group insisted it be rushed out and released. Crosby later stated in an interview that his callbacks "how many more?" in the final stages of the song was ad-libbed, bringing out his pure frustration.
As the 23-show tour progressed, the tenuous nature of the partnership was strained by Stills' alcohol and cocaine abuse and perceived
megalomania, culminating in an extended solo set not countenanced by the other band members at the
Fillmore East
The Fillmore East was rock promoter Bill Graham's rock venue on Second Avenue near East 6th Street in the (at the time) Lower East Side neighborhood, now called the East Village neighborhood of the borough of Manhattan of New York City. I ...
, when he was informed that
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
was in the audience. In this turbulent atmosphere, Crosby, Nash and Young decided to fire Stills during a two-night return engagement at Chicago's Auditorium Theatre in July 1970. Following his reinstatement, the tour ended as scheduled in
Bloomington, Minnesota
Bloomington is a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, on the north bank of the Minnesota River, above its confluence with the Mississippi River, south of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 89,987, ma ...
, on July 9, 1970; however, the group broke up immediately thereafter. Concert recordings from that tour assembled by Nash produced the 1971 double album ''
4 Way Street
''4 Way Street'' is the third album by Crosby, Stills & Nash, their second as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and their first live album. It was originally released as Atlantic Records SD-2-902, shipping as a gold record and peaking at No. 1 on the ...
'', which also topped the charts during a 42-week stay. Although they continued to collaborate in various and largely ephemeral permutations, the four members did not come back together in earnest until their 1974 reunion tour.
Individual activity
Between September 1970 and May 1971, each of the quartet released high-profile solo albums: Young's ''
After the Gold Rush
''After the Gold Rush'' is the third studio album by the Canadian-American musician Neil Young, released in September 1970 on Reprise Records, catalogue number RS 6383. It is one of four high-profile albums (all charting within the top fifteen) ...
'' in September (which peaked at No. 8 and included his first Top 40 solo hit, "Only Love Can Break Your Heart"
33; Stills'
eponymous debut in November; Crosby's ''
If I Could Only Remember My Name
''If I Could Only Remember My Name'' is the debut solo album by American singer-songwriter David Crosby, released in February 1971 on Atlantic Records. Guests on the album include Jerry Garcia, Graham Nash, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and other p ...
'' in February, and Nash's ''
Songs for Beginners
''Songs for Beginners'' is the debut solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. Released in May 1971, it was one of four high-profile albums (all charting within the top fifteen) released by each member of Crosby, Stills, Nash ...
'' in May. Although all four solo LPs placed in the Top 15 on the
''Billboard'' 200, Stills' entry (including two Top 40 hits, "Love the One You're With"
14and "Sit Yourself Down"
37 peaked the highest at No. 3. Stills was the first to release a second post-CSNY solo album, 1971's ''
Stephen Stills 2'', which included two minor hits ("Change Partners"
43 "Marianne"
42 and peaked at No. 8. He supported this with a solo tour of major arenas (such as
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
and the
L.A. Forum
Kia Forum (formerly The Forum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Inglewood, California, United States, adjacent to Los Angeles. Located between West Manchester Boulevard, across Pincay Drive and Kareem Court, it is north of SoFi Stadium and ...
) in the summer of 1971 with Dallas Taylor, Fuzzy Samuels, and
the Memphis Horns
The Memphis Horns were an American horn section, made famous by their many appearances on Stax Records. The duo consisted of Wayne Jackson (November 24, 1941 – June 21, 2016) on trumpet and Andrew Love (November 21, 1941 - April 12, 2012) on ...
. In the fall of 1971, Crosby and Nash embarked on a successful theater tour accompanied only by their acoustic guitars and a piano, as captured on the 1998 archival release ''
Another Stoney Evening
''Another Stoney Evening'' is the sixth album by the duo of David Crosby and Graham Nash, issued in 1998 on Grateful Dead Records, catalog GDCD 4057. It had been recorded at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California more than 2 ...
''.
1972 proved to be another fruitful year for all the band members in their solo or duo efforts. Young achieved solo superstardom with the chart-topping ''
Harvest
Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...
'' and two Top 40 singles, the #1 hit "
Heart of Gold" and "
Old Man" (#31). Stills joined with former
Byrd Byrd commonly refers to:
* William Byrd (c. 1540 – 1623), an English composer of the Renaissance
* Richard E. Byrd (1888–1957), an American naval officer and explorer
Byrd or Byrds may also refer to:
Other people
* Byrd (surname), includin ...
Chris Hillman
Christopher Hillman (born December 4, 1944) is an American musician. He was the original bassist of and one of the original members of the Byrds, which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby and Michael Clarke.
With frequent ...
to form the band
Manassas, releasing a self-titled double album; although it did not generate any significant hits, counting the three CSN/CSNY records, ''
Manassas'' became Stills' sixth Top Ten album in a row, peaking at No. 4 and being certified gold in the US a month after release. Nash and Young released Young's "
War Song
A war song is a musical composition that relates to war, or a society's attitudes towards war. They may be pro-war, anti-war, or simply a description of everyday life during war times.
It is possible to classify these songs by historical confl ...
" as a joint single to support
George McGovern
George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 pres ...
's presidential campaign; despite their intentions, the single failed to make a serious impression. Meanwhile, Nash and Crosby's touring was so successful and pleasant for them that they recorded and released their first album as a duo, ''
Graham Nash David Crosby
''Graham Nash David Crosby'' is the first album by the partnership of David Crosby and Graham Nash, released on Atlantic Records in 1972, catalog SD 7220. It peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and a single taken from the album, " ...
'', which eclipsed their recent solo efforts with a Top 40 hit (Nash's "
Immigration Man
"Immigration Man" is a song written by Graham Nash and recorded by David Crosby and Graham Nash, released as a single in March 1972. It was the lead single for the duo's debut album, ''Graham Nash David Crosby''. It peaked at No. 36 on the ''Bil ...
"
36, peaking at No. 4 and being certified gold in the US.
The group members fared less well in 1973. Young recorded two dark albums. The first, ''
Time Fades Away
''Time Fades Away'' is a 1973 live album by Canadian-American musician Neil Young. Consisting of previously unreleased material, it was recorded with the Stray Gators on the support tour following 1972's highly successful album '' Harvest''. Due ...
'', chronicled his winter tour that followed the death of his Crazy Horse bandmate
Danny Whitten
Danny Ray Whitten (May 8, 1943 – November 18, 1972) was an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with Neil Young's backing band Crazy Horse, and for the song "I Don't Want to Talk About It", a hit for Rod Stewart and Every ...
from an alcohol/
Valium
Diazepam, first marketed as Valium, is a medicine of the benzodiazepine family that acts as an anxiolytic. It is commonly used to treat a range of conditions, including anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, muscle spasms, insomnia, a ...
overdose, a tour Crosby and Nash joined mid-way. A critical success despite his personal misgivings, it attained a RIAA gold certification before stalling at No. 22. The second album, ''
Tonight's the Night'', inspired by the death of CSNY roadie Bruce Berry, was so dark that
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels.
Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...
refused to release it until 1975. Although it is widely regarded as his
magnum opus
A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...
, it only reached No. 25. Crosby spearheaded and produced a
reunion album of the original Byrds quintet which was a notable critical failure upon its release in March 1973. The most commercially successful Byrds album since 1966, it sold only marginally well by CSNY's standards, peaking at No. 20. Stills released a
second Manassas record in April 1973 and Nash recorded his second solo album
Wild Tales (released in January 1974); again, neither disc sold to expectations, peaking respectively at No. 26 and No. 34. Apart from ''Time Fades Away'', none of the CSNY-related albums in 1973 were certified gold in the US, a first for the band.
CSNY, reconciliation and further estrangement: 1973–1976
In June and July 1973, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young met at Young's ranch in California and a recording studio in Hawaii for a working vacation, ostensibly to record a new album, tentatively titled ''Human Highway''. However, the bickering that had sunk the band in 1970 quickly resumed, scattering the group again. After spontaneously reconvening for an acoustic set at a Manassas concert at San Francisco's
Winterland Ballroom
Winterland Ballroom (more commonly known as Winterland Arena or simply Winterland) was an ice skating rink and music venue in San Francisco, California. The arena was located at the corner of Post Street and Steiner Street. It was converted for ...
in October, the quartet failed once again to commit to a reunion; however, three days later, the CSN configuration performed an acoustic set at another Manassas Winterland show. Over the next few months, Roberts finally prevailed upon the group to realize their commercial potential, culminating in Stills announcing a CSNY summer tour and the projected studio album at a solo concert in March 1974. The quartet
reassembled in earnest that summer, with sidemen
Tim Drummond
Timothy Lee Drummond (20 April 1940 – 10 January 2015) was an American musician from Canton, Illinois. Drummond's primary instrument was bass guitar and he toured and recorded with many notable artists, including Conway Twitty, Bob Dylan, James ...
on bass,
Russ Kunkel
Russell Kunkel (born September 27, 1948) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician with many popular artists, including Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Buffett, Harry Chapin, Rita Coolidge, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Da ...
on drums, and
Joe Lala
Joseph Anthony Lala (November 3, 1947 – March 18, 2014) was an American musician and actor. In 1966, he co-founded the rock band Blues Image.
Life and career
Lala was born in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, to parents from Contessa Entellina (an e ...
on percussion, to rehearse at Young's ranch near
Woodside, California
Woodside is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. Woodside is among the wealthiest communities in the United States, home to many technology billionaires and investment manager ...
before embarking on the two-month, 31-date tour.
The tour was directed by San Francisco-based impresario
Bill Graham. Opening acts consisted of well known performers, including Joni Mitchell (who occasionally sat in during the acoustic and semi-acoustic interlude that bridged two electric sets),
Santana
Santana may refer to:
Transportation
* Volkswagen Santana, an automobile
* Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles
* Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer
Boats
* Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...
,
The Band,
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...
and
Jesse Colin Young
Perry Miller (born November 22, 1941), known professionally as Jesse Colin Young, is an American singer and songwriter. He was a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s group the The Youngbloods, Youngbloods. After their dissolution in 1972 ...
. The band typically played up to three and a half hours of old favorites and new songs. Crosby, in particular, was disillusioned by the bombastic nature of the performances, which he collectively dubbed the "Doom Tour": "We had good monitors, but Stephen and Neil were punching well over 100 db from their half stacks. Graham and I simply couldn't do the harmonies when we couldn't hear ourselves. Also, when you play a stadium you almost have to do a
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
where you wave a sash around and prance about. I can't quite do that. We did what we could, but I don't know how many people in the audience really got it. A lot of them were there for the tunes. When we'd start them, they'd hear the records."
Graham Nash's unreleased film of the
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
show highlights the scope and quality of these performances. They opted at the time not to release any recordings of the tour for an album, with Nash maintaining that "
hemain feeling at the end of the tour was that we weren't as good as we could have been."
(Decades later, to mark the tour's 40th anniversary in 2014, Nash and archivist
Joel Bernstein
Joel Bernstein is a photographer, guitarist, and record producer based in Oakland, California. His photographs have appeared as the album covers to, among others, '' After the Gold Rush'', '' 4 Way Street'', ''Rita Coolidge'', ''Wind on the Wa ...
selected songs from the five shows that had been properly recorded and released ''
CSNY 1974
''CSNY 1974'' is the nineteenth album by Crosby, Stills, & Nash, their seventh in the CSNY quartet configuration, and their fifth live album, the third as a foursome. Issued on Rhino Records in 2014, it consists of concert material recorded in 1 ...
''.)
![CSNY Norfolk Virginia Aug 27 1974](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/CSNY_Norfolk_Virginia_Aug_27_1974.jpg)
While the foursome would have the press believe that their characteristic arguments were a thing of the past, excesses typical to the era took their toll. Under the stewardship of Graham's production company, the tour was plagued by profligate spending, exemplified by a litany of pillowcases embroidered with the band's new Mitchell-designed logo and the routine chartering of helicopters and private jets in lieu of ground transportation. Nash later recalled that "the tour made just over eleven million dollars, which of course was a lot of money in those days. We all got less than a half million each. It was obvious that between Bill Graham, the promoters and a bunch of others, they all had a good time. Let's just put it that way."
According to road manager Chris O'Dell, "One time they spilled cocaine on the carpet. They just got down on the floor and sniffed it off the carpet. I just went, 'Oh my God, this is so weird.' I'd never seen anything like it. They probably don't remember that."
The relatively abstemious Nash "started taking
Percocet
Oxycodone/paracetamol, sold under the brand name Percocet among others, is a fixed-dose combination of the opioid oxycodone with paracetamol (acetaminophen), used to treat moderate to severe pain.
In 2020, it was the 69th most commonly prescri ...
and
Percodan
Oxycodone/aspirin (trade name Percodan) is a combination drug marketed by Endo Pharmaceuticals. It is a tablet containing a mixture of 325 mg (5 grains) of aspirin and 4.8355 mg of oxycodone HCl (equivalent to 4.3346 mg of oxycod ...
. I call them 'I Don't Give A Shit' pills. Someone could have said to me, 'Hey, your leg's on fire.' I would have been like, 'I don't care, man.' We were just up all night. It was insane. I wouldn't recommend it to anybody because the cocaine/
quaalude
Methaqualone is a hypnotic sedative. It was sold under the brand names Quaalude ( ) and Sopor among others, which contained 300 mg of methaqualone, and sold as a combination drug under the brand name Mandrax, which contained 250 mg met ...
ride should be in the ride of horrors in the circus."
Stills—who befuddled his colleagues by claiming to have participated in clandestine
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
missions as a member of the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
during his tenure in Buffalo Springfield—began supplementing his trademark wardrobe of football jerseys with military fatigues while performing and fraternizing with his personal manager,
Green Berets
The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army.
The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal m ...
veteran Michael John Bowen. Having embraced a promiscuous lifestyle following the death of Hinton several years earlier, Crosby was accompanied by two girlfriends (including future domestic partner Nancy Brown, who turned 18 during the tour) in lieu of Debbie Donovan, his nominal domestic partner at the time. This chagrined several employees and band members; according to Nash, "Often I would knock on his hotel door, which he kept propped open with a security jamb, and he'd be getting
blown by both of those girls, all while he was talking and doing business on the phone and rolling joints and smoking and having a drink. Crosby had incredible sexual energy. It got to be such a routine scene in his room, I'd stop by with someone and go, "Aw, fuck, he's getting blown again. Oh, dear, let's give him a minute."
Although each member performed new songs that later appeared on solo and duo studio releases, Young premiered more than a dozen songs (including several from ''
On The Beach'', which was released during the tour) in one of the most creatively fertile phases of his career. Vexed by the diminished prolificacy of the trio, he isolated himself from the group, travelling separately in an RV with his son and entourage. He later asserted to biographer
Jimmy McDonough
Jimmy McDonough is a biographer and journalist. He is best known for his biographies of Russ Meyer, Andy Milligan, Tammy Wynette, Al Green, and Neil Young. He is noted by critics for his remarkably exhaustive accounts and for his tendency to avoi ...
that "the tour was disappointing to me. I think CSN really blew it... they hadn't made an album, and they didn't have any songs. How could they just stop like that?" Atlantic Records issued the compilation ''
So Far'' to have something to promote during the tour. While Nash viewed the re-shuffling of items from only two albums and one single (typified by the exclusion of his "Marrakesh Express", a Top 40 hit) as absurd, it eventually topped the ''Billboard'' album chart in November.
Surmounting Young's interpersonal distance and new ebbs in their respective relationships with Stills, the quartet reconvened with
The Albert Brothers Ron and Howard Albert, known as the Albert Brothers, are an American record production duo best known for their work on recordings at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida, United States. Their work includes notable albums such as ''Layla and Other Ass ...
at Nash's home studio in San Francisco in November to finish the long-gestating follow-up to ''Déjà Vu''. Renewed tensions were exacerbated by the relatively incommodious basement space, prompting the group to soon relocate to the
Record Plant
The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...
in nearby
Sausalito, California
Sausalito (Spanish language, Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, California, Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, California ...
. While several songs were completed and recorded (including Young's "Human Highway"; a take of Crosby's "Homeward Through the Haze" with Crosby on piano and
Lee Sklar
Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. Sklar rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coaleced into a group in its own right, The Section. This group of musicians so fre ...
on bass; and Nash's
anti-whaling
Anti-whaling refers to actions taken by those who seek to end whaling in various forms, whether locally or globally in the pursuit of marine conservation. Such activism is often a response to specific conflicts with pro-whaling countries and orga ...
opus "Wind on the Water"), Young left once again following a tumultuous argument. As the remaining members (augmented by a variety of session musicians, including Sklar, Kunkel and
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...
drummer
Bill Kreutzmann
William Kreutzmann Jr. ( ; born May 7, 1946) is an American drummer and founding member of the rock band Grateful Dead. He played with the band for its entire thirty-year career, usually alongside fellow drummer Mickey Hart, and has continued ...
) attempted to complete the album under the CSN name, the feud between Stills and Nash resurfaced, resulting in Stills destroying the master of "Wind on the Water" with a razor blade after Crosby and Nash objected to a harmony part on Stills' "Guardian Angel". Even though Stills characterized the incident as a joke, the sessions promptly dissolved.
Shortly thereafter, Crosby and Nash signed a separate contract with
ABC Records
ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels befo ...
and began to tour regularly again, playing a more intimate array of sports arenas, outdoor festivals and theaters. During this period they produced two studio albums, ''Wind on the Water'' (No. 4) in 1975 and ''Whistling Down the Wire'' (No. 26) in 1976 (both being certified gold in the US), and the 1977 concert album ''Crosby-Nash Live''. Along with Drummond (retained from the 1974 CSNY tour), they continued to use the sidemen from the ensemble known as The Section (band), The Section from their first LP. This crack session group (wryly rechristened The Mighty Jitters by Crosby in a nod to the era's endemic cocaine use) contributed to records by myriad other Los Angeles-based artists in the seventies, such as Carole King, James Taylor, and Jackson Browne. Throughout the mid-70s, Crosby and Nash also lent their harmonies to a range of recordings, including Taylor's "Mexico", Joni Mitchell's "Free Man in Paris" and Elton John's ''Blue Moves''.
Meanwhile, Stills and Young returned to their own careers. Stills released Stills (Stephen Stills album), an eponymous album in June 1975 (No. 19), a live album in December 1975 (''Stephen Stills Live''; No. 42) and in May 1976 another studio album (''Illegal Stills''; No. 31). Young, in 1975, belatedly released ''
Tonight's the Night'' at the recommendation of Band bassist/vocalist Rick Danko (No. 25) and thence ''Zuma (album), Zuma'' (No. 25), a new album primarily recorded with Crazy Horse that also featured one song recorded by CSNY in the June 1974 sessions. None of these solo albums initially attained a RIAA certification in the United States, although ''Zuma'' was ultimately certified gold in 1997. Following the lead of Crosby and Nash, they briefly united for a one-off album and tour credited to the Stills-Young Band, ''Long May You Run'' (1976; No. 26), which was certified gold in 1977. Although the Miami-based sessions for this album briefly metamorphosed into the third attempt at a CSNY reunion album, Stills and Young wiped the vocal contributions of the other pair off the master recording, master tape when Crosby & Nash were obligated to leave the sessions to finish ''Whistling Down the Wire'' in Los Angeles. As Stills and Young embarked on a tour to promote the album in the summer of 1976, the old tensions between the pair resurfaced, exemplified by Stills' insistence that professional studio musicians back them rather than Young's preferred Crazy Horse. After a July 20, 1976, show in Columbia, South Carolina, Young's tour bus took a different direction from Stills'. Waiting at their next stop in Atlanta, Stills received a laconic telegram: "Dear Stephen, Funny how things that start spontaneously end that way. Eat a peach. Neil." Young's management claimed that he was under doctor's orders to rest and recover from an apparent throat infection, though he made up dates with Crazy Horse later in the year. Stills was contractually bound to finish the tour alone.
CSN reform: 1976–1985
Later in 1976, Stills approached Crosby and Nash during a performance at the Greek Theatre (Los Angeles), Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, setting the stage for the return of the trio.
Less than a year after reforming, Crosby, Stills & Nash released ''CSN (album), CSN''. Recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami under the aegis of Ron and Howard Albert throughout late 1976 and early 1977, the album exemplified the meticulously stylized soft rock production ethos of the epoch and contained the band's highest-charting single, Nash's "Just a Song Before I Go" (#7); Stills' "Fair Game" also peaked at #43. The album peaked at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' chart in the summer of 1977 during a 33-week stay, remaining at that position for the month of August and ultimately earning a RIAA
quadruple platinum certification behind one of the best-selling LPs of all time, Fleetwood Mac's ''Rumours (album), Rumours''. As of 2017, it remains the trio configuration's best-selling album, outselling their debut by 200,000 records.
On June 21, 1978, Crosby, Stills & Nash received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for their contributions to the music industry, located at 6666 Hollywood Boulevard.
After successful arena tours in 1977 and 1978, further work as a group was complicated by Crosby's newfound dependence on Crack cocaine, freebase cocaine. ''Earth & Sky (album), Earth & Sky'', a 1980 Nash album that failed to chart in the Top 100, was envisaged as a Crosby & Nash project (itself spawned by aborted 1978 CSN sessions) until Nash determined that Crosby was not in shape to participate after his colleague stopped a jam because his freebase pipe had fallen off of an amp and broken.
Juxtaposing recent disco-inflected material (including the Andy Gibb showcase "What's the Game" and "Can't Get No Booty", co-written with Danny Kortchmar during a lull in the 1978 CSN sessions) against more conventional acoustic and blues rock arrangements (such as the Manassas-era title track), Stills' ''Thoroughfare Gap'' stalled at No. 83 following its release in October 1978. Stills' 1979 support tour with the California Blues Band (including a performance at the historic Havana Jam) was dominated by theater bookings and largely overshadowed by such tabloid-friendly stories as a brawl with Elvis Costello (instigated by the younger singer-songwriter's use of the n-word in his deprecatory assessments of James Brown and Ray Charles) amid his brief engagement to television actress Susan St. James, reflecting his diminished critical and commercial stature. The tour's opening concerts at the Roxy Theatre (West Hollywood), Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles marked Stills' final full performances with erstwhile key collaborator Dallas Taylor, by then long addicted to heroin and cocaine. After entering recovery in 1985, Taylor worked as an interventionist and sober companion until his death in 2015.
With little recourse and a rapport that still evinced strain from the Rita Coolidge affair, Stills and Nash convened in 1980–1981 to record ''Daylight Again'' as a self-funded duo; however, Atlantic Records executives (led by Ahmet Ertegun, who seldom intervened in the band's affairs) refused to reimburse their expenses or release the LP until Crosby was reinstated. Crosby contributed "Delta" (his last original composition for several years) and a cover of Judy Henske and Craig Doerge's "Might as Well Have a Good Time" along with some additional vocals on other tracks. Despite Crosby's condition and the relatively démodé nature of the group in the wake of the ascendancy of New wave music, new wave and contemporary R&B, ''Daylight Again'' reached No. 8 in 1982 during a 41-week chart stay. The album contained two major hits, Nash's "Wasted on the Way" (#9) and Stills' "Southern Cross (Crosby, Stills and Nash song), Southern Cross" (#18); Stills' "Too Much Love to Hide" also charted at #69. While the album ultimately failed to sell as well as its predecessors in the new musical climate, it received a RIAA platinum certification in early 1983.
Although the success of ''Daylight Again'' inaugurated a new tradition of near-annual touring that persisted for over thirty years, the bottom soon fell out for Crosby, who was arrested and jailed on drug and weapons charges in Texas in May 1982. Having recorded a potential title song for the film ''WarGames'' that was never used, the band released it as a single and hastily assembled concert recordings around two studio tracks for the album ''Allies (CSN album), Allies'', their lowest-charting record to date. Crosby was sentenced to two terms, but the conviction was overturned; arrested several more times, he finally turned himself in to the authorities in December 1985. He spent eight months in prison.
CSNY again: 1988–2015
Based on a promise he made to Crosby should he clean himself up, Young agreed to rejoin the trio in the studio upon Crosby's release from prison for ''American Dream (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album), American Dream'' in 1988. Stills and Crosby (enfeebled by health problems from his fallow period that culminated in a 1994 liver transplant) were barely functioning for the making of the album, and the late eighties production completely swamped the band. It did make it to No. 16 on the ''Billboard'' chart during a 22-week stay, but the record received poor critical notices, and Young refused to support it with a CSNY tour. The band did produce a video for Young's title-song single, wherein each member played a character loosely based on certain aspects of their personalities and public image. Several years later, CSNY reunited to play the Bill Graham memorial concert ("Laughter, Love and Music") at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on November 3, 1991.
CSN recorded two more studio albums in the 1990s, ''Live It Up (CSN album), Live It Up'' (1990) and ''After the Storm (CSN album), After the Storm'' (1994); both albums sold poorly by previous standards and failed to attain RIAA certifications. A CSN (box set), box set arrived in 1991, four compact disc, discs of expected group highlights amidst unexpected better tracks from various solo projects. Owing to certain difficulties, manager Roberts, no longer with the trio but still representing Young, pulled most of Young's material earmarked for the box. Ultimately, nineteen tracks out of the seventy-seven in the set were credited to CSNY. Intended for inclusion, the 1976 CSNY version of "Human Highway" was leaked to the internet several years later before receiving an official release on the ''Neil Young Archives Volume II: 1972–1976'' box set in 2020.
In 1994, CSN collaborated with Suzy Bogguss, Alison Krauss, and Kathy Mattea to contribute "
Teach Your Children
"Teach Your Children" is a song written by Graham Nash in 1968 when he was a member of the Hollies. Although it was never recorded by that group in a studio, the Hollies did record it live in 1983. The song first appeared on the album ''Déjà Vu ...
" to the AIDS benefit album ''Red Hot + Country'' produced by the Red Hot Organization.
By the late 1990s, CSN found themselves without a record contract. They began financing recordings themselves, and in 1999 Stills invited Young to guest on a few tracks. Impressed by their gumption, Young increased his level of input, turning the album into a CSNY project, ''
Looking Forward
''Looking Forward'' is the third and final studio album by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and their fifth, overall. It is the fourteenth and final album when conflated with releases by the trio of Crosby, Stills & Nash. It was released on Reprise ...
''. The album was released at Young's behest via
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels.
Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...
in October 1999. With writing credits mostly limited to band members, the disc was better received than the previous three albums from a critical standpoint. It also fared relatively well commercially, peaking at No. 26 (the group's highest chart placement since ''American Dream'') during a 9-week stay. However, in a reflection of the shifting financial landscape of the music industry, ''Looking Forward'' was most notable for laying the groundwork for the ensuing CSNY2K Tour (2000) and the CSNY Tour of America (2002), both of which were major money-makers.
CSN were inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
in 1997; CSNY is the first band to have all its members inducted into the hall twice, although Young was inducted for his solo work (1995) and for Buffalo Springfield (1997). A year later, in 1998, CSN were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. The CSN logo that Crosby, Stills and Nash used from the mid-1970s onward was designed by actor and comedian Phil Hartman during his first career as a graphic designer.
Various compilations of the band's configurations have arrived over the years, the box set being the most comprehensive, and ''So Far'' being the most commercially successful. Individual retrospective box sets have also been released. In 2007, David Crosby's ''Voyage'' chronicled his work with various bands and as a solo artist. Graham Nash's ''Reflections'' appeared in early 2009 under the same auspices, quite near his 67th birthday. The box set for Stephen Stills, ''Carry On (Stephen Stills album), Carry On'', was released in February 2013. Compilation and oversight of these releases has largely been managed by Nash.
In 2006, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young set off on their Freedom of Speech Tour in support of ''Living with War'', a Young solo album written in response to the Iraq War. The long setlists included the bulk of the new protest album as well as material from Stills' long-delayed solo album ''Man Alive! (Stephen Stills album), Man Alive!'' and Crosby & Nash (album), recent material from Crosby and Nash. On May 16, 2006, Crosby, Stills & Nash were honored as a Broadcast Music Incorporated, BMI Icon at the 54th annual BMI Pop Awards. They were honored for their "unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers." In February 2007, CSN were forced to postpone a tour of Australia and New Zealand due to David Crosby's illness. Also in 2006, long-time manager Gerry Tolman died in a car accident.
The trio performed "Teach Your Children" on ''The Colbert Report'' on July 30, 2008, with host Stephen Colbert filling in the fourth harmony (Neil Young's portion) and wearing a Young-mocking outfit and being referred to by Nash as "Neil". In 2009, Crosby, Stills & Nash released ''Demos (CSN album), Demos'', an album made up of demo recordings of popular group and solo songs. In June 2009 Crosby, Stills and Nash performed at the Glastonbury Festival. Stephen Stills was praised for his exceptional guitar playing. Neil Young did not appear onstage with them but did perform as a solo artist. In July 2009, they headlined the 14th annual Gathering of the Vibes festival. Halfway through their set, they enthusiastically announced to the crowd that they would be back next year.
CSN convened with producer Rick Rubin to record a projected covers album (tentatively titled ''Songs We Wish We'd Written'') for Sony Music Entertainment in 2010; seven songs were completed before the dissolution of the sessions due to the increasingly acrimonious relationship between Rubin and Crosby, who perceived the former as a disruptive and autocratic figure in the creative process. By 2012, CSN had completed five self-produced re-recordings in anticipation of a potential rights dispute over the Rubin sessions with Sony.
Crosby, Stills & Nash toured the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil in 2012 and released a 2CD/DVD entitled ''CSN 2012'' on July 17, 2012. Further tours of the United States and Europe followed in 2013 and 2014.
![CSN 2010 - 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/CSN_2010_-_2.jpg)
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young performed an acoustic set at the 27th Bridge School Benefit on October 27, 2013; as of 2018, the performance is that configuration's final concert to date. ''
CSNY 1974
''CSNY 1974'' is the nineteenth album by Crosby, Stills, & Nash, their seventh in the CSNY quartet configuration, and their fifth live album, the third as a foursome. Issued on Rhino Records in 2014, it consists of concert material recorded in 1 ...
'', an anthology culled from hitherto unreleased recordings of the 1974 tour by Nash and longtime band archivist Joel Bernstein, was released by Rhino Records on July 8, 2014 to widespread critical acclaim. In a September 2014 interview with the ''Idaho Statesman'', Crosby dispelled rumors of another CSNY tour (citing Neil Young's general unwillingness and lack of financial incentive to perform with the ensemble) before characterizing Young's new partner Daryl Hannah as "a purely poisonous predator." While introducing a song during a solo performance at the Academy of Music (Philadelphia), Philadelphia Academy of Music on October 8, 2014, Young announced that "CSNY will never tour again, ever... I love those guys." Two days later, Crosby confirmed that "[Young] is very angry with me" and likened Young's remarks to "saying there are mountains in Tibet." Crosby made further comments, including that he apologized on Twitter. On May 18, 2015, Crosby apologized publicly to Hannah and Young on ''The Howard Stern Show'', saying "I'm screwed up way worse than that girl. Where do I get off criticizing her? She's making Neil happy. I love Neil and I want him happy," and "Daryl, if you're out there, I apologize. Where do I get off criticizing you? There are people I can criticize: politicians, pond scum. Not other artists that have gone through a hard life, same as me. She hasn't had it easy either."
CSN Breakup: 2016–present
Despite the unprecedented tumult between Crosby and Young, CSN embarked on a routine world tour encompassing American, European and Japanese venues in 2015, culminating in a performance of "Silent Night" at the National Christmas Tree (United States), National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at The Ellipse in Washington, D.C. on December 3, 2015. However, contrary to a previous November 2015 interview in which he stated he still hoped the band had a future, Nash announced on March 6, 2016, following his divorce from his wife of 38 years, Susan Sennett, that Crosby, Stills & Nash would never perform again because of his recent estrangement from Crosby. In the summer of 2016, Young told ''Rolling Stone'' that he wouldn't "rule out" future collaborations with the trio; according to Nash in a follow-up interview, "Well, he's right, you never know. There have been times when I've been so pissed at us all for wasting time and not getting on with the job that I wouldn't talk to any of them. But if Crosby came and played me four songs that knocked me on my ass, what the fuck am I supposed to do as a musician, no matter how pissed we are at each other?"
Young echoed these sentiments in a January 2017 interview: "I think CSNY has every chance of getting together again. I'm not against it. There's been a lot of bad things happen[ing] among us, and a lot of things have to be settled. But that's what brothers and families are all about. We'll see what happens. I'm open. I don't think I'm a major obstacle." When queried about Young and the interview on Twitter shortly thereafter, Crosby said that Young is "a hugely talented guy" and a prospective reunion would be "fine with me." In April 2017, Nash framed the potential reunion in the context of the group's tradition of political activism amid the presidency of Donald Trump: "I believe that the issues that are keeping us apart pale in comparison to the good that we can do if we get out there and start talking about what's happening. So I'd be totally up for it even though I'm not talking to David and neither is Neil. But I think that we're smart people in the end and I think we realize the good that we can do." In a May 2021 interview for ''CBS News Sunday Morning'', Nash said "when that silver thread that connects a band gets broken it's very difficult to glue the ends together". He suggested reuniting with Crosby and the others would be preferable "because of the loss of the music".
Political activism
![CSNY diromg 2006 tour](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/CSNY_diromg_2006_tour.jpg)
CSNY's music unerringly reflected the tastes and viewpoints of the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture in the late 1960s and early 1970s. With protest against the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
gearing up in 1970, the group (and Crosby in particular) made no secret of their political leanings.
As a group, they recorded one hit song in response to political events although they recorded other political songs as solo artists and in various combinations. The song, "Ohio", was written in response to the Kent State shootings, deaths of four students at Kent State University. The students were shot by Ohio National Guardsmen during an anti-war protest on the campus in May 1970.
Between "Ohio", their appearance in both the festival and movie of ''
Woodstock
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
'', and the runaway success of their two albums, the group found themselves in the position of enjoying a level of adulation far greater than experienced with their previous bands, as evidenced by the 27 Platinum certifications they received across seven albums.
The band has been continuously associated with political causes throughout its existence, the latest example being the song "Almost Gone (The Ballad of Bradley Manning)" which focuses on the length and conditions of Chelsea Manning's pre-trial confinement.
Crosby, Nash,
and Young
were all vocal in their support for 2016 United States Presidential election, 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016, Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
Influence
The collective abilities allowed CSNY to straddle all the genres of popular music eminent at the time, from country rock to confessional ballads, from acoustic guitars and voice to electric guitar, and three-part harmony. With
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
' break-up made public by April 1970, and with
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
in reclusive low-key activity since mid-1966, CSNY found itself as the adopted standard bearers for the Woodstock Nation, serving an importance in society as counterculture figureheads equaled at the time in rock and roll only by The Rolling Stones or The Who. Such was their standing in 1970 that Bill Graham referred to them as "The American Beatles". Producer Peter Fonda wanted CSN to create the soundtrack for ''Easy Rider'', but director Dennis Hopper nixed the idea.
Stills' offering, "Ohio (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song), Find the Cost of Freedom" (on the flip side of "Ohio"), was the only song known to be offered for the soundtrack.
Members
Official members
*
David Crosby
David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...
– lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar
*
Stephen Stills
Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. As both a solo act and member of two successful bands, Stills has com ...
– lead and backing vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion
*
Graham Nash
Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, photographer, and activist. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and the supergroups Crosby, Stills ...
– lead and backing vocals, keyboards, rhythm guitar
*
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
– backing and lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, keyboards, harmonica
Discography
''For individual discographies, see entries on David Crosby#Discography, David Crosby, Stephen Stills#Discography, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash#Discography, Graham Nash, and Neil Young discography and filmography, Neil Young. See also Crosby & Nash#Discography, Crosby & Nash and Long May You Run, Stills-Young Band for duo discographies.''
* 1969 ''
Crosby, Stills & Nash
Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member ...
'' (CSN)
* 1970 ''
Déjà Vu
''Déjà vu'' ( , ; "already seen") is a French loanword for the phenomenon of feeling as though one has lived through the present situation before.Schnider, Armin. (2008). ''The Confabulating Mind: How the Brain Creates Reality''. Oxford Univer ...
'' (CSNY)
* 1971 ''
4 Way Street
''4 Way Street'' is the third album by Crosby, Stills & Nash, their second as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and their first live album. It was originally released as Atlantic Records SD-2-902, shipping as a gold record and peaking at No. 1 on the ...
'' (CSNY) (live)
* 1974 ''
So Far'' (CSNY) (compilation)
* 1977 ''CSN (album), CSN'' (CSN)
* 1980 ''Replay (Crosby, Stills & Nash album), Replay'' (CSN) (compilation)
* 1982 ''Daylight Again'' (CSN)
* 1983 ''Allies (Crosby, Stills & Nash album), Allies'' (CSN) (live and studio)
* 1988 ''American Dream (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album), American Dream'' (CSNY)
* 1990 ''Live It Up (Crosby, Stills & Nash album), Live It Up'' (CSN)
* 1994 ''After the Storm (Crosby, Stills & Nash album), After the Storm'' (CSN)
* 1999 ''
Looking Forward
''Looking Forward'' is the third and final studio album by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and their fifth, overall. It is the fourteenth and final album when conflated with releases by the trio of Crosby, Stills & Nash. It was released on Reprise ...
'' (CSNY)
* 2008 ''Déjà Vu Live'' (CSNY) (live)
Tours
* Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young 1969-1970 Tours, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young 1969–1970 Tours
*
CSNY 1974
''CSNY 1974'' is the nineteenth album by Crosby, Stills, & Nash, their seventh in the CSNY quartet configuration, and their fifth live album, the third as a foursome. Issued on Rhino Records in 2014, it consists of concert material recorded in 1 ...
*CSN (album)#Tour, CSN 1977 & 1978 Tour
*Crosby, Stills & Nash 1982 and 1983 tours, CSN 1982 & 1983 Tours
*List of Crosby, Stills & Nash concert tours (1980s–90s), CSN 1980–90's Tours
*List of Crosby, Stills, Nash (& Young) concert tours (2000s–10s)
Tour personnel
References
;Sources
* Zimmer, Dave, and Diltz, Henry. ''Crosby Stills & Nash: The Authorized Biography'' (First edition), St. Martin's Press, 1984. .
* Crosby, David, and Gottlieb, Carl. ''Long Time Gone'' (First edition), Doubleday, 1988. .
* McDonough, Jimmy. ''Shakey, Neil Young's Biography'' (First edition), Random House, 2002. .
* Nash, Graham. ''Wild Tales: A Rock & Roll Life'' (First Edition), Crown Archetype, 2013. .
External links
*
Official CSN site*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young,
1968 establishments in California
American country rock groups
American political activists
American soft rock music groups
Atlantic Records artists
Folk rock groups from California
Grammy Award winners
Musical groups established in 1968
Musical groups disestablished in 2016
Rock music supergroups