"For What It's Worth (Stop, Hey What's That Sound)" (often referred to as simply "For What It's Worth") is a song written by

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 ...

. Performed by

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", relea ...

, it was recorded on December 5, 1966, released as a single on

Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the comp ...

on December 23, 1966, and peaked at No. 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the spring of 1967. It was later added to the March 1967 second pressing of their first album, ''

''. The title was added after the song was written, and does not appear in the lyrics. In 2004 ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine ranked the song at number 63 on its list of the

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

Background

Although "For What It's Worth" is often considered an anti-war song, Stephen Stills was inspired to write the song because of the Sunset Strip curfew riots in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in November 1966, a series of early

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...

-era clashes that took place between police and young people on the

Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western border with Beverly H ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

, California, the same year Buffalo Springfield had become the house band at the

Whisky a Go Go The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed "the Whisky") is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boul ...

. Local residents and businesses had become annoyed by how crowds of young people going to clubs and music venues along the Strip had caused late-night traffic congestion. In response, they lobbied Los Angeles County to pass local ordinances stopping

loitering Loitering is the act of remaining in a particular public place for a prolonged amount of time without any apparent purpose. While the laws regarding loitering have been challenged and changed over time, loitering is still illegal in various j ...

, and enforced a strict curfew on the Strip after 10 p.m. The young music fans, however, felt the new laws infringed upon their

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

. On Saturday, November 12, 1966, fliers were distributed on the Sunset Strip inviting people to join demonstrations later that day. Several of Los Angeles's rock radio stations also announced a rally outside the Pandora's Box club on the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Crescent Heights. That evening, as many as 1,000 young demonstrators, including future celebrities such as

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...

and

Peter Fonda Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor. He was the son of Henry Fonda, younger brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget Fonda. He was a prominent figure in the counterculture of the 1960s. Fond ...

(who was handcuffed by police) gathered to protest against the curfew's enforcement. Although the rallies began peacefully, trouble eventually broke out. The unrest continued the next night, and periodically throughout the rest of November and December, forcing some clubs to shut down within weeks. It was against the background of these civil disturbances that Stills recorded "For What It's Worth" on December 5, 1966. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said the single is a "throbbing, infectious protester circling 'round the current happenings in Cal."

Production

Stills said in an interview that the name of the song came about when he presented it to the record company executive

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 signed Buffalo Springfield to the Atlantic Records-owned ATCO label). Stills said "I have this song here, for what it's worth, if you want it." Another producer, Charlie Greene, claims that Stills first said the above line to him, but credits Ahmet Ertegun with giving the single the parenthetical subtitle "Stop, Hey What's That Sound" in order that the song would be more easily recognized. The song was recorded on December 5, 1966, at

Columbia Studios Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the multi ...

, Hollywood. Tom Dowd claimed he mixed the song at Atlantic's studio in New York, though this has been disputed. Dowd did take part in the production of Cher's version of the song in 1969. One of the most recognizable elements of the song is Neil Young's use of

guitar harmonic Playing a string harmonic (a flageolet) is a string instrument technique that uses the nodes of natural harmonics of a musical string to isolate overtones. Playing string harmonics produces high pitched tones, often compared in timbre to a whi ...

Legacy

"For What It's Worth" quickly became a well-known

protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. Among social mov ...

. In 2006, when interviewed on

Tom Kent Tom Kent (born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina), is an American radio personality and author. As the head of the ''Tom Kent Radio Network (TKRN)'', Tom hosts and produces syndicated daily, weekend and 24/7 programming each week on approximately ...

's radio show ''Into the '70s'', Stills pointed out that many people think the song is about 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 ...

of 1970, even though its release predates that event by over three years.

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 ...

—Stills's bandmate in both Buffalo Springfield and

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young 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 ...

(CSNY)—would later write "

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 ...

" in response to the events at Kent State. An all-star version of "For What It's Worth", with

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the lat ...

and others, was played at Buffalo Springfield's induction 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; Neil Young did not attend the event. The song is a staple of

period piece A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...

films about 1960s America and 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 ...

, such as ''

Forrest Gump ''Forrest Gump'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth. It is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom and stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson and ...

'', and often used as a common shorthand to quickly establish the atmosphere of

1960s counterculture The counterculture of the 1960s was an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon that developed throughout much of the Western world in the 1960s and has been ongoing to the present day. The aggregate movement gained momentum as the civil rights mo ...

movement and protests. The song appears in the intro to the 2005 film ''

Lord of War ''Lord of War'' is a 2005 American crime drama film written, produced, and directed by Andrew Niccol, and co-produced by and starring Nicolas Cage. The film was released in the United States on September 16, 2005, to positive reviews and grosse ...

'', showing the lifecycle of a bullet, from manufacture to firing. On August 17, 2020, Billy Porter sang "For What It's Worth" for the

2020 Democratic National Convention The 2020 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that was held from August 17 to 20, 2020, at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and virtually across the United States. At the convention, delegates of ...

backed by Stephen Stills on guitar, a nod to the song's resurgent use in the summer 2020 American protests.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Covers and sampling

"For What It's Worth" has been covered, sampled, and referenced in numerous musical performances. Versions include those by

the Staple Singers The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. Roebuck "Pops" Staples (December 28, 1914 – December 19, 2000), the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha (April 11, 1934 – February 21 ...

(US #66 in 1967)(CAN #46 in 1967), Art (1967 single from ''

Supernatural Fairy Tales ''Supernatural Fairy Tales'' is the only album by Art, who were formerly known as The V.I.P.'s. The album contains mostly band compositions plus a cover of The Young Rascals' "Come on Up" and Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth". Unusu ...

''), Ken Lyon & Tombstone,

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

the Candyskins The Candyskins were an English rock band formed in 1989 in Oxford, England. Though early members of the 'Oxford Scene', they enjoyed limited commercial success compared to their contemporaries Radiohead and Supergrass. They were considered by ...

Oui 3 Oui 3 were an electronic dance music group, best known for their songs "Break from the Old Routine" (which reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart in July 1993), "The Joy of Living", and their Buffalo Springfield sampled 1993 hit "For What It's ...

(UK #28),

Queensrÿche Queensrÿche is an American heavy metal band. It formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 16 studio albums, one EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record. The original lineup ...

(on their album ''Take Cover''),

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including African popular music, Afropop, jazz, a ...

(on her album '' Keep Me in Mind''),

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

and (həd) ^p.e. (retitled ''Children''). Cher's 1969 cover did not make the ''Billboard'' Hot 100;

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

retrospectively called her version "mature ndforceful". Sergio Mendes and Brasil'66 recorded a version of this song. It reached #10 in the Adult Contemporary Music Chart on September 19, 1970. Singer

Karen Philipp Karen Philipp (born September 7, 1945) is an American singer and actress. Career Philipp came to national prominence in 1968 when she was hired as one of the two female vocalists in the second iteration of Sérgio Mendes and Brasil '66, debuti ...

suggested to Sergio that he should cover the song. Karen does all of the vocals for this song by

overdubbing Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...

. Two versions of this song exist: The mono 45 has a more extreme overdubbing of Karen's vocals with a different organ solo than the LP. The LP version is in stereo with a different vocal arrangement.

David Cassidy David Bruce Cassidy (April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was best known for his role as Keith Partridge, the son of Shirley Partridge (played by his stepmother, Shirley Jones), in t ...

recorded an extended live version for his 1974 album ''

Cassidy Live! ''Cassidy Live!'' was David Cassidy's fourth solo album and final album released on Bell Records. It was released in 1974 and was recorded live in Britain. It was produced by Cassidy and Barry Ainsworth on Bell Records. The recording captures ...

'' (Bell Records, UK #9; recorded live in Great Britain in May 1974). In 1998,

Les Rythmes Digitales Stuart David Price (born 9 September 1977) is an English electronic musician, DJ, songwriter, and record producer known for his work with artists including Madonna, Dua Lipa, The Killers, New Order, Kylie Minogue, DMA's, Example, Take Tha ...

released a version under the title "(Hey You) What's That Sound?", a track from their album ''

Darkdancer ''Darkdancer'' is the second studio album by Les Rythmes Digitales, released in 1999. It peaked at number 53 on the UK Albums Chart. In 2005, it was re-released with an additional disc that included remixes, unreleased tracks, and music videos. ...

''. On episode 2.21 of ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a ser ...

'', originally airing 19 February 1978, "For What It's Worth" is performed by an opossum (

Jerry Nelson Jerry L. Nelson (July 10, 1934 – August 23, 2012) was an American puppeteer, best known for his work with The Muppets. Renowned for his wide range of characters and singing abilities, he performed Muppet characters on ''Sesame Street'', ' ...

) and a chorus of woodland animals. The third verse is rewritten by an uncredited writer to give the song an anti-hunting theme. The hip-hop group

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...

sampled "For What It's Worth" on their 1998 song "

He Got Game ''He Got Game'' is a 1998 American sports drama film written, produced and directed by Spike Lee and starring Denzel Washington and Ray Allen. The film revolves around Jake Shuttlesworth ( Denzel Washington), father of the top-ranked basketball p ...

", which featured Stephen Stills reprising his vocal performance from the original song.

adapted the song for their 1993 debut single of the same name, which reached number 26 in the UK chart. In 2017,

Haley Reinhart Haley Elizabeth Reinhart (born September 9, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter and actress from Wheeling, Illinois. She first rose to prominence after placing third in the 10th season of ''American Idol''. In July 2011, Reinhart signed a re ...

released a cover of the song as the third single from her third studio album, '' What's That Sound?'' In 2018,

the Lone Bellow The Lone Bellow is an American musical group from Brooklyn, New York City. History The Lone Bellow began as a songwriting project for Zach Williams, whose wife had suffered temporary paralysis following a horseback riding accident. During h ...

released a cover of the song as a single. In 2022

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasi ...

released a cover of it as well, not to be confused with her 2011 song of the same name.

References

External links

Reasontorock analysis of song
{{DEFAULTSORT:For What It's Worth (Buffalo Springfield Song) 1966 songs 1967 singles 1969 singles Atco Records singles Buffalo Springfield songs Cher songs Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Protest songs Songs about California Songs written by Stephen Stills Song recordings produced by Arif Mardin Song recordings produced by Tom Dowd Song recordings produced by Jerry Wexler