Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work with
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 ...
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 ...
. As both a solo act and member of two successful bands, Stills has combined record sales of over 35 million albums. He was ranked number 28 in ''
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 ...
''s 2003 list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time"
[''Rolling Stone']
The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time
2003-08-27. and number 47 in the 2011 list. Stills became the first person to be inducted twice with his groups on the same night 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 ...
. According to
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 ...
, "Stephen is a genius."
Beginning his professional career with Buffalo Springfield, he composed "
For What It's Worth
"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. Performed by Buffalo Springfield, it was recorded on December 5, 1966, released as a single on Atco Reco ...
", which became one of the most recognizable songs of the 1960s. Other notable songs he contributed to the band were "
Sit Down, I Think I Love You
"Sit Down, I Think I Love You" is a 1966 song composed by American singer-songwriter Stephen Stills and originally recorded by American-Canadian rock band Buffalo Springfield. A cover version by The Mojo Men was released as a single in 1967 and rea ...
", "
Bluebird
The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas.
...
", and "Rock & Roll Woman". According to bandmate
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 ...
, he was "the heart and soul of Buffalo Springfield".
After Buffalo Springfield disbanded, Stills began working with
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
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 ...
as a trio called Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN). In addition to writing many of the band's songs, Stills played bass, guitar, and keyboards on their
debut album. The album sold over four million copies and at that point had outsold anything from the three members' prior bands:
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 ...
, Buffalo Springfield, and
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 ...
. The album won the trio a
Grammy Award for Best New Artist
The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...
.
Stills's first solo album, ''
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 ...
'', earned a gold record and is the only album to feature both
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
and
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...
. Its hit single "
Love the One You're With
"Love the One You're With" is a song by folk rock musician Stephen Stills. It was released as the lead single from his debut self-titled studio album in November 1970. The song, inspired by a remark Stills heard from musician Billy Preston, beca ...
" became his biggest solo hit, peaking at number 14 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100. Stills followed this with a string of solo albums, as well as starting a band with
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 ...
called
Manassas in 1972. In the summer 1974, Young reunited with CSN after a four-year hiatus for a concert tour that was recorded and released in 2014 as ''
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 ...
''. It was one of the first stadium tours and the largest tour the band has done to date. CSN reunited in 1977 for their album ''
CSN ''CSN'' may refer to:
Companies
* CSN Stores, former name of Wayfair, American e-commerce company
* CSN International (Christian Satellite Network), religious radio broadcaster based on radio station KAWZ in Twin Falls, Idaho
* ''Centrala Studies ...
'', which became the trio's best-selling record. CSN and CSNY continued to have platinum albums through the 1980s.
Early years
Stills was born in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, the son of William Arthur Stills (1915–1986) and Talitha Quintilla Collard (1919–1996). Raised in a military family, he moved around as a child and developed an interest in
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
and
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
. He was also influenced by
Latin music
Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Music of Spain, Spain and Portuguese music, Portugal) ...
after spending his youth in
Gainesville and
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
, as well as
Covington, Louisiana
Covington is a city in, and the parish seat of, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 11,564 at the 2020 United States census. It is located at a fork of the Bogue Falaya and the Tchefuncte River. Covington is part of ...
,
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
, the
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...
, and
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
. Stills attended
Admiral Farragut Academy
Admiral Farragut Academy, established in 1933, is a private, College-preparatory school, college-prep school serving students in grades K–12, K-12. Farragut is located in St. Petersburg, Florida in Pinellas County and is surrounded by the comm ...
in
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...
and
Saint Leo College Preparatory School in
Saint Leo, Florida
St. Leo is a town in Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,340 at the 2010 census. It is best known as the home of St. ...
,
[Zimmer, Dave. ''Crosby, Stills & Nash: The Biography'', Philadelphia: Da Capo Press, 2008, p. 8.] before graduating from Lincoln High School in Costa Rica.
When he was nine years old, he was diagnosed with a partial hearing loss in one ear. The hearing loss increased as he got older.
Stills dropped out of
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
in the early 1960s. He played in a series of bands, including the Continentals, which then featured future
Eagles
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
guitarist
Don Felder
Donald William Felder (born September 21, 1947) is an American musician who was the lead guitarist of the rock band Eagles from 1974 until his termination from the band in 2001. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 with th ...
. Stills also sang as a solo artist at
Gerde's Folk City
Gerdes Folk City, sometimes spelled Gerde's Folk City, was a music venue in the West Village, part of Greenwich Village, Manhattan, in New York City. Initially opened by owner Mike Porco as a restaurant called Gerdes, it eventually began to presen ...
, a well-known
coffeehouse
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...
in
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 ...
. Stills eventually ended up in a nine-member vocal harmony group, the house act at the famous
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, called the
Au Go Go Singers
The Au Go Go Singers were a nine-member folk group formed in New York City in 1964, and best remembered for featuring Stephen Stills and Richie Furay two years before they formed Buffalo Springfield.
Career
Stills and Furay met while performin ...
, which included his future
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 ...
bandmate
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 ...
. This group did some touring in the
Catskills
The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas cl ...
and in the South, released one album in 1964, and then broke up in 1965. Afterwards, Stills formed a
folk-rock group called The Company with four other former members of the Au Go Go Singers. The Company embarked on a six-week tour of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, where Stills met guitarist
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 ...
. On the
VH1
VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...
''CSNY Legends'' special, Stills said that Young was doing what he always wanted to do, "play folk music in a rock band." The Company broke up in New York within four months; Stills did
session work and went to various auditions. In 1966 he convinced a reluctant Furay, then living in
, to move with him to
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
Life and career
Buffalo Springfield and Super Session (1966–1968)
![Buffalo Springfield in 1966](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Buffalo_Springfield_in_1966.png)
Stills, Furay, and Young reunited in Los Angeles and formed the core of Buffalo Springfield. Legend has it that Stills and Furay recognized Young's converted hearse and flagged him down, a meeting described in a recent solo track "Round the Bend". Buffalo Springfield performed a mixture of folk, country,
psychedelia
Psychedelia refers to the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic music and style of dress during that era. This was primarily generated by people who used psychedelic ...
, and rock. Its sound was lent a hard edge by the twin lead guitars of Stills and Young, and that combination helped make Buffalo Springfield a critical success. The band's first record ''
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 ...
'' (1966) sold well after Stills's topical song "
For What It's Worth
"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. Performed by Buffalo Springfield, it was recorded on December 5, 1966, released as a single on Atco Reco ...
" became a top ten hit, reaching number 7 on the US charts. According to ''Rolling Stone'', the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and other sources, Buffalo Springfield helped create the genres of folk rock and country rock. Distrust of their management along with the arrest and deportation of 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 ...
worsened the already strained relations among the group members and led to Buffalo Springfield's demise. A second album, ''
Buffalo Springfield Again
''Buffalo Springfield Again'' is the second album by Buffalo Springfield, released on Atco Records in November 1967. It peaked at #44 on the Billboard 200. In 2003, the album was ranked number 188 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of the 500 gr ...
'', was released in late 1967 and featured Stills songs "Bluebird" and "Rock And Roll Woman". In May 1968, the band split up for good, but contractual obligations required the recording and release of a final studio 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, ...
''. The album was primarily composed of tracks laid down earlier that year. A Stills song from their debut album, "Sit Down, I Think I Love You," was a minor hit for
the Mojo Men
The Mojo Men was an American rock band based in San Francisco. Formed in 1965, the group underwent several name and personnel changes until their 1969 breakup. Their highest-charting ''Billboard'' Hot 100 single was a cover of Buffalo Springfie ...
in 1967.
After the disintegration of Buffalo Springfield, Stills played on half of the ''
Super Session
''Super Session'' is an album by Al Kooper, with guitarists Mike Bloomfield on the first half and Stephen Stills on the second half of the album. Released by Columbia Records in 1968, it peaked at No. 12 on the ''Billboard'' 200 during a 37-week ...
'' album with
Al Kooper
Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt; February 5, 1944) is a retired American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears, although he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity. ...
in 1968, including a cover of Donovan's "Season Of The Witch" that received heavy radio play on progressive FM radio formats.
Mike Bloomfield
Michael Bernard Bloomfield (July 28, 1943 – February 15, 1981) was an American guitarist and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his ...
was due to play on all of the album but failed to turn up for the second day of recording. The album sold well and charted at number 12 on the US charts while being certified Gold in December 1970.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (1969–1970)
In late 1968 Stills joined
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 ...
from the
Byrds
The Byrds () were an American Rock music, 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 th ...
and
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 ...
from
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 ...
to form
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, ...
. Several of Stills's songs on the group's
debut album, including "
Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" and "You Don't Have To Cry", were inspired by his on-again off-again relationship with singer
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...
. The album reached number 6 on the US charts and was certified quadruple platinum. Stills dominated the recording of the album. Crosby and Nash played guitar on their own songs respectively, while drummer
Dallas Taylor played on four tracks and drummer
Jim Gordon on a fifth. Stills played all the bass, organ, and lead guitar parts, as well as acoustic guitar on his own songs. "The other guys won't be offended when I say that one was my baby, and I kind of had the tracks in my head," Stills said.
![Crosby Stills Nash and Young 1970](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Crosby_Stills_Nash_and_Young_1970.JPG)
Wanting to be able to tour and needing additional musicians to strengthen the sound, the band invited Neil Young to join them for their first tour and second album to make the group the quartet Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, (initialized as CSNY). The first tour started in August 1969 and finished in January 1970. They recorded their album ''
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 ...
'' at this time and released it in March 1970. During the recording the musicians frequently argued, particularly Young and Stills, who both fought for control. Stills brought to the album the songs "Carry On" and "4+20" and wrote "Everybody I Love You" with Neil Young. He also brought his version of Joni Mitchell's song "Woodstock" for the band to cover. The album hit number 1 on the US charts and was certified 7 times platinum there, selling over 8 million copies. In May 1970 CSNY recorded Young's "
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 ...
" following the
Kent State massacre
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 ...
on May 4. The single's B side was Stills's "Find The Cost Of Freedom". The record was immediately released as a single by Atlantic Records, even though the group's "Teach Your Children" was still climbing the singles charts. After an extended second tour finishing in July 1970, the band split up, and Stills then moved to England and started recording his debut solo album.
In April 1971, CSNY released ''
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 ...
'', a double live album recorded in 1970. The album reached number 1 in 1971 on the US charts and was certified quadruple platinum in the US.
Having played 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 ...
with Buffalo Springfield and both
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
Altamont with CSNY, Stills (along with Crosby) performed at three of the most iconic U.S.
rock festivals
A rock festival is an open-air rock concert featuring many different performers, typically spread over two or three days and having a campsite and other amenities and forms of entertainment provided at the venue. Some festivals are singular even ...
of the 1960s. During Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's set at
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 ant ...
, 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 singer ...
'' (1970).
Peak solo years (1970–1971)
In the wake of CSNY's success, all four members recorded high-profile solo albums. In 1970, Stills released his
eponymous
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
solo debut album which featured guests
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...
,
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
,
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 ...
,
Booker T. Jones
Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr. (born November 12, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.'s. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known art ...
and
Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
(credited only as "Richie") as well as
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Rita Coolidge
Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) is an American recording artist. During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on '' Billboard'' magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and t ...
and CSNY drummers
Dallas Taylor and
Johnny 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, ...
. It provided Stills with the U.S. No. 14 hit single "
Love the One You're With
"Love the One You're With" is a song by folk rock musician Stephen Stills. It was released as the lead single from his debut self-titled studio album in November 1970. The song, inspired by a remark Stills heard from musician Billy Preston, beca ...
.", and another US top 40 hit "Sit Yourself Down", peaking at 37. The album peaked at no 3 on the US charts, a solo career peak. At the time of release Stills's solo album was the highest selling solo album out of the four. It was recorded in the UK, where Stills bought Ringo Starr's old mansion in Surrey, England.
He appeared on the BBC TV show
Disco 2 in January 1971.
Stills followed this album with ''
Stephen Stills 2
''Stephen Stills 2'' is the second solo album by Stephen Stills, released on Atlantic Records in 1971. It peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200 and was certified as a gold record by the RIAA. Two singles were released from the album, both ju ...
'' only 6 months later, recorded in Miami, which featured "Change Partners" and "Marianne". Both these singles narrowly missed the US top 40, hitting 43 and 42 respectively, while the album reached number 8 on the charts. This album was certified US Gold only a month after release. Even though "Change Partners" was written before CSN formed, Nash saw it as a metaphor for the many relationships in CSNY. Stills recorded 23 songs for the album and originally wanted to release a double album but Atlantic wouldn't let him. In support of this album Stills went on his first solo tour with an 8 piece band including
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 ...
, playing major arenas across the USA. It was during this tour he sold out
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 ...
,
The Philadelphia Spectrum,
LA 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 ...
and the
Boston Garden
The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (late ...
, arguably at his solo commercial peak.
He sold out MSG the day before
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
organised the
Concert For Bangladesh
The Concert for Bangladesh (or Bangla Desh, as the country's name was originally spelt)Harry, p. 135. was a pair of benefit concerts organised by former Beatles guitarist George Harrison and Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar. The shows were ...
, and Stills donated his stage, sound, lighting system and production manager but was upset when Harrison "neglected to invite him to perform, mention his name, or say thank you". Stills then spent the show drunk in Ringo Starr's dressing room, "barking at everyone". Stills's Madison Square Garden show was professionally recorded and filmed but has never been released, although a filmed recording of "Go Back Home" was played in early 1972 on the
Old Grey Whistle Test
''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC Two, BBC2 from 1971 ...
, and two acoustic tracks were released on Stills 2013 box set
''Carry On''.
In 1971, Billboard magazine ranked him at number 34 top singles artist, number 44 top album artist, number 14 top singles male vocalist, number 12 top new singles vocalist, number 17 top album male vocalists, number 14 top new album artist, number 73 top producers, and ranked his debut album number 70 in the year end album charts. Cashbox magazine, ranked ''Stephen Stills 2'' as the number 51 album of 1971, and his debut as number 52, they ranked Stills as the number 3 best new vocalist, and the number 2 new male of 1971.
![Manassas1972](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Manassas1972.JPG)
Also in 1971, Stills played guitar for the
Bill Withers
William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (1972) ...
album, ''
Just as I Am'', including the Grammy-winning song, "
Ain't No Sunshine
"Ain't No Sunshine" is a song by Bill Withers from his 1971 album '' Just As I Am,'' produced by Booker T. Jones. The record featured musicians Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass guitar, Al Jackson Jr. on drums and Stephen Stills on guitar. String arrang ...
".
Manassas (1971–1973)
In late 1971, Stills teamed up with ex-Byrd
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. Their
self-titled double album was a mixture of rock, country, blues, bluegrass and Latin music divided into different sections and peaked at number 4 in the US. It was certified US Gold a month after release but did not yield any more top 40 hits, only "It Doesn't Matter" reached 61 on the US charts. Stills spent the majority of 1972 playing live with Manassas on a world tour, which included headlining festivals in Australia, playing more arenas in the US including the
Nassau Coliseum
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, east of New York City. The Long Island venue is approximately east of the eastern limits of the New York City Borough of ...
, and the Boston Garden. His concert at The Rainbow Theatre, London was recorded for BBC TV Special titled Stephen Stills Manassas: In Concert. He moved to Boulder, Colorado after this world tour finished and in March 1973 married French singer-songwriter
Veronique Sanson in London England, after having met while at a Manassas gig in France, 1972.
In early 1972, Stills appeared in a UK documentary about himself called Sounding Out. Cashbox magazine ranked Stills as the number 52 top male vocalist of 1972. Billboard ranked Manassas as the number 53 album of 1972, and Stills as the number 75 album artist.
All of Stills's albums after Buffalo Springfield had gone either
gold or platinum; the Manassas follow-up album the next year ''
Down the Road'' was his first LP that did not, but still managed to reach 26 in the US charts. It was recorded less than a year after the debut double album, and encountered some issues with recording and not having enough Stills songs on the album. Also Atlantic were pushing for a far more commercially viable CSNY reunion. Which in June and July 1973, between the two 1973 Manassas tours at the start and end of the year, happened in Maui. As CSNY attempted to record an album tentatively called ''Human Highway''. This album was never finished due to infighting. But after one final 1973 Manassas tour, during which CSN and CSNY reunited during the acoustic sections both at Winterland Arena concerts, a reunion was in the cards, and Manassas was over. Stills then sold his Surrey home and relocated to Colorado.
The last date of the first 1973 Manassas tour was recorded for
ABC In Concert
''In Concert'' is a late-night television series created by Don Kirshner. Hosted by Don Branker, the series was a showcase for bands of the era to be taped "in concert" and then broadcast on ABC on Friday nights.
''In Concert''
The series premier ...
. Cashbox magazine ranked Manassas as the number 58 group of 1973. Billboard ranked Down The Road as the number 36 of new album artists.
In 1972/73, Stephen left the services of David Geffen and set up his own publishing company with Ken Weiss, called Gold Hill Publishing, named after his home in Boulder, Colorado.
Solo and CSNY tours (1974)
![CSNY 8-1974 (3)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/CSNY_8-1974_%283%29.jpg)
Stills spent early 1974 on a sold out East coast tour where he played well respected theatres, including
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
. The 1975 live album
Stephen Stills Live
''Stephen Stills Live'' is a live album by Stephen Stills, released on Atlantic Records in 1975. Recorded on his first solo tour since 1971 and released after he had signed to Columbia Records. It peaked at number 42 on the US charts.
Backgro ...
was made up of recordings from this tour. It was also during this tour that Stills announced the 1974 CSNY reunion concert tour. The CSNY reunion tour sold out shows through July and August in both the US and the UK, with an average concert attendance of 80,000. Due to poor management, the tour made little money for the group, but album sales saw a boost: the CSNY compilation album
So Far reached number 1 in the US and sold 6 million copies. After another aborted attempt at recording another CSNY album after the tour, Stills signed with
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
in late 1974.
In 1973–1974, Stills was recording another solo album called ''As I Come Of Age'', which was put aside for the CSNY reunion tour. Many songs were used for the 1975 ''Stills'' album. In 1974, Stills played bass, and help mix his wife, Veronique Sanson's, record ''Le Maudit''. He also played bass for her at two of her concerts in Paris in October 1974. On 29 October, Stills played two short acoustic shows at Chances Are, a nightclub in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as a benefit for Democrat John Reuther's campaign. The next night, 30 October, Stills played two shows for Democratic congressional candidate Bob Carr at the Stables, East Lansing, Michigan, then another unannounced acoustic slot at a Michigan University frat party.
Signing to Columbia Records and The Stills Young Band (1975–1976)
![Crosby-stills-nash-and-young-CSNY-1974-](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Crosby-stills-nash-and-young-CSNY-1974-.jpg)
Stills signed to
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
for three albums: ''
Stills'' in 1975, ''
Illegal Stills
''Illegal Stills'' is an album released by American musician Stephen Stills on 7 May 1976. This was Stills second album on Columbia Records and his fourth solo album overall. After it was released he would start an album and tour with Neil Youn ...
'' in 1976; and ''
Thoroughfare Gap
''Thoroughfare Gap'' is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Stephen Stills, released in 1978. It was a critical and commercial disappointment that only charted at number 84 in the US. This album is now available as a three-albu ...
'' in 1978. ''
Stills'' released in June 1975, was the highest-charting release of the three at number 22 on the US charts, and also the most critically successful of the three. Stills then spent the rest of year touring the US, doing a summer and winter tour playing to 10,000 seat arenas, including the
LA 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 ...
, and
Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Red Rocks Amphitheatre (also colloquially as simply Red Rocks) is an open-air amphitheatre built into a rock structure in the Western United States, western United States, near Morrison, Colorado, west of Denver. There is a large, tilted, flyi ...
. Stills played an acoustic set at the Bob Dylan-organised Night of the Hurricane Benefit at the Houston Astrodome in January 1976. He next released ''
Illegal Stills
''Illegal Stills'' is an album released by American musician Stephen Stills on 7 May 1976. This was Stills second album on Columbia Records and his fourth solo album overall. After it was released he would start an album and tour with Neil Youn ...
'' in May 1976, which reached number 31 on the US charts, but was not critically well received, nor produced any charting singles. Around this time Stills played percussion on the
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees
were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...
' song "
You Should Be Dancing
"You Should Be Dancing" is a song by the Bee Gees, from the album ''Children of the World'', released in 1976. It hit No. 1 for one week on the American ''Billboard'' Hot 100, No. 1 for seven weeks on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart, and in S ...
" and wrote an unreleased song with Barry Gibb.
In retrospect Stills has commented on his mid-70s solo period saying he "short-circuited for a while, things were moving too fast. I got a little crazed. Too much drinking, too many drugs. What can I say." Cashbox magazine ranked Stills as the number 29 top male vocalist of 1975.
In 1976 after the release of ''Illegal Stills'', Stills attempted a reunion with Neil Young. At one point, ''
Long May You Run
''Long May You Run'' is a studio album credited to the Stills–Young Band, a collaboration between Stephen Stills and Neil Young, released in 1976 on Reprise Records. It peaked at #26 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified gold in the United ...
'' was slated to be a CSNY record, but when Crosby and Nash left to fulfill recording and touring obligations,
[Cameron Crowe "Quick End to a Long Run." '']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 ...
'' Sep 9, 1976 reprinted in ''4 Way Street: The Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Reader'' 2004 Da Capo Press. they returned to find the other pair had wiped their vocals from the recordings, as Stills and Young decided to go on without them as
the Stills-Young Band
''Long May You Run'' is a studio album credited to the Stills–Young Band, a collaboration between Stephen Stills and Neil Young, released in 1976 on Reprise Records. It peaked at #26 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified gold in the Unit ...
. However, Young would leave midway through the resulting tour due to an apparent throat infection.
Stills was contractually bound to finish the tour, which he did for three dates before it was cancelled with Chris Hillman helping him, but upon returning home, his wife, French singer-songwriter
Véronique Sanson
Véronique Marie Line Sanson (; born 24 April 1949) is a three-time Victoires de la Musique award-winning French singer-songwriter and record producer with an avid following in her native country.
Ten years after Barbara, Véronique Sanson beca ...
, announced she wanted a divorce and wished to move back to France, although they temporarily reunited.
Stills went out on tour, in November 1976, as a three piece, Stills on guitar, vocals, piano, George Perry on Bass, and Joe Vitale on drums. It was around this time Stills reunited with Crosby and Nash shortly afterwards, thanks to the efforts of Nash's future wife Susan, who got Nash to forgive Stills for wiping the Crosby and Nash vocals from ''Long May You Run''. Not before Atlantic records released a compilation album from Stills first two solo albums, and the two Manassas albums in December 1976 called ''
Still Stills: The Best Of Stephen Stills''.
Cashbox magazine ranked Stills at number 27 for the top male vocalist of 1976, and Stills and Young as the number 6 duo, number 3 new duo, and number 20 best new artist of 1976. Stills, as Gold Hill publishing was having hits publishing for the band
Firefall
Firefall is an American country rock band that formed in Boulder, Colorado, in 1974. It was founded by Rick Roberts, former member of the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Jock Bartley, who had been Tommy Bolin's replacement in Zephyr. The band ...
and
Joey Stec, during this time, so much so that Billboard ranked him as the number 97 publisher of 1976.
CSN reunion and solo years (1977–1979)
![Stephen Stills 1978 by Mitchell Weinstock](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Stephen_Stills_1978_by_Mitchell_Weinstock.jpg)
Stills's performances with Crosby and Nash in late 1976 and early 1977 led to the permanent reunion of Crosby, Stills, and Nash. They released the ''
CSN ''CSN'' may refer to:
Companies
* CSN Stores, former name of Wayfair, American e-commerce company
* CSN International (Christian Satellite Network), religious radio broadcaster based on radio station KAWZ in Twin Falls, Idaho
* ''Centrala Studies ...
'' album in 1977 and unsuccessfully attempted another album in 1978. The band toured major arenas including Madison Square Garden and the LA Forum in 1977 and 1978, and during the 1977 tour they visited President Jimmy Carter in the White House. Stills released his final album on Columbia Records entitled ''
Thoroughfare Gap
''Thoroughfare Gap'' is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Stephen Stills, released in 1978. It was a critical and commercial disappointment that only charted at number 84 in the US. This album is now available as a three-albu ...
'' in October 1978. It was comparatively unsuccessful and reached number 84 on the US charts. In 1977 and 1978, Stills played only one solo engagement, at the Bread and Roses Festival in 1978.
After a four-day residency at the Roxy in January 1979 with original CSN bandmate Dallas Taylor on drums, Stills spent most of 1979 on tour in the US playing with his California Blues Band. One of these dates in early 1979 included a trip to
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
to participate in the
Havana Jam
Havana Jam was a three-day music festival that took place at the Karl Marx Theatre, in Havana, Cuba, on 2–4 March 1979. It was sponsored by Bruce Lundvall, the president of Columbia Records, Jerry Masucci, the president of Fania Records, and ...
festival that took place between March 2 and 4, alongside
Weather Report
Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian virtuoso keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer and vocali ...
, the
Trio of Doom
The Trio of Doom was a short-lived jazz fusion power trio consisting of John McLaughlin on guitar, Jaco Pastorius on bass, and Tony Williams on drums. They were brought together by Columbia Records in 1979 to play the Havana Jam festival in Cuba ...
,
Fania All-Stars
The Fania All-Stars is a musical group formed in 1968 as a showcase for the musicians on Fania Records, the leading salsa music record label of the time.
History
Beginnings
In 1964, Fania Records was founded in New York City by Jerry Masucci, ...
,
Billy Swan
William Lance Swan (born May 12, 1942) is an American country singer-songwriter, best known for his 1974 single, "I Can Help".
Biography
Swan was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, United States. As a child, he learned drums, piano and guitar ...
,
Bonnie Bramlett
Bonnie Bramlett (born Bonnie Lynn O'Farrell, November 8, 1944) is an American singer and occasional actress known for performing with her husband, Delaney Bramlett, as Delaney & Bonnie. She continues to sing as a solo artist.
Life and career ...
,
Mike Finnigan
Michael Kelly Finnigan (April 26, 1945 – August 11, 2021) was an American keyboard player and vocalist, his speciality being the B3 Hammond organ. Working primarily as a freelance studio musician and touring player, he played with a wide va ...
,
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Nig ...
,
Rita Coolidge
Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) is an American recording artist. During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on '' Billboard'' magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and t ...
and
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...
, as well as an array of Cuban artists such as
Irakere
Irakere (faux-Yoruba for 'forest') is a Cuban band founded by pianist Chucho Valdés (son of Bebo Valdés) in 1973. They won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Recording in 1980 with their album ''Irakere''. Irakere was a seminal musical laboratory ...
, with whom he toured the US after the Havana concerts. His performance is captured on Ernesto Juan Castellanos's documentary ''Havana Jam '79''.
In 1979, Stills recorded one of the first entirely digital albums; however, it remains unreleased, as the record company did not feel it was commercial enough. The songs recorded for this album include "Spanish Suite" and "Cuba al Fin" and the 1982 CSN hit "Southern Cross". The album was produced by
Barry Beckett
Barry Edward Beckett (February 4, 1943 – June 10, 2009) was an American keyboardist, session musician, record producer, and studio founder. He is best known for his work with David Hood, Jimmy Johnson, and Roger Hawkins, his bandmates in th ...
and was slated for release in 1979 or 1980.
CSN played only two dates in 1979, both at Madison Square Garden for Musicians United for Safe Energy. Their performance was released on ''
The Muse Concerts for a Non-Nuclear Future
''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 ...
.''
In 1979, Stills's wife, Veronique Sanson, filed for divorce, which was finalized on July 12, 1980.
1980s
![StillsStephen1983](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/StillsStephen1983.jpg)
After playing some European dates in 1980, and with Graham Nash joining him for the German dates supporting
Angelo Branduardi
Angelo Branduardi (born 12 February 1950) is an Italian folk/folk rock singer-songwriter and composer who scored relative success in Italy and European countries such as France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Greece.
Biography
Branduardi wa ...
, Stills and Nash decided to record a duo album together. The record company refused to release this album without David Crosby, so they added him and CSN's Daylight Again was released in 1982, reaching number 8 in the US and was certified Platinum. The album featured the Stills-written top twenty hit "Southern Cross". In 1983, the CSN live album
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
, was released featuring Stills's number 45 hit song "War Games". CSN toured yearly from 1982 to 1989, except during 1986, due to David Crosby's prison sentence.
In 1984, Stills released his first solo album in 6 years, ''
Right by You
''Right by You'' is the sixth album by United States, American singer-songwriter Stephen Stills, released in 1984. This is his last solo recording released on a major label, and was a critical and commercial failure peaking at number 75 on the US ...
'' on Atlantic Records''.'' This would be the final Stills album to make the
''Billboard'' 200 album chart and featured Jimmy Page on guitar. It was his last solo release on a major label.
In 1985 CSN and CSNY played
Live Aid
Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...
.
In 1988, CSNY reunited for the album ''
American Dream,'' which reached number 12 on the US charts and was certified platinum in the US. However no tour was taken in support of the album.
In 1988, he married Thai model Pamela Anne Jordan, with whom he had a daughter, Eleanor.
1990s
In 1990, CSN released the album ''Live It Up'', their first not to be certified in the US since their debut.
Stills toured with CSN, in 1990, 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1999.
Having spent most of 1990 playing acoustic with CSN and solo he released the solo album ''
Stills Alone'' in 1991, with the aim of releasing a solo electric album in 1992. However this solo electric album was never released.
In 1994, CSN released the album ''After The Storm''.
From 1993 to 1995 part owned a restaurant in New Orleans, called Toucan Du. He married his third wife,
Kristen Hathaway, on May 27, 1996.
In 1997, Stills became the first person to be 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 ...
twice on the same night for his work with CSN and Buffalo Springfield.
Fender Guitars
The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC, or simply Fender) is an American manufacturer of instruments and amplifiers. Fender produces acoustic guitars, bass amplifiers and public address equipment, however it is best known for its sol ...
Custom Shop crafted a guitar and presented it to Stills to commemorate the occasion, a
Telecaster
The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it is the world's first mass-produced, commercially successful Les Paul had built a prototype solid bod ...
1953 reissue guitar serial R2674 bearing an inscription on the neck plate; "Stephen Stills R & R Hall of Fame May 6, 1997 "
In 1999, CSNY reunited to release the album ''Looking Forward''; it reached number 26 on the US charts.
2000s
This CSNY reunion resulted in CSNY reunion tours 2000 CSNY2K, 2002 and 2006 reunion tours, their first since 1974. The CSNY2K tour of the United States and Canada with the reformed super quartet earned US$42.1 million, making it the eighth largest grossing tour of 2000. The 2006 CSNY tour was the Freedom Of Speech tour, which was released on the album ''
Deja Vu Live''.. Stills also toured with CSN in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009. The 2005 tour supported their Gold certified album
''Greatest Hits'', their 2009 tour supported the CSN demos album ''
Demos
Demos may refer to:
Computing
* DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system
* DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR
* Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems
* plural for Demo (computer programming)
...
''.
2005 saw Stills release ''
Man Alive!'', his first solo offering in 14 years. ''
Man Alive!'' was released on the small English
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
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 ...
label Talking Elephant, and was not widely reviewed. The record did not chart on either side of the Atlantic, and was received lukewarmly by the few critics who did review it. It featured songs dating from the 70s to the present, including "Spanish Suite", originally recorded in the late 70s with
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...
.
Throughout 2006 and 2007, Stills toured regularly as a solo artist with "the Quartet", which consisted of drummer
Joe Vitale, either
Mike Finnigan
Michael Kelly Finnigan (April 26, 1945 – August 11, 2021) was an American keyboard player and vocalist, his speciality being the B3 Hammond organ. Working primarily as a freelance studio musician and touring player, he played with a wide va ...
or
session player
Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...
Todd Caldwell on keyboards, and either Kevin McCormick or Kenny Passarelli on bass. On May 28, 2007, Stills sang the national anthem for Game 1 of the
2007 Stanley Cup Finals
The 2007 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2006–07 season, and the culmination of the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Western Conference champion Anaheim Ducks and th ...
between the
Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center.
...
and
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...
in
Anaheim
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
, California. On December 17, 2007, Graham Nash revealed on ''
Larry King Live
''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly.
Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles s ...
'' that Stills had been diagnosed with early stage
prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...
and that his operation would take place on January 3, 2008, which is Stills's birthday. Stills said later in January 2008 that he had come through the operation with "flying colors."
In 2007 he released ''
Just Roll Tape
''Just Roll Tape: April 26, 1968'' is a Stephen Stills demo album released in 2007. In the sleeve notes to the CD, Stephen Stills recalls that he was present at a Judy Collins session in New York in 1968, and when she finished with studio time re ...
'', a recently found tape of Stills singing demos of his unreleased songs in 1968 after the breakup of the Buffalo Springfield, during the last hour of a Judy Collins session.
Stills toured Europe as a solo artist for the first time during October 2008, resulted in the release of the 2009 live album and video ''Live At Shepherds Bush'', recorded in London, England.
Also in 2009, he released his second archival release ''
Pieces
Piece or Pieces (not to be confused with peace) may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* Piece (chess), pieces deployed on a chessboard for playing the game of chess
* ''Pieces'' (video game), a 1994 puzzle game for the Super NES
* P ...
'' by
Manassas, a selection of alternate takes and unreleased songs of Stills band recorded between 1971 and 1973. This was supposed to be the start in a series of archival releases, however none have appeared since.
2010s
Stills toured with CSN in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015. The 2012 tour resulted in the release ''
CSN 2012
''CSN 2012'' is the eighteenth album by Crosby, Stills & Nash and their fourth live album. Released in 2012 on Atlantic Records, it is the group's first release on their original label in 18 years.
The album derives from a recording done April 2 ...
''.
In 2011, Stills contributed a song, "Low Barefoot Tolerance," to the soundtrack of a documentary produced by J. Ralph, ''
Wretches & Jabberers''.
Also in 2010, Stills reunited with Neil Young and Richie Furay to reform Buffalo Springfield with Young for the
Bridge School Benefit
The Bridge School Benefit was an annual charity concert usually held in Mountain View, California, every October at the Shoreline Amphitheatre from 1986 until 2016 with the exception of 1987. The concerts lasted the entire weekend and were organ ...
2010. This was supposed to be followed by a full tour in 2012 but this never materialised.
On August 27, 2013, Stills released the album, ''Can't Get Enough'' with
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Kenny Wayne Shepherd (born Kenny Wayne Brobst; June 12, 1977) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has released several studio albums and experienced significant commercial success as a blues artist.
Life and career
Shepherd wa ...
and
Barry Goldberg
Barry Joseph Goldberg (born December 25, 1942) is an American blues and rock keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. Goldberg has co-produced albums by Percy Sledge, Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton, and the Textones, plus Bob Dylan's ve ...
as the blues band
the Rides
The Rides are an American blues supergroup, featuring guitarists Stephen Stills, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and keyboardist Barry Goldberg. The group formed in 2013 following a performance by the trio at a benefit led by Stills. Stills called the band ...
. The band toured to support this release in 2013. They released a follow up album called ''Pierced Arrow'' in 2016, this was followed by another tour to support this release in 2016 -2017.
On August 12, 2014,
Watsky
George Virden Watsky (born September 15, 1986), better known mononymously as Watsky, is an American rapper, singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, poet, author, and illustrator.
Watsky broke out as a rapper with his viral video "Pale ...
released the album ''All You Can Do'', featuring a song with Stills, "Cannonball."
In 2016, CSN split up after over 30 years together, and in December 2016 Stills independently released a song called "Look Each Other in the Eye" on SoundCloud.
On September 22, 2017, Stills and Judy Collins released an album ''
Everybody Knows'' which entered the "
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
200" chart at number 195 and peaked at 45, it was their first joint album and was followed by a tour supporting the album.
Personal life
Stills was involved with musician
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...
from 1968 to 1969 and wrote the song "
Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" for her. He dated actress and singer-songwriter
Nancy Priddy
Nancy Priddy is an American actress and singer-songwriter. As an actress, she has appeared on many television series, including ''Bewitched'', ''The Waltons'', and '' Matlock''. She is the mother of actress Christina Applegate.
Early life
Pridd ...
, who was the inspiration for the
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 ...
song "Pretty Girl Why". Stills also had a short-term relationship with
Rita Coolidge
Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) is an American recording artist. During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on '' Billboard'' magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and t ...
, as had
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 ...
, which apparently led to the initial breakup of
CSNY, in 1970. During a Manassas tour in France, Stills met his first wife, French singer-songwriter
Véronique Sanson
Véronique Marie Line Sanson (; born 24 April 1949) is a three-time Victoires de la Musique award-winning French singer-songwriter and record producer with an avid following in her native country.
Ten years after Barbara, Véronique Sanson beca ...
. They were married on March 14, 1973. Their son Christopher was born in 1974. They divorced in 1979. In 1976, Stills told ''Rolling Stone'', "My hearing has gotten to be a terrible problem. If I keep playing and touring the way I have been, I'll go deaf." In 1988, he married American model Pamela Ann Jordan, with whom he had a daughter, Eleanor. His third wife is
Kristen Hathaway, whom he married on May 27, 1996.
Stills's son, Justin Stills, was born in 1972 to Harriet Tunis. Justin was critically injured while snowboarding on
Mt. Charleston, just outside
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, in 1997. An episode of Discovery Health's documentary series ''
Trauma: Life in the ER'' featured his treatment and recovery. Another son, Henry, has been diagnosed with
Asperger syndrome
Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, is a former neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in Interpersonal relationship, social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and re ...
and is profiled in the 2007 documentary ''
Autism: The Musical''. Stills's daughter Eleanor is a photographer and graduate of
Art Center College of Design
Art Center College of Design (stylized as ArtCenter College of Design) is a private art college in Pasadena, California.
History
ArtCenter College of Design was founded in 1930 in downtown Los Angeles as the Art Center School.
In 1935, Fred R. ...
in
Pasadena
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
Its ...
. Since Eleanor's graduation, she has been responsible for all recent Crosby, Stills & Nash photography. Stills has another daughter, Alex, who attends
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...
in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
and currently plays in the rock band Stilljill. His son
Chris
Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common.
People with the given name
* Chris Abani (born 1966), N ...
and daughter
Jennifer
Jennifer or Jenifer may refer to:
People
*Jennifer (given name)
* Jenifer (singer), French pop singer
* Jennifer Warnes, American singer who formerly used the stage name Jennifer
* Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer
* Daniel Jenifer
Film and tele ...
are both recording artists. His youngest son, Oliver Ragland, was born in 2004 and named in honor of Neil Young, whose maternal family name is Ragland.
Stills has long been involved in
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
causes and politics. In 2000, he served as a member of the Democratic Party credentials committee from Florida during the
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...
, and was a delegate in previous years.
In December 2018, Stills received an Honorary Doctorate in Music from the
University of Florida, Gainesville
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its Ga ...
, where he was a speaker at the commencement ceremony.
Stills performed with
Billy Porter during 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 ...
.
Style, musicianship, and sound
Stills is a guitarist whose music draws from myriad genres that include
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
,
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
,
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
,
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
and
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
. In addition,
Latin music
Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Music of Spain, Spain and Portuguese music, Portugal) ...
has played a key role in both his approach to percussion and guitar and he is also a multi-instrumentalist, capable of playing keyboards, bass, percussion, congas, clavinet, electric piano, piano, organ, banjo and drums.
Stills experimented with the guitar itself, including soaking strings in
barbecue sauce
Barbecue sauce (also abbreviated as BBQ sauce) is a sauce used as a marinade, basting (cooking), basting, condiment, or topping for meat cooked in the barbecue cooking style, including pork or beef ribs (food), ribs and chicken as food, chicken. I ...
or flipping pickups to mimic Hendrix playing a right-handed guitar left-handed. He is also known for using alternate
guitar tunings
Guitar tunings are the assignment of pitches to the open strings of guitars, including acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and classical guitars. Tunings are described by the particular pitches that are made by notes in Western music. By ...
, particularly when performing acoustically. Often a long acoustic solo section of the show would showcase agile
fingerstyle
Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of guitar picking, playing the guitar or bass guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking (plucking individual notes with ...
playing in standard and altered tunings. His primary alternate tuning is usually D A D F♯ A D, or "
Palmer
Palmer may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Palmer (pilgrim), a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land
* Palmer (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Palmer (surname), including a list of people and ...
modal tuning which is 'E E E E B E' ", which can be heard in "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," "
Carry On
Carry On may refer to:
* ''Carry On'' (franchise), a British comedy media franchise
*Carry-on luggage or hand luggage, luggage that is carried into the passenger compartment
* ''Carry On'' (film), a 1927 British silent film
* ''Carry On'' (novel), ...
," and "
4 + 20 "4 + 20" is a song by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, written by Stephen Stills, originally released on the band's 1970 album ''Déjà Vu''.. It was performed by Stephen Stills on solo acoustic guitar.
The song describes the inner torments and reflec ...
."
For the CSN debut album in 1969, Graham Nash commented that "Stephen had a vision, and David and I let him run with it."
Stills played every instrumental part on ''
Crosby, Stills and 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, ...
'' with the exception of some guitar by Crosby and Nash, and drums by
Dallas Taylor.
Discography
::''See also discographies for
The Au Go Go Singers,
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 ...
,
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, ...
.''
Albums
Singles
Other appearances
Guest appearances
Filmography and TV appearances
Tours
*
Memphis Horns Tour 1971
*
Manassas World Tour 1972
*
Manassas North American Tour 1973
*
1974 Theater Tour
*
1975 Tour
*
The Stills-Young Band Tour
*
1976 Tour
*
1979 California Blues Band Tour
References
External links
Official SiteCSN Official SiteCSNY Official SiteFive audio interview clips with Stephen StillsThe Rides*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stills, Stephen
American male singers
American folk rock musicians
American folk guitarists
American folk singers
American country guitarists
American blues guitarists
American country rock singers
American rock keyboardists
American rock drummers
American rock percussionists
American multi-instrumentalists
American rock pianists
American male pianists
American organists
American male organists
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
1945 births
Living people
Lead guitarists
Buffalo Springfield members
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young members
Atlantic Records artists
Columbia Records artists
Reprise Records artists
Musicians from Dallas
Singer-songwriters from Texas
Musicians from Tampa, Florida
Musicians from Los Angeles County, California
Zonians
Admiral Farragut Academy alumni
Gainesville High School (Florida) alumni
Henry B. Plant High School alumni
Saint Leo College Preparatory School alumni
Singer-songwriters from Florida
University of Florida alumni
People from Topanga, California
Guitarists from California
Guitarists from Florida
Guitarists from Texas
20th-century American drummers
American male drummers
20th-century American guitarists
20th-century American pianists
21st-century American keyboardists
21st-century organists
The Rides members
Singer-songwriters from California