BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD

Buffalo Springfield showcased the prodigious talents of Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Richie Furay and Jim Messina. With the possible exception of The Byrds, no other band had such an impact on the burgeoning folk rock scene and the California Sound of the 1960s.


"For What It's Worth (excerpt)" and "Mr. Soul" (1967)

In 1966, after witnessing the police riot on the Sunset Strip, Stephen Stills composed "For What It's Worth," and scored a top ten hit for Buffalo Springfield in 1967. The band broke up two years later, and Stills joined former Byrd David Crosby and Graham Nash of the Hollies to form Crosby, Stills, and Nash--soon to be joined by Neil Young.


"Rock and Roll Woman"(1967)

Cute outfits and pop folksiness gave way to heavier sounds in 1969, the year Buffalo Springfield broke up and Crosby, Stills, and Nash released their first album.


"Down by the River." Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young at Big Sur (1969). The country folk pop was gone, and now an electric super group soared for the Northern California hippies.


"You Don't Have to Cry," Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on the Tom Jones Show (1970). They could still do wind chimes and beautiful harmonies.

DAMN HIPPIES

Crosby, Stills, & Nash

Here are some damn hippies. When you were out running in the rat race, these lucky bastards were playing guitars, smoking weed, growing their hair long, and stealing your girlfriend. Or trying to, anyway. Sure, they were freaks and weirdos, outsiders and losers, even anti-war protesters...but they made some good tunes.

Hippie Costume

They're easy to poke fun at now (What does a deadhead say when he runs out of pot? This music sucks!) and sure they were naive and utopian, but maybe they deserve a little respect for escaping the lock-step conformity of their time and having some joi d'vivre back when you were still wearing white belts and feathering your hair, back when you thought Tricia Nixon was hot. Own your lameness. For just a moment, transcend...kick off your shoes, light a banana, and groove along with these crazy hippies!

For the grand finale, here's the Grateful Dead--yup, I make fun of them myself on occasion--but listen to the interplay of bass and guitar in this lysergic classic, "China Cat Sunflower," and hear how it evolves into "I Know You Rider." It really doesn't get more hippie than this. Come on, you're practically there. You're nearly groovy. Peaceout.


The Dead

HELLO, MR. SOUL, I JUST DROPPED BY...

Here's The Buffalo Springfield, featuring Neil Young and Stephen Stills, performing on The Hollywood Palace. This is a great clip of "For What It's Worth" and "Mr. Soul," with a priceless introduction by an old hack. This was beamed out across America when there were only three or four channels on your television. Imagine that.

Stephen Stills went on to join David Crosby, formerly of The Byrds, and Graham Nash, formerly of The Hollies, to form Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Neil Young joined them on their second album. Below, CSNY perform "Down By the River" in 1969.

STRANGE SCENES FROM AMERICA (1969)

Maybe these damn hippies seem naive by today's standards, but these clips of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young should melt your cynicism a little if you're not already too far gone. Hanging out, shooting the breeze, jamming on Stills' "Black Queen", "Find The Cost of Freedom", and Crosby's "Laughing".
The second part is the morning after Woodstock, so a little utopian enthusiasm is forgivable. Literally just off the plane from the festival, the band has arrived blissed-out at Dick Cavett's TV studio, ready to spread the news. Stephen Stills sings "4+20." Friends Joni Mitchell and some of the Jefferson Airplane are there, too. Use your imagination. For one golden moment it seemed the world might change for the better, and pessimism and superstition would be swept aside for peace, love, and understanding. Corny, right? I guess you had to be there.