Left to right: Neil Young, David Crosby, Graham Nash, and Stephen Stills.
Just thought it would be nice to start off your Saturday with this gorgeous song written by Graham Nash and performed to perfection by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. It was released in 1970, off their brilliant album 'Déja Vu'.
Left to right: David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash.
There are certain things I miss about the music of the 70s and 80s. One of those is the shear beauty of groups who not only knew how to sing, but would write with gorgeous harmonies. Outside of boy bands, that really doesn't happen anymore. But there was a time when it not only happened, but it happened a lot, and it was divine. One such group was the iconic Crosby, Stills & Nash, all three members of the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. When David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash were singing, it was as if the angels took flight. One such time would be when they were singing the song written by Graham, "Just A Song Before I Go". The song, off off the 1977 album CSN, made it to #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was their highest charting single. The album was certified quadruple Platinum. In fact, of their first five albums, they had two certified Platinum, two quadruple Platinum, and one seven-times Platinum. Listen and find out why.
You can purchase CSN on iTunes and Amazon. Have a great Saturday.
Left to right: Stephen Stills, Dewey Martin, Bruce Palmer, Richie Furay, Neil Young
This is another group who made their mark and quickly left the scene. In April of 1966, Richie Furay, Dewey Martin, Stephen Stills, Neil Young and Bruce Palmer came together to form Buffalo Springfield. At that point, they were all pretty much unknowns in the US. But that was soon to change. Rather quickly, they started recording, and spent the summer laying down the tracks for their eponymous debut. It was released in December of '66, making it up to #80 on the Billboard Hot Album chart. The first two singles, Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing and Burned, went nowhere on the charts. By this time Stills had written another song inspired by some demonstrations he had seen in Los Angeles, and while it didn't make it on the first pressing of the album, it became the third single and was the lead cut on subsequent editions. The song, For What It's Worth, made it to #7 on the Hot 100 Singles chart, and cemented the band's place in rock history.
Left to right: Dewey Martin, Bruce Palmer, Neil Young, Richie Furay, Stephen Stills
Lore has it the song got it's name when Stills went to play it for record executives, and introduced it by saying, 'Here's the new song, for what it's worth.' Stills has repeated the story in interviews, explaining why the title never appears in the lyrics of the song.
In October of 1967, the band released their sophomore effort, Buffalo Springfield Again. Bassist Bruce Palmer was busted for possession of controlled substances, and deported to Canada for a period of time. He did return, only to have the same issue happen again. Songwriters Young, Stills and Furay all stepped up with their own songs, creating an air of antagonism. But once released, the critics and fans loved it, and it made it to #42 on the album chart. The first single, Bluebird, made it to #58 on the charts, and third single Expecting To Fly barely registered, hitting #98. The top-selling single was the second, Rock And Roll Woman, which made it to #44.
Soon they started to work on the third album. The recording of the album was said to be fraught with tension, as Young was often not available, and Palmer had another run in with the law, and was again deported. Bassist Jim Messina was brought in to replace him. Despite the difficulties, they completed Last Time Around for an July 1968 release. While the album did well, hitting #42 on the album chart, no single released manage to make it on the charts. Soon after they finished recording, Young, Furay, Messina and guitarist Eric Clapton had their own run in with the law, increasing the tensions. The group disbanded in May, playing their last show together in Long Beach, California. In 1997, the band was inducted into the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame.
