Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY) was one of the greatest band of the sixties. Their vocal harmonies and the special musical background of each member created the unique sound of CSNY.

This E-book will tell their story.

In 1965 Neil Young and Stephen Stills meet in Ontario.

Later Stills described that the first connection between him and Young revolved around “playing folk songs on electric guitar”.

In 1966 they meet again in California and formed Buffalo Springfield. They released two albums – Buffalo Springfield, Buffalo Springfield Again.

The song “For what it’s worth”, which was written by Stills as a response to the Sunset Strip curfew riots in Los Angeles in 1966, was a hit.

Eventually they broke up in 1968.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp5JCrSXkJY&ab_channel=PettyYou007

David Crosby was with the Byrds from 1964, a group that transformed from very “rubber soul” like folk rock to psychedelic rock. This transformation is evident in the difference between two of their most famous songs:

Turn! Turn! Turn! (1965) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVOJla2vYx8&ab_channel=TheByrdsVEVO

Eight miles high (1966) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxyOhFBoxSY&ab_channel=TheByrdsVEVO

Graham Nash started playing skiffle when he was in primary school in England. Then in 1962 he formed the Hollies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLgeY3LR9JQ&ab_channel=ianabroad

Young left Buffalo Springfield in 1968 and Crosby, who already played with Stills in 1967 filling Youngs place, teamed up with Stills.

Cass Elliot from the Mamas & the Papas introduced Nash to Crosby and Stills. They sang together for the first time in Cass Elliots or Joni Mitchells house and the formed CSN.

In 1969 CSN auditioned to the Beatles’ Apple Records but the label passed. Their cover of Blackbird demonstrates the unique harmony that they had.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3ci7sfJytc&ab_channel=gibsg62

Eventually, they singed to Atlantic Records and in 1969 released Crosby, Stills & Nash.

The album was a hit and in search for a keyboard player for their up coming tour Young joined the group.

The second performance they ever preformed was in Woodstock. They became one of the voices of counterculture of the sixties.

Suite: Judy Blue Eyes live in Woodstock –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-azgwfnZu7c&ab_channel=Mofromusic

Their second and most successful album Déjà Vu was released in 1970. Thanks to their harmonies, the use of acoustic and electric guitars and lyrics, SCNYs Déjà Vu became a symbol of the counterculture of the late sixties. Their concerts were rock show as well as political rallies.

One of the hits from the album is the song “Teach Your Children”. The song captures the complicated relationship between the “silent generation” (1928-1945)and the “baby boomers” (1946-1964) and calls for understanding and dialogue between them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkaKwXddT_I&ab_channel=TomPage

You, who are on the road
Must have a code that you can live by
And so, become yourself
Because the past is just a goodbye

Teach your children well
Their father’s hell did slowly go by
And feed them on your dreams
The one they pick’s the one you’ll know by

Don’t you ever ask them, “Why?”
If they told you, you would cry
So just look at them and sigh
And know they love you

And you (Can you hear?) of tender years (And do you care?)
Can’t know the fears (And can you see?)
That your elders grew by (We must be free)
And so, please help (To teach your children)
Them with your youth (What you believe in)
They seek the truth (Make a world)
Before they can die (That we can live in)

And teach your parents well
Their children’s hell will slowly go by
And feed them on your dreams
The one they pick’s the one you’ll know by

Don’t you ever ask them, “Why?
If they told you, you will cry
So just look at them and sigh
And know they love you

“Ohio” is another song from the album. The song was written by young as response to the “Kent State massacre”. On May 4 1970 four unarmed students were shoot and killed by Ohios national guard during a protest against the war in Vietnam.

The song was released at first as a single with another any war song by Stills on the B-side, “Find the Cost of Freedom”.

Another song that corresponded with the counterculture of the sixties is “Almost Cut My Hair”. Like a lot of young people in the sixties, Crosby experienced the real dilemma whether to cut his hair or let it grow as a symbol of opposition and rebellion.

Eventually, he chose to let his “freak flag fly”.

Almost cut my hair
It happened just the other day
It’s gettin’ kinda long
I coulda said it wasn’t in my way
But I didn’t and I wonder why
I feel like letting my freak flag fly
Yes, I feel like I owe it to someone

Must be because I had a flu for Christmas
And I’m not feeling up to par
It increases my paranoia
Like looking at my mirror and seeing a police car
But I’m not giving in an inch to fear
‘Cause I promised myself this year
I feel like I owe it to someone

When I finally get myself together
I’m going to get down in that sunny southern weather
And I’ll find a place inside to laugh
Separate the wheat from the chaff
I feel like I owe it
To someone, yeah

In July 1970 the tour of Déjà Vu ended and so the band. Young left the group for a solo career.

All in all they were together for only one year but their music stayed with us forever as a symbol of an era.