Famed for his work in
Buffalo Springfield and
Crosby, Stills & Nash, two of pop music's most successful and enduring groups,
Stephen Stills was born in Dallas, TX, on January 3, 1945. He became fascinated by music at a young age, and by the age of 15 was playing professionally. He eventually dropped out of college to move to New York City to try his hand as a folk performer before signing on as a guitar player with the Au Go-Go Singers, where he befriended a fellow bandmate named
Richie Furay.
After a tour of Canada (during which they headlined a bill with the Squires, which featured guitarist
Neil Young),
Stills left the Au Go-Gos in 1965 for Los Angeles, where he became enmeshed in the city's burgeoning folk-rock community.
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Famed for his work in
Buffalo Springfield and
Crosby, Stills & Nash, two of pop music's most successful and enduring groups,
Stephen Stills was born in Dallas, TX, on January 3, 1945. He became fascinated by music at a young age, and by the age of 15 was playing professionally. He eventually dropped out of college to move to New York City to try his hand as a folk performer before signing on as a guitar player with the Au Go-Go Singers, where he befriended a fellow bandmate named
Richie Furay.
After a tour of Canada (during which they headlined a bill with the Squires, which featured guitarist
Neil Young),
Stills left the Au Go-Gos in 1965 for Los Angeles, where he became enmeshed in the city's burgeoning folk-rock community. After a series of session gigs and auditions (including one for the TV series The Monkees), in the spring of 1966
Stills enlisted
Young,
Furay, bassist Bruce Palmer, and drummer Dewey Martin to form the Herd, later dubbed
the Buffalo Springfield. A year later, the group issued their eponymous debut; its
Stills-penned single "For What It's Worth," made them stars. Internal problems, ego clashes, and drugs were already tearing the band apart, however, and by the release of 1968's Last Time Around,
the Springfield had already dissolved.
Stills quickly resurfaced with 1968's Super Session, recorded with fellow guitarists
Mike Bloomfield and
Al Kooper. A jam session with ex-
Byrd David Crosby and former
Hollies member
Graham Nash led to the formation of the vocal harmony supergroup
Crosby, Stills & Nash; released in 1969, their self-titled debut was hugely successful, propelled by the single "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," written by
Stills for folksinger
Judy Collins. Later that year,
Neil Young joined the loose-knit group, and in 1970, as
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, they issued Déjà Vu, another major hit.
From its inception,
CSNY was designed to allow the individual performers great latitude for their solo work, and following the recording of the group's live LP Four Way Street, in late 1970
Stills released his self-titled solo debut. Sparked by the success of the hit single "Love the One You're With," the album, which featured cameos from
Jimi Hendrix and
Eric Clapton, was another smash, as was his 1971 follow-up Stephen Stills 2. In 1972,
Stills began performing with a new backing unit, Manassas, which featured ex-
Byrd and
Flying Burrito Brother Chris Hillman; both their eponymous debut and 1973's Down the Road continued
Stills' long string of chart successes.
In 1975, he celebrated his signing to Columbia with {^Stills}, followed a year later by Illegal Stills. In the summer of 1976, he planned to tour with
Neil Young; however,
Young was hampered with throat problems, so
Stills took to the road alone, although he and
Young did team for the LP Long May You Run. In 1977,
Stills reunited with
Crosby and
Nash for {^CSN}, which sold over four million copies; the following summer the trio mounted an acoustic tour, and
Stills issued the solo record Thoroughfare Gap.
CSN continued their reunion throughout the early years of the next decade, teaming in 1980 for Replay and in 1982 for Daylight Again, which featured the hits "Southern Cross" and "Wasted on the Way."
Following 1983's live
CSN effort Allies,
Stills again went solo for 1984's Right by You. In 1985,
Crosby was sent to prison on drug possession charges, and
Stills spent much of the late '80s out of the public eye. Following
Crosby's release, in 1988 the reconstituted
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young recorded American Dream, followed in 1990 by the
CSN release Live It Up. In 1991,
Stills issued the solo LP Stills Alone, while
CSN's After the Storm appeared in 1994. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
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