Stephen Stills: Musician & Tactical Genius

Happy Birthday to the architect of Buffalo Springfield and Crosby Stills & Nash

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to singer-songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and guitar hero Stephen Stills. Besides his estimable solo career and his role in the landmark groups Buffalo Springfield, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, and Manassas.

Stills is a tactical genius who, for starters, set a bar for great guitar tonality in recording—listen to the detuned acoustic guitars that shimmer in “Bluebird”

Stills also championed slide, alternate tunings, and blues-rock methods that impressed Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. Stills’s eclectic upbringing pointed him to diverse music genres, particularly Caribbean/South American styles, evinced on “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”—he played most of the instruments (bass, drums, etc.) in a tightly harmonized pastiche of folk-pop Latin grooves.

Sidebar: In 1965 Stills was roomates with fellow folkie and musical dynamo Peter Tork. Stills told Peter about the casting call for “The Monkees” TV Show and Peter landed the gig. Contrary to urban legend that Stills auditioned for the show, the real story is that he auditioned as a songwriter in order to obtain a publishing deal with Colgems. Stills, along with Buffalo Springfield members Dewey Martin, Bruce Palmer, and Neil Young, later played on Monkees’s recordings. Example: Stills played lead on “Lady’s Baby”

–a song written by Peter.

In 1989 I was backed by my band The Rover Boys, opening for Stills at The Fillmore. We did our set, then rushed our gear offstage to make way for the headliner, who appeared moments before showtime and gave us a quick approval.

I stood backstage next to Stills’s well-appointed guitar rack, gushing with thoughts on this guy whose music has reached me since I was 10 years old, with that indelible performance of “For What It’s Worth” on the Smothers Brothers TV Show:

Years later I heard The Staple Singers cover that song, which inspired me to add it to my solo set. Here’s my take

Meanwhile, God bless and HB to Stephen Stills!

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