Buffalo Springfield | |
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 The band in 1966, with, from left:Stephen Stills,Richie Furay,Bruce Palmer,Dewey Martin andNeil Young | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
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| Years active |
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| Past members | |
Buffalo Springfield was a Canadian-Americanrock band formed inLos Angeles in 1966 by CanadiansNeil Young,Bruce Palmer andDewey Martin and AmericansStephen Stills andRichie Furay. The group, widely known for the song "For What It's Worth",[1] released three albums and several singles from 1966 to 1968. Their music combined elements offolk music andcountry music with influences from theBritish Invasion andpsychedelic rock. Like the contemporary bandthe Byrds, they were key to the early development offolk rock. The band took their name from asteamroller parked outside their house.
Buffalo Springfield formed in Los Angeles in 1966 with Stills (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Martin (drums, vocals), Palmer (bass guitar), Furay (guitar, vocals) and Young (guitar, harmonica, piano, vocals).[2] The band signed toAtlantic Records in 1966 and released their debut single "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing", which became a hit in Los Angeles.[3] The following January, they released theprotest song "For What It's Worth", which became their only US top 10 hit and acounterculture anthem.[1] Their second album,Buffalo Springfield Again, marked their progression to psychedelia andhard rock[1] and featured songs such as "Bluebird" and "Mr. Soul".
After several drug-related arrests and line-up changes, the group disbanded in 1968. Their third and final album,Last Time Around, was compiled and released shortly after their dissolution. Stephen Stills went on to form the supergroupCrosby, Stills & Nash withDavid Crosby ofthe Byrds andGraham Nash ofthe Hollies. Neil Young launched his solo career and later joined Stills in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in 1969. Furay, along withJim Messina, went on to form the country-rock bandPoco.[4] Buffalo Springfield was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997,[3] and briefly reunited for a comeback tour in 2011.
Neil Young andStephen Stills met in 1965, at the Fourth Dimension inThunder Bay, Ontario. Young was there withthe Squires, aWinnipeg group he had been leading since February 1963, and Stills was on tour withthe Company, a spin-off from theAu Go Go Singers. When Stills' band broke up at the end of that tour, he moved to theWest Coast, where he worked as asession musician and auditioned unsuccessfully for, among other bands,the Monkees.[5] Told by record producerBarry Friedman there would be work available if he could assemble a band, Stills invited fellow Au Go Go Singers alumnus Richie Furay and formerSquires bass playerKen Koblun to come join him inCalifornia. Both agreed, although Koblun chose to leave before very long and joined the group3's a Crowd.
While in Toronto in early 1966, Young metBruce Palmer, a Canadian who was playing bass forthe Mynah Birds. In need of a lead guitarist, Palmer invited Young to join the group, and Young accepted. The Mynah Birds were set to record an album forMotown Records when their singer Ricky James Matthews, later known asRick James, was tracked down and arrested by the U.S. Navy for beingAWOL.
With their record deal cancelled, Young and Palmer pawned the Mynah Birds' musical equipment and bought a 1953Pontiachearse, which they drove toLos Angeles.[6] Young and Palmer arrived in L.A. hoping to meetStephen Stills, who, as Young had learned, was living in the city. However, after almost a week of searching clubs and coffeehouses, the pair had been unable to find Stills. Consequently, on April 6, 1966, Young and Palmer decided to leave Los Angeles and drive north toSan Francisco. While the two were stuck in traffic onSunset Boulevard, they were spotted by Stills andRichie Furay, who were heading the other direction down Sunset. Stills and Furay managed to switch lanes and maneuver behind Young's hearse, at which point the musicians pulled off the road and reunited.[6]
DrummerDewey Martin, who had played withgarage rock groupthe Standells and withcountry artists such asPatsy Cline andthe Dillards, joined at the suggestion ofthe Byrds' manager, Jim Dickson. The group's name was taken from a brand ofsteamroller made by the Buffalo-Springfield Roller Company.[7] The new group debuted on 11 April 1966, atThe Troubadour inWest Hollywood, five days after the chance encounter on Sunset Boulevard. A few days later, they began a short tour of California as the opening act forthe Dillards andthe Byrds.
Chris Hillman of the Byrds persuaded the owners of theWhisky a Go Go to give Buffalo Springfield an audition, and they essentially became the house band at the Whisky for seven weeks, from May 2 to June 18, 1966. This series of concerts solidified the band's reputation for live performances and attracted interest from a number of record labels. It also brought an invitation from Friedman to Dickie Davis (who had been the Byrds' lighting manager) to become involved in the group's management. In turn, Davis sought advice fromSonny & Cher's management team, Charlie Greene and Brian Stone; unbeknownst to Davis and Friedman, Greene and Stone then aggressively pitched themselves to the band to be their new managers. Friedman was fired, and Davis was made the group's tour manager. Greene and Stone made a deal withAhmet Ertegun ofAtlantic Records for a four-album contract with a $12,000 advance, following a brief bidding war withElektra Records andWarner Bros. Records, and arranged for the band to start recording atGold Star Studios in Hollywood.
The first Buffalo Springfield single, "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing", was released in August, but made little impact outside Los Angeles, where it reached the top 25. Young and Stills have long maintained that their ownmono mix was superior to thestereo mix engineered by Greene and Stone. The band'seponymous album was released by Atlantic subsidiaryAtco in mono and in stereo in October 1966.[9] A revamped version issued both in mono and stereo with a different track order was issued in March of the following year.
In November 1966, Stills composed "For What It's Worth", responding to a protest that had turned violent following the closing of thePandora's Box nightclub onSunset Strip.[10] The song was performed on Thanksgiving night at the Whisky a Go Go, recorded within the next few days, and on the air in Los Angeles on radio stationKHJ soon afterwards. By March 1967, it was a top ten hit. Atco took advantage of this momentum by replacing the song "Baby Don't Scold Me" with "For What It's Worth" and re-releasing the album. "For What It's Worth" sold over one million copies and was awarded agold disc.[11]
In January 1967, Palmer was deported for possession ofmarijuana[12] but returned to the group at the beginning of June, while Young was temporarily absent (guitarist Doug Hastings filled in for Young during this period). The band, withDavid Crosby sitting in, played theMonterey Pop Festival.[13] Young returned in August and the band severed ties with Greene and Stone, then divided its time between playing gigs and finalising the second album, ultimately titledBuffalo Springfield Again. Produced by Ertegun,Buffalo Springfield Again was released in November 1967. It includes "Mr. Soul", "Rock & Roll Woman", "Bluebird", "Sad Memory", and "Broken Arrow". The band toured as support forthe Beach Boys during early 1968.[14] In January of that year, after Palmer was again deported for drug possession,Jim Messina, who had worked as engineer on the band's second album, was hired as a permanent replacement onbass.[15] During this period Young began to appear less and less frequently, and he often left Stills to handle lead guitar parts at concerts. Recording sessions were booked, and all the songs that appeared on the final album were recorded by the end of March, usually with Messina producing.
In theNetflix documentaryEcho in the Canyon, Stills related an incident that illustrated the band's problems with law enforcement. The band were hosting a small rehearsal party, attended byEric Clapton among others, in April 1968.[15] Despite reportedly playing at a comfortable sound level, a police officer arrived after a disturbing the peace complaint. During the encounter, the officer smelled marijuana and Stills ran next door to "call lawyers," but in actuality went next door and escaped out the bathroom window. According to Stills, Young was going to chase the police down the street, to which Stills said "cause he's Canadian and I guess in Canada you can do that". Ultimately, Young, Furay and Messina were arrested and sent to theLos Angeles County Jail.
Following a gig at the Long Beach Auditorium on 5 May 1968, the band held a meeting with Ertegun to arrange their breakup. Stills and Furay stayed with Atlantic, while Young moved to Warner Bros.[15] Later, Furay and Messina compiled various tracks recorded between mid-1967 and early 1968 into the third and final studio album,Last Time Around (1968).
Martin formed a new version of Buffalo Springfield in September 1968. Dubbed New Buffalo Springfield, the lineup consisted of guitarists Dave Price (Davy Jones's stand-in withthe Monkees), Gary Rowles (son of jazz pianistJimmy Rowles) who later joined Arthur Lee'sLove, bass player Bob Apperson, drummer Don Poncher (also later a member of Love), and horn playerJim Price, who later became a top session musician forDelaney Bramlett,the Rolling Stones,Joe Cocker and others.[16]
The new band toured extensively and appeared at the highly publicized Holiday Rock Festival in San Francisco on 25–26 December 1968, but soon ran afoul of Stills and Young, who took legal action to prevent Martin from using the band's name. Following an agreement to give up future royalties from Buffalo Springfield's recordings, Martin was allowed to use the nameNew Buffalo.[16] He attempted to retrieve his rights in 1974 and though the matter was settled out of court, he felt that he had been mistreated.[17]
In February 1969, Martin and Dave Price formed a second version of New Buffalo with guitarist Bob "BJ" Jones and bass playerRandy Fuller, brother of the lateBobby Fuller. The band made some recordings with producerTom Dowd overseeing, but they were scrapped. Another guitarist, Joey Newman (formerly of Don and the Goodtimes, later of the pioneering prog group Touch), was added in June 1969, but two months later Martin was fired, and the remaining members carried on asBlue Mountain Eagle. Martin then formed a new group called Medicine Ball, which released a lone album in 1970 forUni Records. Martin also released two solo singles, one for Uni and one for RCA, which did not appear on the album. During the 1970s, he retired from the music industry and became a car mechanic.[16]
In 1984, Bruce Palmer teamed up with Frank Wilks (vocals, guitar),Stan Endersby (guitar) and Alan Prosser (drums) to form the Springfield Band, which became Buffalo Springfield Revisited in 1985 when Dewey Martin was brought up toToronto to join, and off they went on tour for the next three to four years under this band name (though Martin dropped out by 1987). Neil Young and Stephen Stills gave Buffalo Springfield Revisited permission to tour with that name.[18]
In July 1986, Palmer, Martin, Furay, Young and Stills gathered at Stills' house, with Buffalo Springfield Revisited keyboardist Harlan Spector, to rehearse for an apparent reunion tour. One of the 1986 rehearsals was video recorded. It was the last time all five original members performed together. Plans for a subsequent reunion tour were abandoned.[19]
By 1990, Bruce Palmer and Frank Wilks had moved toTopanga, California, where Dennis Knicely joined to perform percussion. The following year they started White Buffalo along with Dewey Martin and others, then Martin formed the short lived Buffalo Springfield Again in 1991 with Billy Darnell (guitar), Robin Lambe (bass) andMichael Curtis (vocals, guitar). But Furay issued acease and desist order on Martin in 1992, and Martin retired from music again the following year.[20]
On his albumSilver & Gold (2000), Young sang of his desire to re-form the group and to "see those guys again and give it a shot" in "Buffalo Springfield Again". Palmer (2004) and Martin (2009) later died, preventing a reunion of the original lineup.
Young, Stills and Furay reunited at the annualBridge School Benefit concerts on October 23 and 24, 2010, inMountain View, California.Rolling Stone called the performance "nostalgic, blissful, and moving".[21]
The band reunited for six concerts starting inOakland on 1 June 2011, followed by dates in Los Angeles andSanta Barbara, before moving on to play the 2011Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival inManchester, Tennessee.[22] The band consisted of Furay, Stills, Young,Rick Rosas andJoe Vitale.[23][24] According to Furay and a band spokesman, the group planned a full tour in 2012, but this was delayed because Young was recording two new albums withCrazy Horse.[25] On 27 February 2012, Furay announced that the band was on indefinite hiatus.[26]
In 1968, Stills went on to formCrosby, Stills & Nash withDavid Crosby ofthe Byrds andGraham Nash ofthe Hollies. Meanwhile, Furay and Messina formedPoco, and Young launched his solo career. In 1969, Young reunited with Stills inCrosby, Stills, Nash & Young. After Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Stills joined with another former Byrd Chris Hillman (after his stint withthe Flying Burrito Brothers) and others to form the groupManassas (1971–1973). Later, Furay joinedJD Souther andChris Hillman to form theSouther-Hillman-Furay Band, and Messina teamed withKenny Loggins inLoggins & Messina.
In 1982–1983, Palmer was a bassist on Young's albumTrans and toured with him in America and Europe, as seen onNeil Young in Berlin, filmed in 1982.
In 1997, Buffalo Springfield was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame.[27] A four-disc box set assembled by Young,Buffalo Springfield, was released in 2001.[28] A further box setWhat's That Sound? Complete Albums Collection was released in 2018 byRhino Records.
Additional musicians
| Year | Album details | US | FRA [30] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Buffalo Springfield
| 80 | 122 |
| 1967 | Buffalo Springfield Again
| 44 | — |
| 1968 | Last Time Around
| 42 | — |
| Year | Album details | US | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Retrospective: The Best of Buffalo Springfield
| 42 | |
| 1973 | Buffalo Springfield
| 104[33] | |
| 2001 | Buffalo Springfield(box set)
| 194 | |
| 2018 | What's That Sound? Complete Albums Collection(box set)
| — |
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [34] | CAN [35] | NZ [36] | ||||
| 1966 | "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" b/w "Go and Say Goodbye" | 110[A] | 75 | — | Buffalo Springfield | |
| "Burned" b/w "Everybody's Wrong" | — | — | — | |||
| 1967 | "For What It's Worth"[B] b/w "Do I Have to Come Right Out and Say It" | 7 | 5 | 19 |
| |
| "Bluebird" b/w "Mr. Soul" | 58 | 38 | — | Buffalo Springfield Again | ||
| "Rock 'n' Roll Woman" b/w "A Child's Claim to Fame" | 44 | 37 | — | |||
| "Expecting to Fly" b/w "Everydays" | 98 | 41 | — | |||
| 1968 | "Uno Mundo" b/w "Merry-Go-Round" | 105[A] | — | — | Last Time Around | |
| "Special Care" b/w "Kind Woman" | 107[A] | — | — | |||
| "On the Way Home" b/w "Four Days Gone" | 82 | 86 | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||
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| National | |
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