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Crosby Stills & Nash

Initially formed by the trio of David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, the genesis of the group lies in two 1960s rock bands, The Byrds and The Hollies, and the demise of a third, Buffalo Springfield. Friction existed between David Crosby and his bandmates in the Byrds, and he was dismissed from the Byrds in the fall of 1967.

By early 1968, Buffalo Springfield had also disintegrated over personal issues, and after aiding in putting together the band’s final album, Stephen Stills found himself unemployed by the summer. He and Crosby began meeting informally and jamming, the results of one encounter in Florida on Crosby’s schooner being the song “Wooden Ships,” composed in collaboration with another guest, Paul Kantner.

Graham Nash had been introduced to Crosby when the Byrds had toured the UK in 1966, and when the Hollies ventured to California in 1968, Nash resumed his acquaintance with Crosby. At a party, Nash asked Stills and Crosby to repeat their performance of a new song by Stills, “You Don't Have To Cry,” with Nash improvising a second harmony part. The vocals jelled, and the three realized that they had a unique vocal chemistry.

Creatively frustrated with the Hollies, Nash decided to quit and throw his lot in with Crosby and Stills. After failing an audition with the Beatles' Apple Records, they were signed to Atlantic Records by Ahmet Ertegün, who had been a fan of the Springfield and disappointed by that band's demise. From the outset, given their respective band histories, the trio decided not to be locked into a group structure, using their surnames as identification to ensure independence and a guarantee against the band simply continuing without one of them, as had both the Byrds and the Hollies after the departures of Crosby and Nash. Their record contract with Atlantic reflected this, positioning CSN with a unique flexibility unheard of for an untested group. The trio also picked up a unique management team in Elliot Roberts and David Geffen, who had engineered their situation with Atlantic and would help to consolidate clout for the group in the industry. Roberts kept the band focused and dealt with egos, while Geffen handled the business deals, since, in Crosby’s words, they needed a shark and Geffen was it. Roberts and Geffen would play key roles in securing the band’s success during the early years.

When it was announced that the band was forming, they ran into a slight contractual problem. Nash was already signed to Epic Records, the North American distributor of records by the Hollies, while Crosby and Stills were signed to Atlantic. In order to resolve this problem, Geffen engineered a deal whereby Nash was essentially traded to Atlantic for the rights to Richie Furay's band Poco; Furay was signed to Atlantic as a result of his membership in Buffalo Springfield.

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Extended Analysis

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: CSNY 1974

Read "Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: CSNY 1974" reviewed by Doug Collette


Its multi-foldout package of three CD's, DVD (or Blu-Ray) and a one-hundred eighty-eight page booklet as smartly designed as it is handsome, CSNY 1974 represents a painstaking labor of love on the part of Graham Nash, who supervised the project over a protracted period of time, in collaboration with co-producer Joel Bernstein and engineer Stanley Tajima Johnston as well as Stephen Stills, David Crosby and Neil Young. The audio and video recordings within document a much ballyhooed reunion that's been ...

685
Extended Analysis

Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young: 4 Way Street

Read "Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young: 4 Way Street" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


One thing the blues ain't... is funny Touted as one of the worst live albums of all time by Dave Marsh's Book of Rock Lists, Four Way Street may be anything but that. Sure, it's sloppy, poorly recorded and a bit self-indulgent, but hey, it was 1970 and it does not compare with the bloated carcasses released later in the decade (Zep's The Song Remains The Same comes to mind, as well as a legion of Grateful Dead ...

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Recording

CSNY 1974 Debuts at #17, #37, #81 on Billboard Top 200, #1 on Billboard Folk

CSNY 1974 Debuts at #17, #37, #81 on Billboard Top 200, #1 on Billboard Folk

Source: Michael Ricci

CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG’S HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED BOX SET, CSNY 1974, DEBUTS AT #17, #37 and #81 ON BILLBOARD’S TOP 200 CHART, #1 ON BILLBOARD’S FOLK ALBUM CHART THE LONG AWAITED RELEASE INCLUDES 40 LIVE TRACKS, ALL PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, FROM THEIR HISTORIC 1974 SUMMER TOUR 40 YEARS AGO LOS ANGELES – CSNY 1974, the long awaited boxed set from the historic 1974 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young arena tour, has debuted three (3) times at #17, #37 and #81 on Billboard’s ...

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Video / DVD

CSNY's Historic 1974 Tour

CSNY's Historic 1974 Tour

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Today it sounds like standard operating procedure, but in 1974, sending a rock band out to play extended sets at 31 stadiums, raceways and arenas that held up to 50,000 fans per venue had never been attempted before. That's exactly what promoter Bill Graham convinced Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young to do in July of that year when the band reunited for a marathon series of concerts. Plenty of big bands had played single concerts at ball fields and outdoor ...

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Performance / Tour

Crosby Stills & Nash Rescheduled Concert Info

Crosby Stills & Nash Rescheduled Concert Info

Source: Michael Ricci

Due to David Crosby being “under the weather," according to a press statement, the band has postponed its three Southland gigs this week.

A Sept. 22 show slated for Santa Barbara has been moved to Oct. 1, and all tickets will be exchangeable for the new concert date, or ticket holders may request a refund at the place of purchase.

A Sept. 23 gig at the Greek has been moved to Oct. 3, and tonight's (Sept. 25) performance in Indio ...

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Performance / Tour

Crosby, Stills and Nash at the Greek Theatre

Crosby, Stills and Nash at the Greek Theatre

Source: All About Jazz

Four decades after their first concert together in front of the multitudes at Woodstock, Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) take to the road again for four months of dates in the U.S. Canada, Europe and the U.K.

The group David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nashjust announced a second North American leg for their 2009 tour, which extends the itinerary through September. The Los Angeles stop will take place at the Greek Theatre on Wednesday, September 23 at 7:30 PM. ...

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Music Industry

Crosby, Stills and Nash Mark 40 Years of Music

Crosby, Stills and Nash Mark 40 Years of Music

Source: All About Jazz

David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash are certainly aware theyve been working together for a long time, but when Rolling Stone spelled out a number 40 years the figure still stunned the trio.

It certainly seems to have gone very quickly, Nash told RS during a recent trip to our offices. In my memory its like yesterday, he said. We love each other, Stills added. Which is clearly whats helped keep Crosby, Stills and Nash on the road and ...

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Recording

Crosby, Stills & Nash Release Demos

Crosby, Stills & Nash Release Demos

Source: All About Jazz

Early recordings of a dozen Crosby, Stills & Nash tracks -- including favorites such as “Marrakesh Express," “Almost Cut My Hair," “Deja Vu," “Love the One You're With" and “Chicago" -- will be featured on an album of demos due in stores on June 2.

The release of the Rhino Records set, Crosby, Stills & Nash Demos, coincides with the trio's June 18 induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and a brief summer tour of the United States and ...

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TV / Film

Crosby, Stills and Nash Talk About Their New Movie and Old Bands

Crosby, Stills and Nash Talk About Their New Movie and Old Bands

Source: All About Jazz

Last week, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash came by the Rolling Stone offices to have lunch, chat about their new film CSNY: Dj Vu talk about their past and current musical relationships.

For more on CSN -- including news on their new album -- check out the Smoking Section in the new issue of Rolling Stone, on newsstands tomorrow.

On Their Current Relationship

Nash: We have what marriages don't have. It's called music. We've always realized that music ...

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