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Stephen Arthur Stills is an American Guitarist and Singer/songwriter best known for his work with the Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young . EARLY YEARS Stephen Stills was born in Dallas, Texas on January 3 , 1945 to a military family. Moving around as a child, he developed an interest in Blues and Folk Music . He was also influenced by Latin Music after spending his teenage years in Costa Rica and the Panama Canal Zone , where he graduated High School . Stills dropped out of the University Of Florida to pursue a music career in the early 1960s. He played in a series of unsuccessful bands including the Continentals, which featured future Eagles guitarist '''Don Felder'''. Stills eventually ended up in a nine-member vocal harmony group, the house act at the famous Cafe Au Go Go in NYC, called the '''Au Go Go Singers''' (1964/65) where he met Richie Furay . This group released one album in 1964 and broke up in 1965. Afterwards, Stills, along with four other members of the Au Go Go Singers, formed ''The Company,'' a folk/rock group. Three years before performing in the Au Go Go Singers, these same four (Rick (nee Frederic) Geiger, Roy Michaels, Jean Gurney & Michael Scott), were the ''Bay Singers,'' a folk/bluegrass quartet that eventually morphed into the formation of the Au Go Go Singers. The Company embarked on a 6-week tour of Canada where Stills met a young guitarist named Neil Young . On the VH1 ''CSNY Legends'' special, Stills would say that at that time, Young was doing what he always wanted to do, "play folk music in a rock band." The Company broke up in New York within four months, opening up the way for Geiger to join a light opera company in Los Angeles; Michaels to link up with Jimi Hendrix, Gurney to go on to college while doing TV commercials, and Scott to tour with a retro-Highwaymen. Stills did session work and went to various auditions (including an unsuccessful one for The Monkees ). In 1966 he convinced a reluctant Furay, then living in Massachusetts at the home of a former member of the Au Go Go Singers, to move with him to California. BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD & CSNY ''Main articles'': Buffalo Springfield , Crosby, Stills & Nash (and Young) Stills, Furay, and Young reunited Los Angeles and formed the core of the Buffalo Springfield. The band would release three albums ('' Buffalo Springfield '', '' Buffalo Springfield Again '', and '' Last Time Around '') and one hit single (Stills' " For What It's Worth ") before breaking up. Stills' guitar playing continually evolved. Early on, it would display sources in generic rock'n'roll, blues, and country music, as well as the chordings familiar in the acoustic-folk music scene. Soon Stills' playing would show the influence of his friend Jimi Hendrix and also sometimes the rhythms and riffs of various kinds of Latin music. During the disintegration of Buffalo Springfield, Stills would join up with ex- Byrd David Crosby and ex- Hollie Graham Nash to form the Supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash. Neil Young would be added for their second album, and the group would become '''Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young'''. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, CSN and CSNY was one of the few North American groups to rival the Beatles in popularity. Despite several breakups and reformations, CSN (and sometimes CSNY) still records and tours to this day. SOLO YEARS In the wake of CSNY's success, all four members recorded solo albums. In 1970, Stills released his self-titled debut, which featured guests Eric Clapton , Jimi Hendrix , and Ringo Starr as well as contributions from other members of CSNY. It provided Stills with the hit single "Love The One You're With" as well as the concert favorite "Black Queen." Stills followed this with ''Stephen Stills 2'', which featured "Change Partners", Nash saw this as a metaphor for the many relationships in CSNY, while stills viewed the band as somthing much less bland and repetitive. The next year, Stills teamed up with ex-Byrd Chris Hillman and several CSNY sidemen to form the band Manassas. Then he switched to Columbia Records before an attempted reunion with Young. At one point, ''Long May You Run'' was supposed to be a CSNY record, but when Crosby and Nash left to fufill recording and touring obligations, Stills and Young decided to go on as the Stills-Young Band. However, Young would leave midway through the resulting tour due to an apparent throat infection. Stills was contractually bound to finish the tour, but he did reunite with Crosby and Nash shortly afterwards. This has led to the semi-permanent CSN reunion even though all three have released solo records since then. In 1997, Stills became the first person to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame twice in the same night for his work with CSN and the Buffalo Springfield. 2005 saw Stills release 'Man Alive'; his first solo offering in 14 years. Although not troubling the chart compilers, the record was critically well received and is regarded by many fans as his best since the mid seventies. POLITICAL ACTIVITIES CSNY has long been associated with Liberal causes. In 2000, Stills was an Al Gore delegate from Florida during the Democratic National Convention . DISCOGRAPHY Solo
As a member of the Au Go Go Singers
As a member of the Buffalo Springfield
As a member of Crosby, Stills & Nash (and Young)
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