Crosby, Stills & Nash (and Young)

Crosby, Stills & Nash - known by its initials CSN - (which eventually became Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young for a time) was a pioneering rock and roll band featuring David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and, later, Neil Young. The group was a powerful, innovative and popular group, one of the few American bands that even came close to rivalling the Beatles in the late 1960s.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY) was a so-called supergroup, composed of members who had begun a musical career elsewhere. David Crosby (The Byrds), Graham Nash (The Hollies) and Stephen Stills (Buffalo Springfield) formed CSN in 1968 as a folk group. Crosby, Stills & Nash, the group's first, self-titled release came out in 1969 and became an instant hit. Neil Young (formerly of Buffalo Springfield, along with Stills) joined the group soon after for the release of Déjà Vu, a massively popular and critically acclaimed 1970 album. A major song which didn't make it to an original album was "Ohio", Neil Young's song in response to the Kent State massacre, where 4 university students on a demonstration were shot by National Guard.

After a summer tour, the group split up due to personality differences. The live album Four Way Street was released soon after and became another hit. The group re-formed in 1974 for an international tour and the release of a compilation album, So Far. CSN (without Young) released CSN in 1977 and then Daylight Again in 1982. Crosby was in jail from 1985 to 1986 struggling through drug problems and rejoined the group (along with Young) for 1988's American Dream (Young had promised to record another CSNY album as an incentive if Crosby could quit his drug habit). This was followed by a live album in 1990 and two new albums in the 1990s, After the Storm (CSN) (1994) and Looking Forward (CSNY) (1999).