Crosby, Stills & Nash, along with Cream, share the honor of being the first supergroup in history, and they, in particular, are the greatest in folk rock and country rock.
The legendary past of its members was impressive and groundbreaking. David Crosby came from one of the pioneering folk rock bands, The Byrds, while Stephen Stills came from another influential band of the genre, Buffalo Springfield, and finally, Graham Nash came from one of the giants of British pop and blues, The Hollies. In 1969, they achieved one of the greatest accomplishments with their first and astonishing album, considered a true classic of rock music.
After that first album, the trio embarked on an epic tour, for which they recruited a backing band. On the advice of Atlantic Records, they were suggested Neil Young, Stills' former bandmate in Buffalo Springfield, a Canadian who was already achieving great success with his new band, Crazy Horse.
Young finally accepted the challenge, but not before setting some conditions, including that this new position wouldn't prevent him from continuing his solo career.
In August 1969, the entire band performed at the Woodstock festival, in a show divided into two parts. The first consisted of an acoustic set, and the second an electric one, where Young's visceral and raw guitar work provided the perfect counterpoint to the rich vocal harmonies of his three bandmates.
The band's triumphant performance at Woodstock encouraged the label to release a subsequent album. Before that, the group received the Grammy Award for Best Group of 1969, and in mid-1970, after more than 800 hours of work, "Déjà Vu" was released. It contained an impressive collection of songs, beginning with "Woodstock", composed by Joni Mitchell, the controversial "Almost Cut My Hair", and the superb "Teach Your Children" and "Our House". These tracks, along with others from the first album's repertoire, became an explosive mix of guitar jams in their concerts, featuring their endless guitar solos. Some of these historic live sessions were recorded on the double live album "Four Way Street".
