This paper explores the rise and fall of the Buffalo Springfield, one of rock music’s most influential bands—“immeasurably influential,” according to Tom Petty. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, the Springfield was formed in 1966 by Stephen Stills, Richie Furay, and Neil Young, but lasted just two tumultuous years and three albums despite immediate acclaim and predictions of artistic splendor and commercial prosperity. The band built their diverse sound around vocal harmonies (particularly Stills and Furay), the guitar interplay of Stills and Young, and the brilliant songwriting of the three principal members. However, the band fell apart from internal squabbling, Young’s indecisiveness, a lack of commercial success, drug busts, an ever-changing membership (11 members in two years), managerial problems, and faulty studio experiences. Yet the Springfield are a constant referent in the discussion of folk rock, country rock (“They paved the way for the whole country-rock movement,” said Armet Ertegun), and American rock music in general. In 2001 a controversial box set, supervised by Neil Young, was released, and in 2017 a box set of the band’s three albums was released. The Springfield legacy has recently been reinforced by the Andrew Slater documentary Echo in the Canyon (2018) with most narration done by Jacob Dylan and Tom Petty.
About the presenterThomas M. Kitts
Thomas M. Kitts, Ph.D., is professor of English at St. John’s University. His books include John Fogerty: An American Son; Ray Davies: Not Like Everybody Else; The Theatrical Life of George Henry Boker; and Literature and Work. With Gary Burns of Northern Illinois University, he edits Popular Music and Society and Rock Music Studies. With Nick Baxter-Moore of Brock University, Canada, he edited the Routledge Companion to Popular Music and Humor.