birthdays . . . STEPHEN STILLS (1945) | Route

 Happy birthday to Stephen Stills, born in Dallas, Texas on this day in 1945. 

There's something happening here, but what it is ain't exactly clear.

Seems apposite somehow . . . . . !?😉

Route

Stephen Stills Live at the Karl Marx Theater in Havana Cuba | Voodoo Wagon /So Many Roads /

 

Stephen Stills Live at the Karl Marx Theater in Havana Cuba

Stephen Stills

Havana  Cuba

Karl Marx Theatre

La Habana Cuba

1979-03-03 

Soundboard @320

01. For What It's Worth

02. Jet Set (Sigh)---Turn Back The Pages

03. Love The One You’re With

04. Precious Love

05. Red House

06. Fine Love

07. Love The One You’re With (Reprise)

08. Cuba Al Fin 

09. Part Time Love

Now we have looked at this extraordinary event before and here are the previous links that may help tell the tale!

stephen-stills-havana-jam-cuba-teatro XRay - Voodoo Wagon before

2. Speedy at So Many Roads had this:

stephen-stills-and-california-blues band in Cuba | So Many Roads

from soundaboard visitor the fullest I have found and in Flac found here: Full FM Concert in Flac here.... https://rapidgator.net/file/db502dd99c87ff1f8ef601358cc3f58a/Stephen_Stills_-_Havana_Jam_Cuba_1979_(Live)_(2021)_FLAC.rar.html

Stephen Stills ‘Black Queen’ live [Live at Berkeley 1971] | jt1674

 

https://www.tumblr.com/jt1674/803938688243499008/stephen-stills-black-queen

Stephen Stills – Havana Jam Cuba Teatro Karl Marx Theatre, Cuba 1979 | Voodoo Wagon

 

Stephen Stills – Havana Jam Cuba 1979 Teatro Karl Marx Theatre, La Habana, Cuba on March 3, 1979

 A XRay Special

                                                  Stephen Stills – Havana Jam Cuba 1979 

                                Teatro Karl Marx Theatre, La Habana, Cuba on March 3, 1979

01. For What It's Worth 05:27   

02. Jet Set (Sigh) / Turn Back The Pages 06:24   

03. Love The One You’re With 05:21   

04. Precious Love 06:05   

05. Red House 09:29   

06. Fine Love 05:43   

07. Love The One You’re With (reprise) 05:09   

08. Cuba Al Fin 08:27   

09. Part Time Love 08:19

XRay says: Havana Jam was a three-day music festival that took place at 

the Karl Marx Theatre in Havana, Cuba, from March 2 to March 4, 1979. 

The event was sponsored by Bruce Lundvall, the president of Columbia 

Records, Jerry Masucci, the president of Fania Records, and the Cuban 

Ministry of Culture. 

The festival also included American acts such as Weather Report, the CBS 

Jazz All-Stars, the Trio of Doom, Fania All-Stars, Stephen Stills, Billy Swan, 

Bonnie Bramlett, Mike Finnigan, Kris Kristopherson, Tony Williams, Jaco Pastorius, John McLaughlin, Rita Coolidge, and Billy Joel, as well as Cuban 

acts by Irakere, Pacho Alonso, Zaida Arrate, Elena Burke, Orquesta de 

Santiago de Cuba, Conjunto Yaguarimú, Frank Emilio Flynn, Juan 

Pablo Torres, Los Papines, Tata Güines, Cuban Percussion Ensemble, 

Sara González, Pablo Milanés, Manguaré, and Orquesta Aragón.  

This is Stephen Stills set from March 3rd 1979.

Stephen Stills - Rock & Roll Crazies / Cuban Bluegrass / Jet Set Recorded Live: 3/23/1979 - Capitol Theatre - Passaic, NJ Personnel:

Stephen Stills - guitar, timbales, vocal

Gerry Tolman - guitar

Mike Finnigan - keyboards, vocals

George "Chocolate" Perry - bass

Joe Vitale - drums

Joe Lala - congas, percussion

Bonnie Bramlett - vocals, percussion

Steve Stills demo - Buffalo Springfield - Come On

 

https://www.tumblr.com/jt1674/776640272455041024/buffalo-springfield-come-on-demo

Some more Chris Hillman (featuring Stephen Stills) = MANASSAS 1972

In a different Hillman mood here with roots beyond Burritos and Byrds . . . . . Hillman / Stills’ Manassas! 

Manassas (feat. Stephen Stills) - 03 - Bound To Fall (1972)

Remembering that Manassas was an American rock band formed by Stephen Stills in 1971. Predominantly a vehicle for Stills' music, the band released two albums: 1972's Manassas and 1973's Down the Road. The band dissolved in October 1973. 

Manassas was formed in the fall of 1971, following Stills' concert tour to support his album Stephen Stills 2 (1971). While Stephen Stills 2 was Stills' second solo album, it was his first completed following the acrimonious 1970 breakup of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY), and was not critically well received. After a chance meeting with Flying Burrito Brothers singer/multi-instrumentalist Chris Hillman in Cleveland, where Stills' tour schedule crossed paths with that of the Burritos – a band that, by late 1971, had undergone multiple personnel changes and was in financial trouble[5] – Stills saw an opportunity to change his artistic direction. He subsequently contacted Hillman, asking him, along with Burritos' guitarist Al Perkins and fiddler Byron Berline, to join him in Miami at Criteria Studios to jam. Stills also invited several members of his touring band (drummer Dallas Taylor, bassist Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuels, keyboardist Paul Harris and vocalist/percussionist Joe Lala) to play at the session.

for everyone but more for visitors  BC and Joan 

Steve Stills [on friendship with His Bobness!]

I’m not, like, agog. Most people get speechless. I just kid him to death. He’s got a great sense of humour and we’ve always got on. God knows what he’s done for everyone’s writing. I really like Bob. And I’m a fan.

Stephen Stills

Just imagine having that kind of relationship with our Bob!?

I know he got on with loads of folk, George Harrison especially and Tom Petty but this quote from Stephen Stills sums it up nicely. Imagine being able to josh and tease the Maestro!

I think I would be one of the speechless and ‘agog'!

 

Today’s haul of pictures . . . .

  Heroes, Heroines, Super Stars n Swingin’ guitars

Billy Jean and Hank - ain’t she purty? And remember folks, Hank started the 29* club - speed kills!

So I’ll add another picture in tribute to Jeremiah who dropped by to comment . . . . . . great singers of the beginnings of ‘pop’!

Woody Guthrie & Lilly May Ledford, New York City. 

a pensive Nick Drake . . . how we often think of him

although he did smile sometimes . . . . . . happier days

Johnny Cash with a Martin guitar (with F holes no less - anybody any idea how much that would be worth now?! £4,000? More? $24,000? who knows - I’ll try n find out!)

Stephen with some of his collection whilst touring . . . . . phew!

Husband and Wife team, Patti Smith and Fred ’Sonic’ Smith  - I should start a series on couples or husbands and wives?!

Great shot of our Susan Tedeschi - look at those hands! Woman can PLAY!

So who do you reckon this is?

well I’ll tell you! The guitar connection is key here and of course it is an early shot of Les Paul! However did you know he is also known for being credited with the invention of the harmonica frame so you could play it hands free!? Know otherwise? Could be apocryphal but could be a complete myth too. Me, I choose to believe it!

* as dear pal Jeremiah ( he was a bullfrog you know?) rightly points out Hank Williams didn’t start the 27 club died at 29 and that ‘honour’ (sic?) goes to Robert Johnson long before anyone else! 

Here Robert Johnson with what we think is his beloved Kalamazoo (I have one for that reason!) the poor man’s Gibson, during the recession in America and Gibson rebranded a budget machine with the same woods and simpler structure and innards, mine is dated 1936! which would make it amongst the first ever made like his as he recorded with it that year!  I love it, have I said ?! Rings like a bell!

My Kalamazoo KG11 His was a KG14 - its in the frets! 1936 I am told - my pride and joy

Stephen Stills - Brady Theatre Tulsa OK - 1995 | Soundaboard

 

Stephen Stills - Brady Theatre Tulsa OK - 1995

Really fine quality recording and Stephen on fire here . . . . . . . .  

Sound Quality: 9.5

Source: Soundboard

Track List:

01 - Midnight Rider

02 - So Begins The Task

03 - Love The One You're With

04 - Change Partners

05 - Treetop Flyer

06 - Southern Cross

07 - Born In Chicago

08 - Born Under A Bad Sign

09 - It Won't Go Away

10 - Long Time Gone

11 - Can't Get Next To You

12 - Dark Star

13 - For What It's Worth

14 - Woodstock

 

STEPHEN STILLS - Solo Acoustic set, SEATTLE 1975 - So Many Roads

 Nice set from So Many Roads of early Stephen Stills solo acoustic set

Head on over and check it out, great quality and interesting notes from Speedy over there . . . . . 

Stephen Stills - Live in Seattle 1975 (solo) - So Many Roads

But is it art . . . . . . . . ?

 PICTURES OF THE DAY!

Found wandering around the interwebbie mcthingiemabob! Some photos I save for a while and admire so much so if I don't credit them correctly just let me know . . . . . . . . . 

Lorde and David Byrne photograph Shaniqwa Jarvis 

Jim Morrison the last year

Joseph Szabo - 1978 

The Lovin' Spoonful play dress up

Paul McCartney 1967 (Photo by Henry Grossman)

Eric Emmerson and Nico at Max’s in 1972, photo by Anton Perich

Stephen Stills running to catch a football  (Bill Ray. 1971)

George at home.

Siouxsie Sioux 

George in Hawaii by Olivia Harrison

STEPHEN STILLS - WORD GAME

 WORD GAME LIVE!

because it was true then as it is true now

DAVID CROSBY

 

So the weekend television is notoriously rubbish here in the UK and found myself drawn to the new (to Freeview) channel of Sky Arts which featured a couple of music programmes I found absorbing if ultimately hugely depressing. The profile on David Crosby 'Remember My Name' by Cameron Crowe I found fascinating but with a heart breaking end in that it finishes with the acrimony from all of CSNY indicating that some fallings out are insurmountable. 

There's even a funny encounter with photographer Henry Diltz when they try to recreate the classic flag- gun-joint photo and David teases Diltz for his still new age thinking about what chinese sign animal they both are!

Now I loved David Crosby and number his solo album amongst my favourites of the era and I adored CSN&Y as well as making the distinction of CS&N as seperate and quite distinct bands [as does Crosby himself here]. The frank and revealing story is fascinating for a while and the journey from The Byrds to Woodstock to a Supergroup and at the heart of the 'counterculture' makes for a fabulous story and I don't think I recall the loss of his girlfriend at 21 in a car crash as such a seminal earth shattering as it would have been but the love and support from his colleagues is palpable here. Nash I think more than any saved Crosby's life . . . . .and yet he kinda didn't . . . . . Crosby's descent into heroin and cocaine use had the inevitable end I have witnessed time after time and too often and his spell in prison (8 months in Texas Pen!) seems to have been some kind of strange turning point not fully understood somehow. 

Crosby after handing himself in to the authorities

The finality of the reforming of CSN&Y is full of reports and, to his credit here, mostly by Crosby himself of his unforgivable, toxic and temperamental behaviour, has ruined it would seem his deep relationship with both Neil Young and his fellow vocal partner Graham Nash both of whom are on record saying they will not play with DC again. Crosby is magnanimous here and surprisingly honest maybe but that he has overstepped some boundary that is beyond forgiveness is difficult to take. 

That Crosby should have taken up with a younger pick-up band and started to release albums again is great but CSN&Y it ain't. Stephen Stills is notable by his absence here in Crowe's documentary and we wonder about this. It is an essentially sad film about superstardom, drug use and addiction, holding friendship too lightly, vanity and ego.

further reading . . . . . Classics du Jour

Laughing/What Are Their Names - Crosby [If Only I Could Remember My Name]

Happier Trails, David

I think we listened to very little when this came out and it still stands as a classic I reckon . . . . . 

On this day in music history: March 11, 1970 - “Deja Vu”, the first album by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young is released. Produced by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, it is recorded at Wally Heider’s Studio C in San Francisco, CA, and Wally Heider’s 3 in Los Angeles, CA from July - December 1969. Following their highly successful debut album, which wins them a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1970, Crosby, Stills & Nash start writing and recording their next album, as the first one is still riding the charts. The trio is joined in the studio by Stephen Stills’ former Buffalo Springfield band mate Neil Young, who becomes an on again and off again fourth member of the band. It is recorded at particularly difficult time for David Crosby, whose girlfriend Christine Hinton is killed in a car accident during the sessions. Though emotionally devastated, he contributes the songs “Almost Cut My Hair” and the title track. The album also features guest appearances by Jerry Garcia and John Sebastian. It spins off three singles including “Teach Your Children” (#16 Pop), “Our House” (#30 Pop) and the Joni Mitchell penned “Woodstock” (#11 Pop). Once released, it is an immediate hit, and rivals their debut album as the best of their career. The albums iconic cover art work, designed to look like a leather bound photo album, is created by art director Gary Burden with cover photos shot by Henry Diltz and Tom Gundelfinger. “Deja Vu” spends one week at number one on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified 4x Platinum in the US by the RIAA.

Speaking of Jimi . . . . . (he appears on this posthumously) we bought both Stephen Stills 1 & 2 when they came out and, though sounding somewhat dated now, he is a fine guitarist and fine soulful singer. I was never entirely sure about the moral issues raised by this song but maybe that's best left to another day. Enjoy!

On this day in music history: November 16, 1970 - “Stephen Stills”, the debut album by Stephen Stills is released. Produced by Stephen Stills and Bill Halverson, it is recorded at Island Studios in London from June - July 1970. The first solo release from the songwriter and musician it features musical support from friends such as Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Booker T. Jones, Cass Elliott, Rita Coolidge, John Sebastian, Graham Nash, and Jimi Hendrix who passes away two months before its release, and is dedicated to his memory. It spins off two singles including the classic “Love The One You’re With” (#14 Pop), becoming Stills’ biggest solo hit. “Love The One You’re With” is covered by a number of artists over the years, including versions by The Isley Brothers, Luther Vandross, Tight Fit, Bucks Fizz, and by Stills own daughter Jen Stills. The album is remastered on CD with high resolution HDCD encoding, and is reissued on vinyl as a limited 200 gram LP pressing by Classic Records in 2009. Rhino Records also reissues the album as a 180 gram LP in 2010. “Stephen Stills” peaks at number three on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.

 thanks to Jeff Harris' blog 

Just because . . . . well what was relevant then . . . . . . is relevant now . . . . .  stop, hey what's that sound everybody look what's going down . . . . . . . . 

On this day in music history: January 9, 1967 - “For What It’s Worth (Stop, Hey What’s That Sound)” by Buffalo Springfield is released. Written by Stephen Stills, it is the third single and biggest hit for the American-Canadian rock band based in Los Angeles, CA. Taking their name from the Buffalo-Springfield Roller Company off the side of a steamroller parked in front of original band manager Frazier Mohawk’s (aka Barry Friedman) home, Buffalo Springfield are formed in Los Angeles, CA in early 1966. Consisting of guitarist and vocalist Stephen Stills, lead guitarist and vocalist Neil Young, bassist Bruce Palmer, guitarist and vocalist Richie Furay and drummer Dewey Martin, the band make their public debut at the famed Troubadour nightclub in West Hollywood on April 11, 1966. After touring as an opening act for The Dillards and The Byrds, they land a residency at The Whisky a Go Go. The gig draws enthusiastic audiences, and along with it interest from record labels. Atlantic Records sign them to their Atco imprint and put the band in the studio. After their first two singles “Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing” (#110 Pop Bubbling Under) and “Burned” fail to make any impact (outside of L.A.), the band continue to work on material. The inspiration for “For What It’s Worth” comes from an incident that takes place on November 12, 1966. A curfew law is passed in the city of Hollywood, created to clear crowds of young people off the busy Sunset Strip after 10pm. A demonstration is organized, with over 1,000 protesters gathering in front of the Pandora’s Box club including actors Jack Nicholson and Peter Fonda. The crowd brings traffic to a stand still, causing gridlock. When police arrive, the protesters resist the order to disperse and begin rioting. Stills writes “For What It’s Worth”, based on accounts from people who were involved and witnessed the rioting. The track is recorded at Gold Star Studios on December 5, 1966, the same day that their self-titled debut album is released. Promo copies are rush released to radio just before Christmas, and the single quickly becomes a hit. Entering the Hot 100 at #90 on January 28, 1967, it peaks at #7 on March 25, 1967. Caught off guard by the songs’ popularity, Atlantic quickly scrambles to insert the song into re-pressings of Buffalo Springfield’s album reissued on March 6, 1967. Though it is not originally written as such, “For What It’s Worth” is adapted as an anthem of the counterculture and anti-war movements, and becomes an iconic song of the era. Over the years, it is featured in numerous films and television programs including “Coming Home”, “Forrest Gump” and “Tropic Thunder”. It is also covered by The Staple Singers, Lou Rawls, Cher, Miriam Makeba, Sergio Mendes & Brasil ‘66, The Jeff Healey Band and Keb’ Mo’. Buffalo Springfield’s original recording of “For What It’s Worth (Stop, Hey What’s That Sound)” is inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2000.

for Halloween 



a favourite song, although first heard by me by the supergroup (so called) of Stephen Stills, Al Kooper, Mike Bloomfield 'Super Session' of '68