Astonishingly brilliant supergroups formed in the 1960s

Crosby, Stills, Nash (CSN), and Young (CSNY)

There’s no doubting the credentials of these musicians regarding applying supergroup status. The only question mark is whether it's CSN or CSNY with Neil Young being an intermittent and more occasional member. It’s easiest and correct to count both in. Young played with the group at Woodstock in August 1969, so both versions of the band were from the 1960s. 

Initially, it was David Crosby from The Byrds, Stephen Stills from Buffalo Springfield, and Graham Nash from The Hollies who got together. That was back in 1968 and happened after they played together informally, liked what they heard, and went on to greater things. Their breakups and departures from past bands were at best messy and awkward. Which led to the simple and clear name, Crosby, Stills & Nash, for their new joint group. 

They agreed to use their surnames to retain clarity and control. The band couldn't really continue under the same name if one had dropped out for any reason. That was clearly a sore point for Stills and Nash in terms of the ongoing The Byrds and The Hollies after they had both left. It certainly proved useful in the years to follow and made Young’s arrival an easy add on.

Crosby, Stills & Nash get underway

Their first album, self-titled Crosby, Stills & Nash, was released in 1969 and full of their trademark close harmonies and great songs. “Marrakesh Express” is one of their hits from it and a great example of their style and songwriting abilities. It’s rightly earned quadruple platinum status.

As they planned a tour the trio wanted to add a keyboard player and approached Steve Winwood but he was busy with his new supergroup at the time, Blind Faith. Next on the list was Young, despite being known better as a guitarist he was pretty good on keyboards too. Young was added but it was agreed he could still do his own thing with his Crazy Horse band alongside CSNY. 

Their first couple of gigs were quite special. The first was in August 1969 in Chicago with Joni Mitchell as support. That was followed by their appearance at the Woodstock festival. It’s an indication of how crazy that festival was that the band was on stage between three and four a.m., the very early hours of Monday morning. They played an acoustic set first and were then joined by Young for an electric section. So even there it was CSN and CSNY appearing. 

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s first album

Their first album as CSNY, Deja Vu, was released in 1970. That too had classic tracks like “Teach Your Children”, “Our House”, and “Woodstock”. Those songs contributed to a top-selling album, now rated seven times platinum. And then it all went a bit mad. Their second tour had arguments between Young and others. They disbanded, for a while anyway. 

The subsequent history is messy, but also full of great songs. Some from versions of the band, some from solo ventures. At times it was just the trio CSN, at other times it was with Young and a CSNY venture. Arguments, breakups, and reunions were the underlying and quite frequent cycle. Sadly Crosby’s death in 2023 brought those and the supergroup in either format to an end after eight studio and five live albums selling close to 40 million worldwide. 

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