Crosby, Stills & Nash

Formed in 1969, Crosby, Stills & Nash blueprinted the Laurel Canyon sound with music that sounded like the new decade: breezier, more directly influenced by folk and country than the psychedelic rock that had characterised the members’ previous groups. David Crosby came from heady jangle-folk progenitors The Byrds; Stephen Stills from the gritty Canadian American unit Buffalo Springfield; Graham Nash from baroque-pop band The Hollies. Their 1969 self-titled debut LP favoured lush vocal harmonies and acoustic instruments over blues forms and cranked amps; the compositions were sophisticated, with an elaborate experiment—the multi-act “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”—becoming a U.S. Top 40 hit. After adding Neil Young to the lineup, the quartet recorded two hugely successful albums, 1970’s Déjà Vu and 1971’s live album 4 Way Street, which evinced added idiosyncrasy and edge. CSN’s future would vacillate between troubled reunions and side projects. Their 1977 smooth-rock opus CSN, however, and a 1988 reunion with Young for American Dream ranked among their biggest commercial achievements.