Original subtitles

they began the 70s is the top band in

the US and then abruptly broke apart for

30 years they lived hi and loan from

adoring stadiums to jail cells for

wealth and luxury to near-death

experiences but when times were dark the

friendship between these four

complicated men shone brightest until

they surprised the whole world by

reuniting to tour in the year 2000 three

decades after they walked away David

Crosby Stephen Stills Graham Nash and

Neil Young are legends this is their

story

[Applause]

the first time I saw Neal and was going

across Canada on this tour with this

little folk group and he was doing

exactly what I wanted to do when I got

back was to get a great rhythm section

and play folk song on an electric guitar

we drove down to Los Angeles in 53

Pontiac hers and we're in traffic and I

guess still sauce so he ran up to us and

got us and pulled over Neil Young teamed

up with Stephen Stills in 1966 to form

one of the greatest California rock

bands Buffalo Springfield something

happen and you what it is ain't exactly

play the Springfield found immediate

success but conflicts between the two

stars Stills and young combined with

Young's desire for a solo cutter to

cause tension from the start

still said later that he wanted to be in

the Beatles and Neil wanted to be Bob

Dylan

[Music]

the relationship was a bunch of 19 and

20 year old guys just getting something

together for the first time in the

spotlight you know interviews and and

you know attention that they never had

before we lost the ability to stay in

the moment you know which is what you

have to do to performs young walked out

on the group just before the 1967

Monterey Pop Festival Stephen has David

Crosby of the Byrds to Philly

Neil had split and Steven knew each

other and liked each other and he said

well you know like I thought we got to

do this gig it's gonna be great I said

yeah

Crosby was also performing at the

festival with the birds who were at the

height of their success

[Music]

Crosby was having troubles with his

bandmates Chris Hillman and roger

McGuinn troubles that were magnified by

his performing with Buffalo Springfield

I remember it being a very kind of sour

experience it was sad on stage there was

the camaraderie that we'd had as a band

wasn't there anymore it was David

Crosby's wanting to be in what became

Crosby Stills and Nash that really drove

the situation to an end there was some

friction there and also I just I've

never been here the the easiest person

I'm very opinionated very independent

guy

they said your brother tour without you

I stood by making terrific mistake you

know I said well we think we'll do

better without you when Buffalo

Springfield split for good Crosby

instills decided to team up

we sort of found herself spending a lot

of time together and driving around and

on singing songs and to basically man

cries we're hanging out and we went and

saw Graham sing with the Hollies and

then cast comes up and whispers to me do

you think you guys need the harmony

singer

Cass Elliot of the Mamas and the Papas

introduced David and Stephen to the

English pop star Graham Nash Graham had

been a member of the Holly since the

early 60s but by 1968 he was beginning

to feel the limitations the group is

putting on

when I made the decision to leave the

Hollies three things have happened one I

was getting frustrated that I was

writing songs that I thought were pretty

cool and that they didn't want to record

secondly they wanted to do an entire

album of Bob Dylan songs in a kind of

Las Vegas horn section swing band can

detain and the third thing is that I'd

actually been befriended by this teddy

bear called David Crosby Cass Elliot

said get in the car I want you to meet

somewhere she rather modern and told me

to get him stoned on his chest was a lid

from a shoebox and in the lid was a pile

a'dope I had this pullover pot meaning

if you smoke something we're going

someplace you pull over and try to

remember where you were thought it was

done air weed so he we laughed all

through the afternoon

and I liked him a lot in the summer of

1968 crosby Stills and Nash sang

together for the first time at a house

in Laurel Canyon belonging to either

Cass Elliot or Joni Mitchell nobody is

absolutely sure now this is possibly

because we might have smoked but you

know none of us is absolutely sure

whether it was Joanie's or cats as I say

it was Joanie's say Davis got it wrong

it would sit casas hills were we sang

together in the morning when you arise

we had you know I had a pretty good

harmony - and are we saying it - Graham

you would do that again would you

and the third time he put the top part

on Stephen I look to each other in my

before crosby Stills and Nash could make

their group official Graham had to go

back to England to quit The Hollies

David and Stephen joined him in London

we could to Britain to rehearse now and

there were like fans that would spot us

in a card and holler things at us

because we were blowing up one of their

groups now

oh there's horrible Americans I didn't

know that it's that big a deal

yeah just a band the trio rehearsed

their songs has started looking for

label interest we did attempt at one

point to get on Apple Records it was a

up-and-coming new record label obviously

controlled by the Beatles and Peter

Asher at the time we actually auditioned

for George and Peter

and we sang it very well and they passed

which I think they probably in hindsight

we're not happy about

ahmud arrogant of Atlantic Records had

loved Buffalo Springfield and offered

the new group a contract crosby Stills

and Nash settled in Los Angeles to

record their first album we knew that we

were doing something really unusual

we knew the songs were really good and

we were totally thrilled and it was the

year of the guitar player you can

understand this was a year when clapped

on Hendrix and Jimmy Page and people

like that work it you know and for us to

come out from left field with this you

know three-part harmony and a lot of Kuh

stick stuff you know it's a pretty

unexpected thing it was great

[Music]

cut my hair the music was wonderful but

the dynamic between the three strong

personalities is explosive I have my own

weirdness isn't craziness with it it's

not as volatile as David his demons so

we settled into that role you know David

and Stephen over the years I have loved

each other to death we disagree about a

lot of stuff but we're brothers I love

him

he loves me and brothers fight in May of

1969 the band released their debut sweet

Judy blue eyes in Marrakesh Express were

a.m. hits FM radio played the entire

album the music of crosby Stills and

Nash became the sound of the

counterculture within a few months David

Stephen and Graham would be more famous

than they had ever been with their

previous bands they had never performed

live when an offer came in to appear at

a summer music festival in upstate New

York crosby Stills and Nash said yes

their performance at Woodstock would

change everything

[Music]

[Music]

in the summer of 1969 Crosby Stills and

Nash released their first album to

immense critical and commercial acclaim

then it was time for the group to tour

stills had overdub lead guitar keyboards

and bass on the album they would need

other musicians to form the songs on

stage

[Applause]

it was Atlantic Records President Hamid

Erica who suggested Stevens former

bandmate Neil Young would be the perfect

addition I've been casting about for a

keyboard player I wanted another

musician to play off it but I'm talking

away with Amin nothing but the armistice

why are you getting Neil and they were

didn't we just go through this Steven

decided that Ahmed was right David and

Graham were not so sure we had a

interview with Neil in Greenwich Village

on Bleecker Street and I went to

breakfast with you because I was the one

that was mainly against it because I

didn't I didn't see what we needed from

you you know the blend that we had with

our voices was pretty good

and our musicianship was pretty good and

by the time I'd finished breakfast with

Neil I would have given in the world he

was unbelievably brilliant and of course

I loved his music

[Applause]

[Music]

it's songs how are you not going to

invite him in

you know listen the songs yeah good lord

I'd ask him between the group if I had

25 people and

[Music]

Neal had begun to establish himself as a

solo artist but the chance to team up

with his old Buffalo Springfield partner

was too tempting to resist I thought

it'd be cool to play with Stephen again

and the other guys were great singers

and had their own songs and everything

but I I really felt like I had some

unfinished stuff with Stephen then we

fly together and you know we needed to

do more of that the band officially

changed its name to crosby Stills Nash

and young and went to perform their

first gig in Chicago one week later they

had their second performance at

Woodstock looking at the world through

the sunset in your eyes

[Music]

this kid could come off and it was what

kind of a shaky deal nobody was sure

what was gonna happen it was just knew

that some of our favorite bands we're

gonna play to the big nervousness that

everybody you know makes a point of you

know what Stephen said

no yes the point was that all the people

that we really cared about all standing

behind us and they had all heard the

record but we'd never played live before

and so they said okay let's see can I

[Music]

[Music]

so

[Applause]

[Music]

but when the cameras set up to shoot the

band's the start performance Neil Young

refused to be filmed I was offended by

the cameras all over the place because

it was a distraction to what we were

doing which was playing the music so I

told him not to do that with me that not

to film me don't bother you know don't

come near me and you know stay out of

the way after Woodstock the band's

reputation grew with every show they

perform

[Music]

within a month after their first gig

Crosby Stills Nash and young were

superstars the performance in New York's

Fillmore East created such pandemonium

the crowds refused to leave the venue

concert promoter Bill Graham began

stuffing money underneath the

dressing-room doors until the band

returned to the stage

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

in September the group went to San

Francisco to record an album but the

mood had changed four and twenty years

ago four come into this line the song of

a woman and a man lived in strife he was

tired

[Music]

David suffered a huge loss when his

girlfriend Christine Hinton was killed

in a car accident when I made deja vu I

was very sad

my girlfriend had just been killed and a

lot of the time I would come into the

studio and just sit on the floor and cry

I wasn't great together

I'm amazed that we did as good of work

as we did the band managed to finish

their album but it was a tough time to

begin the longest tour any of them had

ever been on DejaVu was released in

March of 1970 at the same time the

Beatles broke up CSNY were Rock's new

superstars their singles Woodstock our

house and teach your children were all

over radio they were the symbol of peace

and love except between themselves well

you know there was one time in Denver

where we had some some trouble but

rehearsals or something and they had

booked the tour once again that never

really works for us because the first

day we were rehearsing with the new bass

player once we got to know the guy and

start playing with him it was great so

there was there was a big fight around

then we used to fight a lot started like

a hockey team you know the pucks flying

around the Neal tilts is great matter

for threat playing hockey

they team's really clicking and

everything and then all of a sudden the

gloves are up they're all fighting and

then they pick them back up and they go

back to playing hockey again it's kind

of like that

in May of 1970 the band recorded what

would become their most profound

political statement a reaction to the

shooting of for Kent State college

students at an anti-war rally

I was at this house in Anna Canyon on

the California coast Crosby came up and

he had the magazine the Kent State

killings cover on it and I'd heard it on

the news but Crosby always has a way of

bringing things into focus

that's wolf me after that there was

something going on there that I had some

thoughts about these started right in

the song and when it was done and I

called - I think it said get the studio

get any studio get it that run away and

we cut it it was out for me

[Applause]

ohayo ratified CSN wise position as the

voice of the counterculture

DejaVu was selling in the millions their

concerts were rallies rock shows

political events but Neil was gearing up

to restart his solo career with his new

album after the gold rush in July the

CSNY tour ended and so did the band they

were living legends they had been

together one year

[Music]

at the end of 1970 Crosby Stills Nash

and young had become the biggest band in

America then at the peak of their fame

they walked away we got together at a

certain point in time and it had a huge

effect on a lot of people including

ourselves and then but we always planned

from the beginning to go off in a

different directions and do different

things and it's just was a loose

organisation

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

by the time the live album four way

street was released crosby Stills Nash

and young were all making solo records

when we started we used our own names

because we intended to continue with

solo careers all of us and every time we

did it fits it all they broke up we were

never together but I thought that was

that was kind of cool he'd give

ourselves you know some air and that's

why we used all of our last names there

was any plan at all that was the only

one in the aftermath of CSNY all four

had hit so long

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

mother nature on in the 1970

while Stills and young were leading

their own bands Crosby & Nash began

making music together as a duo David and

I knew that we had a musical link and we

always haven't always will have there's

probably no me currently that seems

harmony the way national idea or kin

[Music]

it was easy to make music with David

because we think so similarly it was a

joy we had great songs starting with the

first Graham Nash David Crosby ready

young solo music propelled him to the

top of the charts in time his

association with crosby Stills and Nash

began to seem like a brief side trip in

what was always essentially a solo

career all the people that I play with

they all know me that that I'm moving

along and that I may not stay forever

and not might be back and you know as

long as everybody knows that from the

beginning it's great to see everybody

and then change is good for music so

real musicians understand that and they

don't worry whether you're playing with

them this year or not

[Music]

I wanna give I've been a miner for every

one of us has got off and it's only been

really successful as Neil and he's done

that brilliant

in 1973 Neal was on the road when he

called on David and Graham to join him

after the tour the trio contacted

Stephen and they all ended up in Hawaii

they began recording new songs going so

far as to shoot an album cover photo but

the reunion was not to be

when people plan things for us to do

thinking that all what a great

opportunity sometimes it didn't work out

you know because it wasn't we weren't

looking at life that way at that time

say the relationship between Crosby

Stills Nash and Neil is is very much

like a frozen pond

the ice gets a certain things and if we

wait long enough it will bear your

weight but if you put too much weight on

it you'll go through the four musicians

scrapped the album but agreed to tour

the demand for tickets was enormous for

the first time ever a rock group would

do an entire tour football stadiums

[Music]

time to change

[Music]

the tour was a huge success it was over

the group convened in Los Angeles to

make an album shortly after the

recording began Neal disappeared we

started it we cut two Tunes Neal said

show up the next day never saw him again

everybody has to feel it at the same

time for it to really be what it is I

mean I think it's really great that that

people have wanted CSNY to be together

over the years and I think that's

testimony to what that it was worth it

when we did get together but you have to

want to

after those sessions fell apart the band

members went their separate ways

prejudice is slick when it's a word game

a year later Stephen was on tour with

his own band when Neal showed up after

years as being part of Buffalo

Springfield and CSNY Stephen and Neal

began recording his Stills and young we

make lots of room for each other and we

listen to each other and there's little

spheres of influences you know and Neal

and I have a way of saying things and

three sentences that it might take him

and David all day to get to Stephen and

Neil a special chemistry of the same way

of nationality

[Music]

Stephens always wanted to work with me I

think you always will and I think that

goes both ways

[Music]

after recording a few song Stills and

young invited Crosby & Nash down to

Miami to join the sessions once again

talk of a CSNY album and tour began but

David and Graham had signed a deal with

ABC records and had to finish an album

for them first they left Miami to finish

the Crosby Nash album wind on the water

and in their absence Neal and Stephen

erased their vocals from other recorded

tracks David and Graham were heard in an

angry Neil and Stephen released long may

you run by the stills young band and

went out on the road we've been through

some things too

it was a great record and then the tour

got going along pretty good and we were

moving so fast though there was no time

to rehearse up anything new so the set

never changed after a few weeks Neil

quit the tour he left Stephen a telegram

that said funny how some things that

start spontaneously and that way eat a

peach Neil little sense of humor it

certainly wasn't I'd started I knew him

too well in late hurt might be things

like that with a little bit of verbal

jousting

I left the tour in the middle of the

tour and

there was something inherently something

was wrong something was wrong with the

whole thing and you know it wasn't

working the balance was off in some way

so you know I bailed on hill got

frustrated and then he got sick and he

said well that's it I'm off you know and

he's you know he's got more nerve than I

do I can't I can't just bolt like that

Stephen was left shaken not only an eel

left him holding the bag on the rest of

the stills young days but he had done

what it seemed like a reparable damage

to his relationship with David and

Graham and Stephen showed up at a crosby

nash concert and managed to patch things

up with david and graham crosby Stills

and Nash decided to pick up where they

left off after their first album in 1969

as a trio in 1976 they made CSM Shi

it was a big head Neil Young was back to

being a solo artist crosby Stills and

Nash were back to being a group it was a

pretty good time

I remember recording the CSN record and

in in criteria studios in Miami we had

we'd rented this villa

we had great songs we were having a

great time

like twice the speed of sound it's easy

to

just a song before I go with CSN's

biggest hit ever

the band was back on top and exhilarated

to be there but David's drug use was

escalating to dangerous levels

I was just shifting in the bad habit

from snorting cocaine to freebasing

cocaine which is even worse and I was a

very good place with my music Crosby

Stills Nash was doing the CSN album but

by the end of the 70s Graham had had

enough Crosby next recording session the

band started a gem david was free

smoking bass and his pipe was on an amp

and the jam session was so vibrant and

so hot that the amp was shaking and it

was slowly shaking the pipe towards the

edge of the end then the pipe fell off

and shadow danced around

a David stopped who is it dope had

gotten more important to me than music

something which I swore would never

happen tomorrow and at that moment I

knew that David was in deep trouble and

that if David was in deep trouble we

were all in deep trouble when he stopped

that Jam from going forward a door shut

in my mind that was the time I told

David that I couldn't make music with

him anymore Graham Nash was David

Crosby's most loyal friend and defender

if David was so far gone that even

Graham gave up on him it looked to

everyone like crosby Stills and Nash

were gone for good

[Music]

you

[Music]

tene 81 Crosby Stills and Nash were

divided again this time because of David

Crosby's drug addiction Stephen Stills

and Graham Nash decided to record a duo

album

you

and I were totally we're just gonna make

a stew

- record the only combination we haven't

done can't blame a man that was right

near the end of my drug use days and I

was have bout us dysfunction as a human

being could be and not be dead

we handed it in to Atlantic Records and

they said no we want to see SN record

said there is no cross but he's gone he

said well we don't want the record so

now we're $600,000 in a record out all

right and I thought we Steven I said

what was he we do and then we had to

make room for Dave you know any change

some things that I really wish he hadn't

and then there were some other things

that were there were great additions it

came on my special day

[Music]

Crosby was in bad shape but with his

friends help he made it through the

sessions the finished album included a

song by Graham that documented how he

felt about the whole saga of Crosby

Stills Nash and young wasted on the way

I wrote as a reaction to the amount of

time that me and David and Steven and me

and David and Steven and Neil of wasted

over the years we have made a lot of

good music I'm not denying that but we

have wasted a lot of time we have wasted

a lot of love and we have wasted a lot

of life so

[Music]

the fact that I turned it into a hit

record is his fist he sell more silly

could considering what it's really about

between 1982 and 1985

David was arrested five times on various

drug and weapons related charges

but his habit persisted the trio toured

on and off whenever David was well

enough I've always tried to be that 100%

and he didn't always make it but I do

believe that the compensation factor of

me and Steven wanting to be stronger and

better because our partner was hurting

equaled everything humph to me

in 1985 Crosby Stills and Nash had a

bittersweet reunion with Neil Young and

Live Aid

[Music]

there are a lot of times that I would

rather not remember that's that one

wasn't the worst or other times over

much worse but you know a lot of times

when I did not do anywhere near where

I'm capable

young tried to help Crosby as others had

it was no use

he carriage my house in the valley and

syphilis immune I know you kind of

scared to go to the hospital know what

she's come down to my place even even

kick all this stuff there and he took

the time out to try and help save my

life you know we we all care about each

other a lot they offered to do another

CSNY album if David managed to clean up

instead David went on the run from the

police ending up on his boat in Florida

when he was on the boat contemplating

escaping

and therefore never coming back into

American society and being a fugitive at

large a federal fugitive running out of

food running out of money the decision

that he made to walk off his boat into

the nearest FBI office was the point on

which David recognized that he

desperately desperately needed help in

December of 1985 David turned himself in

and was extradited to a Texas prison I

prayed for him as much as I do he got

through it and then while facing the

inevitable and then he got through it I

don't want to be the recovery poster boy

come on I I'm one of the lucky few that

was given a chance to get away from it

and did took a year in prison and held a

lot of meetings and a lot of help from

their friends in 1986 David emerged from

prison clean and sober Neil kept his

word in the quartet regrouped to record

American dream as a gesture of

friendship it was wonderful but

musically it was not the triumphant

reunion fans had waited 16 years to hear

[Music]

it was part of a bargain that that we

would get together if David got

straightened out I don't remember a bit

of it don't have Italy record I discuss

it we really didn't get together we were

just in the same area they did the work

for it some more reasons that I can come

dalia never been didn't work CSNY did

not tour in support of American dream

young went back to his solo career in

Crosby Stills and Nash returned to the

road

[Music]

then in 1994 David was dealt another

terrible blow I was very sick and I

didn't know I was dying and I didn't

know my liver was probably half gone and

we'd had no idea why I kept on the line

on arrest Crosby finally went to the

hospital and was told his liver was

family and that he was probably going to

die he'd need all the luck in the world

just to survive for Crosby Stills Nash

and young to ever make music again it

would take a miracle

[Music]

in 1994 the future of Crosby Stills &

Nash was endowed as David Crosby's

health was in serious decline that's

know when t is healing

they sat me down he said David what the

deal is is you have hepatitis C and your

liver is just about destroyed and you're

gonna die unless you get a transplant

fairly soon and he put me on the list

and we started to wait David's friends

stuck with him through his ordeal with

Graham Nash keeping vigil at his bedside

they had medicine at UCLA call me one

day and said down we found a liver for

David you wanted we're gonna prep him do

you want to come I wish him the best and

I go to the door and I turn around I

says no luck

don't you leave me with stills and he

burst out laughing and I burst out

laughing

Crosby's will to live prevailed again he

made it through the operation got a new

liver and regained a sound the puzzling

part isn't my descendant writes the

puzzling part is the amazing good luck

has happened and continues to happen to

my life I am an incredibly fortunate man

when David was well enough crosby Stills

and Nash returned to the road in 1997

they were inducted into the Rock and

Roll Hall of Fame then they were dropped

by Atlantic Records when we signed with

Atlantic Records in 1969 we signed for

six records and I think we've only just

done six records and it's 30 years later

the last couple of records that I landed

put out of ours I didn't think that they

cared about at all and so we wanted a

clean break and we wanted a fresh stop I

don't think it's fair to blame just that

one record company they all went through

the same metamorphosis

these guys are lawyers and accountants

they had a clue about music crosby

Stills and Nash decided that they wanted

to make new music with or without a new

record deal in 1998 that put up their

own money and began recording then

stills got a call from Neil Young who

was working on a Buffalo Springfield box

set the two old friends got together at

Neal's ranch to listen to the tapes of

their first band basically we were

reliving our childhood and I played in

his new song I was working on and asked

him if he would come down and help Gabe

Ingram and I

you know cut that I thought that was a

cool idea so a few weeks later I went

down there and I actually didn't even

call him I just waited I was well on my

way down there and then called him from

a Roadhouse young began recording with

crosby Stills and Nash and soon they had

more than an albums worth of material

Daigo Neal this is not you guesting on

CSN reckoning

what are we doing Wow

looks like we're heading into a CSNY

record

me the third studio album by Crosby

Stills Nash and young was released in

the fall of 1999 the group had made one

album in the 70s one in the 80s and one

at the end of the 90s they called it

looking foam it speaks to everything

that I'm feeling I want to look forward

I've done enough explaining what we get

wrong in our middle years and I'm

looking forward to how much fun we're

gonna have rediscovering the joy of

being together CSNY agreed to tour for

the first time in 25 years but the dates

were put on hold when Graham Nash broke

both of his legs in a freak boating

accident I must tell you that as a

musician this was one of the strangest

sounds I ever heard when I broke my legs

and I thought I really heard myself here

I did not think about the tour I didn't

think about anything Graham had been

sailing with his family when a storm

came out he was thrown in the air by the

waves when he landed back in the boat he

shattered his legs it was a two-hour

journey back after the accident on the

boat to port and the way that I dealt

with it was I chose to ignore everything

to know my race I went in my mind to a

great sunset and my land in Hawaii with

its waterfalls and the beauty of it and

the two hours passed very quickly

Nash's recovery was difficult but his

spirit was strong carried him through

the year 2000 brought another medical

surprise from David Crosby but this time

it was a happy one the man who came back

from near death by drugs in the 80s and

liver disease in the 90s was revealed to

be the secret birth father of the

children of singer Melissa Etheridge and

her partner Julie cypher Crosby told

animées world fatherhood is the wildest

ride I've ever been

and that's saying something Crosby

Stills Nash and young had beaten the

odds so many times who would be hard to

ever count them out again in spite of

all their battles all their talent and

all the temptations that came with

success in the long run the music they

made and the love between them was

always strong enough to bring them back

together we have more compassionate with

each other we're more understanding of

our own weaknesses and strengths we are

more sensitive Nash's peers you know a

gentleman and I would have always put

him at the center of the group I think

he's the central guy Graham he's really

great in the studio and he works really

hard to keep things going and keep

things organized

Steven explosive brilliant passionate

guitar player musician singer writing

how can you compete with Stephen Stills

he's a great musician you can't compete

you can't compete with Neil Neil said

brilliant deep guy a huge creative force

and he changes the chemistry me I'm kind

of a lunatic

I can't categorize my stuff well David

is more the sole catalyst and spiritual

level of things you know in some ways to

me and then Steven is just my bro I mean

and I love to play guitar with them

between the three of them they're just

never gonna let me down

yeah we're just different yeah we make

lots of room for each other and we

listen to each other really assiduously

like we did when we first started when

we were kids I must tell you that the

feeling between the four of us has never

been better

[Applause]

[Music]

you think

telephone

[Music]

yeah

you are baby

[Music]

right

me

tada

it will make these bad

make it rain

[Music]

between me and you I would I give right

but I have that

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

you