Stephen Stills

With a soulful voice and a gift for penning both poignant ballads and trenchant rockers, Stephen Stills became a rock legend in the ’60s, but his restless muse has carried him across multiple decades, musical genres, and high-powered bands. Born in Dallas, TX, in 1945, he was an Army brat whose time in Central America influenced him musically as much as the folk and blues he grew up loving. He played with a series of folk acts in the first half of the ’60s before landing in L.A. and setting the template for legions of folk rockers by founding Buffalo Springfield in 1966 with co-frontmen Neil Young and Richie Furay, earning immortality with tunes like the world-weary, timeless social commentary “For What It’s Worth.” At the decade’s end, he partnered with fellow singer/songwriter/guitarists David Crosby and Graham Nash in the trio that bore their surnames, achieving a precise but invitingly earthy three-part harmony sound on their reflective debut album. When Young joined them briefly, the wildly inventive folk-rock milestone Déjà Vu emerged. CSN continued on and off for decades; meanwhile, Stills kicked off his solo career in 1970 with the joyous-sounding Latin-tinged smash “Love The One You’re With.” In 1972 he started Manassas, blending country rock with Latin influences alongside Chris Hillman of The Byrds. Stills never quit making solo records, but in 2013 he formed the blues-rock supergroup The Rides with guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd and keyboardist Barry Goldberg. At every step of his career, Stills has always been about channeling his influences and taking them someplace new.