I’ve only met a few of the really famous musicians who poured sunlight into my teenage soul. Stephen Stills’ influence has been colossal! Along with the obvious influence of his singing style and awesome guitar playing, his songs are rich with insights from life. Instead of waffling on, I’m going to put up a video or two and a link to a playlist.
My earliest exposure to Stephen’s music occurred sometime before I learned my first guitar chord and shortly after I joined the South African Navy.
In my early teens I’d acquired a copy of Déjà Vu and thanks to the speaker above the tuck-shop and my mother’s love for all things rock, I’d been exposed to Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young from a very early age.
On the road from Saldhana Bay to Cape Town, one of my fellow sailors played a tape recording of “4-Way Street” and I found myself in the company of kindred hearts, fellow travelers, visionaries of the state we loosely refer to as ‘Life’
In 1975, I bought my first Stephen Stills album and was stunned! It was musically superior to anything I’d previously heard and the stories he told were deep, insightful and inspiring.
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STEPHEN STILLS “MANASSAS” (Playlist)
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(Yes, this is me. 
YMCA 1977)
I had a momentary lapse and then in ’77 I bought a pile of records by the four streets and their subsequent divisions, reunions and collaborations which continue to this day.
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The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party:
1. Stephen Stills @ Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia
2.
