When the 1960s American country rock group Buffalo Springfield were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, organisers said they were "a supergroup that didn't exist long enough to be recognised as such". Made up of singer-songwriter guitarists Neil Young and Stephen Stills plus guitarist Richie Furay, Bruce Palmer on bass and Dewey Martin on drums, they produced three highly influential albums over two years with a handful singles, one of which - 'For What It's Worth (Stop, Hey What's That Sound' - went to number seven on Billboard's Hot 100 and earned a place in the Grammy Awards Hall of Fame.
Texas-born Stills and Furay from Ohio had spent time with a New York folk group called the Cafe Au Go-Go. Canadians Young and Palmer had been with a Detroit outfit called the Mynah Birds and fellow Canadian Martin had played with the Dillards in Nashville. They joined together in California in 1966 and named the band after a steamroller. Their first single, 'Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing', was written by Young and their second, 'For What It's Worth', a protest song written by Stills made them famous.
Jim Messina succeeded Palmer on bass and other artists who played with the group included guitarists Doug Hastings and bassists Ken Joblun and Jim Fielder. Buffalo Springfield's eponymous first album stalled at number 80 on the Billboard 200 in 1967 and subsequent releases 'Buffalo Springfield Again' and 'Last Time Around' reached number 42 and 44 respectively. A compilation, 'Retrospective/The Best of Buffalo Springfield' reached number 42 in 1969 and 'Buffalo Springfield Box Set' just made it on to the Billboard 200 in 2001. Palmer died in 2004 and Martin died in 2009. Furay and Messina formed the band Poco and then Furay became part of a trio with J.D. Souther and Chris Hillman while Messina went on to Loggins and Messina.
