Captain
Many
Hands
Coined by his bandmates Graham Nash and David Crosby in 1969, the nickname came out of sheer awe when watching their third member of the group walk around the studio putting down countless layers of guitars, bass, and organs while recording their self-titled debut album, Crosby, Stills, & Nash. This allowed for Nash and Crosby, both in some relief after seeing this, to focus on perfecting their harmonies that the group would become so renowned for.
While he didn’t play drums on their first album, Stephen Stills was responsible for being the sole instrumentation contributor to four out of ten songs on their debut album. The songs included are; “You Don’t Have to Cry”, "Helplessly Hoping", “49 Bye-Byes”, and the album’s seven minute 24 second opener that we all know and love, “Suite Judy Blue Eyes”.
I wanted to dig a bit further on the vast catalog of Stills, not his own or the various groups he’s been a part of, but the work he contributed to so many other countless artists that he may not be recognized for.
Turn My Life Down by Jefferson Airplane:
In 1969, Crosby, Still, & Nash, Jefferson Airplane, and the Grateful Dead were all recording at Wally Heider Studio in San Francisco, often dropping in on one another’s sessions. There was a cross pollination between all these groups, the Airplane covering “Wooden Ships” on Volunteers, the Dead taking inspiration from CSN and focusing less on instrumentation/experimentation and putting more of an effort on vocals and harmonization, and Jerry Garcia contribution pedal steel guitar to both songs on the Airplanes Volunteers, but also Crosby, Still, Nash & Young’s Deja Vu.
There is so much more, but that’s for another time.
The Airplane frequently looks to their peers when they are in need of keyboard parts on their material. Nicky Hopkins played the majority of piano on Volunteers but was not readily accessible for every session. When it came to the band searching for someone to add an organ part to their track “Turn My Life Down”, well aware of his capabilities, the Airplane invited Stills into the studio to sit at the Hammond B3 for the song. Rather than stepping into the spotlight, Stills’ playing tastefully accompanies the rest of the band adding a soulful gospel touch to the song. Written by the group’s guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, Stills’ organ playing adds a swelling warm chord backing perfectly mixed under Marty Balin’s lead vocals. As Jorma takes his solo, Still’s speeds up the rotation in the B3’s Leslie Speaker to accommodate for Jorma’s blazing solo.
“Turn My Life Down" was the last song Jefferson Airplane taped for their album Volunteers, finishing it on the last day of their three-month studio booking.
Let it Rain by Eric Clapton:
Stills and Clapton first met in Los Angeles in 1967 at the Whiskey A Go Go. The two bonded over their mutual respect for each other's guitarmanship and almost every time the Englishman would be in town after that, they would get together and often jam.
After Cream dissolved, and Blind Faith never truly came to fruition, Clapton began work on his self-titled debut album. The album kicked off its session in November of 1969 taking place at Olympia Studios in London, and wrapped up the session in January of 1970 at Village Recorders Studio in West Los Angeles. It was at the Village Recorders’ sessions that Stills entered the picture.
Clapton’s “Let It Rain” was inspired by Stills' song writing on Buffalo Springfield’s track “Questions”, and frameworked his track around the chord progression Still’s had configured. During a late night hang at the studio, Clapton played the master tape of the album to get feedback from Stills. Stills pointed out missed opportunities in the already laid down bass part, and quickly was put to work to sort this out from Clapton himself.
Stills laid down the driving bassline heard throughout the song carried through the verses, choruses, and bridge. Stills then stepped up to play guitar on the bridge, essentially taking over the guitar parts on the bridge section of an Eric Clapton song.
Dig Stills' “Wooden Ships” esque tone on the bridge solo at one minute thirty four seconds.
Ain’t No Sunshine Bill Withers:
Los Angeles based soul and R&B record label Sussex, linked Bill Withers up with Booker T. Jones to produce his debut record. Booker T planned to get together a premier studio band for Withers, and through various different relationships and mutual friends, Stills was called for the sessions.
Though “Ain’t No Sunshine” is not known for its guitar parts, if you listen closely, you hear both acoustic and electric playing from Stills softly mixed in the back serving as hidden textures underneath the strings section and Wither’s prominent lead vocals.
Because he was in the room, Stills became a constant member throughout all of Wither’s Just as I Am sessions, contributing rhythm and lead guitar to the several songs on the album giving a West Coast counterbalance to Wither’s soulful touch.
Stills still resides in Los Angeles, and still after countless years, continues to create, inspire, and embody the spirit of a generation whose sound transcended so many lives.