For what it’s Worth
Steven Stills was one more extremely talented musician composer from the Tampa Bay area of Florida. Genius or maybe the water. This song was recorded by Buffalo Springfield back in the mid Sixties. “Stop, Hey what’s that sound, everybody look what’s going round.” An anthem of the times and an echo through my JukeBox Brain.
That band spawned many great groups and songs but Steven had to get started first.
Back at Plant High school he was as desperate as the rest to get going with something meaningful yet cool. He put a band together. But the politics and the culture prevented anything that was out of the mainstream. He needed a McGuffin; a gimmick. Hair was an important part of self identity. Young men letting their hair grow out was a political statement. It meant a rejection of status quo and became a personal confrontation to conservative agenda. It was resistance to the Viet Nam War. It was a lot of things. It was a symbol of the future. Especially in The Deep South where it could get you killed. High school administration forbade long hair in the schools upon penalty of suspension or worse. There was one former alumni who was of a like mind as Steven. He could not play a note on any instrument but he had hair. Long beautiful flowing hair. The band wasn’t that good but they hung a bass guitar on their new compatriot and placed him at the front of the stage so that all the girls could see him. To play it safe they didn’t even plug his bass into an amplifier. It didn’t matter. The girls liked them. They were a hit. A few years later Steven was in California sitting on the grass in Mama Cass’s Laurel Canyon front yard overlooking Hollywood far down below and he played his songs for the people; David Crosby, Graham Nash, and few others soon to create the first super group. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. For What it’s Worth was still worth quite a bit.
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