On the circuit, Young met a number of folk artists, including Joni Mitchell, guitarist Richie Furay, and Stephen Stills, who was then playing with his own folk band, the Company. .
When the Mynah Birds called it quits after recording one album, Young and Mynah Birds bassist Bruce Palmer moved to the promised land of L.A., where they hooked up with Stills, Furay, and drummer Dewey Martin to form the seminal folk-rock band the Buffalo Springfield. Stills' counterculture anthem "For What It's Worth" earned the band nationwide fame, but it was Young who drew the most attention for his unique style and high-energy guitar playing. In their two-year existence, the band recorded three successful albums and a retrospective (Buffalo Springfield, Buffalo Springfield Again, Last Time Around, and The Best of the Buffalo Springfield) for Atco before splintering in 1968. .
Following the band's separation, Young signed a solo deal with Reprise Records, and released eponymous debut in January of 1969, but sadly it was not received to well by the public. His second solo effort, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, recorded in his own studio setup at his Topanga, California, home with his new backing band Crazy Horse (the band's original lineup included lead guitarist Danny Whitten, bassist Billy Talbot, drummer Ralph Molina, and pianist/producer/arranger Jack Nitzsche), became a major hit and went platinum on the strength of songs like "Cinnamon Girl," "Cowgirl in the Sand," and "Down by the River." With the understanding that he could come and go as he pleased, Young elected to join David Crosby, Steven Stills, and Graham Nash's hit-group in the summer of 1969, just in time to appear at the historic Woodstock Festival. .
Young eventually recorded three albums as part of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young: 1970's Deja Vu, 1971's live 4-Way Street, and 1988's American Dream. Honored as "quite possibly the most important new poet since Bob Dylan," Young's soothing songwriting contributions to the band included "Helpless," "Country Girl," and "Ohio.
