How did the Springfield get together in the first place? How did these three Americans and three Canadians meet and form a two year pheonomenon? Let's let Richie tell the tale. "Stephen and I were driving down Sunset Boulevard when we got caught up in a traffic jam. As we sat there, we noticed that the car in front was a hearse bearing Ontario plates-- and Stephen, knowing that Neil used to drive around in an old hearse, shouted, "That has just got to be Neil!" Well, we rushed out and sure enough there sat Neil and Bruce Palmer. Neil had come to Los Angeles looking for us and being unable to find us, was just about to go off to San Francisco. Whilst i'd been in L. A, I'd taught Stephen "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing", which Neil had taught me in New Yorka few months earlier -- and so we went home and played it for Neil. He liked it -- and that was it. We started a rock and roll band." So how did they get their unusual name in a time where every other band was using named like 'The Beatles', 'The Byrds', "The Mamas and Papas', 'The Cyrcle', 'The Association', 'The Turtles', and so on. Well, they were originally called "The Herd", but one incident changed all that. Richie explains: "We were living on Fountain Avenue, Los Angeles and workmen were tearing up the street to do re-sufacing. Well, they were using these big steamrollers to flatten it all out, and they had a nameplate on the side...you know just two large words 'Buffalo Springfield'." So Neil, Steve, Richie and Bruce became The Buffalo Springfield. Now all they needed was a drummer. Steve wanted Billy Mund, but Neil insisted on Dewey Martin, drummer for The Dillards. The original lineup was created. On April 15, 1966, they performed their first concert, opening for the Byrds. Between March 1966 and May 1967, the original lineup; Steve, Neil, Dewey, Richie and Bruce, was having a good old time. The California music folk/rock scene was happening, they were the house band at the Whiskey a Go Go, they had a Top 10 single, they were playing concerts, they were featured in teenybopper magazines, and they released their first album. Life was good. Then Brucie got deported and they found themselves lacking a bass player. Ken Koblun and Jim Fielder took over bass duties while Bruce was in Canada. Later, Ken moved back to Canada, and Fielder joined Blood, Sweat and Tears when Bruce returned. But the good times couldn't last forever. Actually, the good times were few and far between in BS around this time. Their second album "Stampede" was made but never released. Also around this time, Neil left the band and was replaced by Doug Hastings. It is Doug (as well as David Crosby) who appeared with The Springfield at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967. By the time they got to work on their second official album, "Buffalo Springfield Again", the seams were coming apart. Neil came back for the album, though he mainly worked with Producer Jack Nitzche and studio musicians on his masterpieces "Expecting to Fly" and "Broken Arrow". Bruce and Jim Messina assumed the bass player roles on the album, Steve maintained a high profile, Dewey actually got to sing, and Richie saw the inclusion of HIS own songs on a BS album for the first time. The Buffalo Springfield was ridden with personality and ego conflicts within the band, mainly between Young and Stills, the two dominant personalities and songwriters. They did manage to crank out a third album, the prophetically titled "Last Time Around" before performing their final concert in Long Beach, C.A on May 5, 1968. In the years that followed, the talented members of Buffalo Springfield branched off and formed bands that made even a more lasting impact than BS and were propelled to sucess. Steve Stills formed Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, which was enormously successful in the late 60s and early 70s. After that, he formed Manassas. Neil Young became a successful solo artist with Crazy Horse. He joined his pal Steve in 1970 in Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. After CSNY, Neil continued his solo career into the late 90s. On his album "Silver and Gold", he even wrote a song called "Buffalo Springfield Again". Neil's love for the BS has endured, and he was a major factor in creating the Buffalo Springfield Box Set, which came out a few years ago. Richie Furay and Jim Messina formed Poco, an influencial Country-Rock band that was popular in the 1970s. Jim Messina went on to form Loggins and Messina with Kenny Loggins. Perhaps the most unique aspect of the Buffalo Springfield is that it's a bit of a backwards supergroup. So many legendary names in one band that made the most impact after the group broke up. Though the Buffalo Springfield was together for less than two years, their impact on rock is undeniable. Their three original studio albums featured a blend of American rock, folk, and country that inspired The Eagles, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The Byrds, Gram Parsons, and pretty much every country rock group that became famous in the 1970s. Because of their excellent musicianship, great songs, and influence, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Not bad for a group that met by chance on Sunset Boulevard.