The Buffalo Springfield song released by accident
Amid the cultural turbulence and law enforcement hostility that enveloped Los Angeles in 1966, Buffalo Springfield came into being. The primary architects of the group were Neil Young and Stephen Stills, who, alongside Ritchie Furay on guitar, Bruce Palmer on bass, and Dewey Martin on drums, forged one of the pioneering folk-rock bands. Drawing inspiration from the burgeoning San Francisco psychedelic scene and the invigorating rock ‘n’ roll introduced by British bands to the United States, Buffalo Springfield emerged as a fusion of diverse ideas and styles.
The artistic milieu of the Laurel Canyon neighbourhood profoundly influenced and shaped Buffalo Springfield’s sonic identity. Within this vibrant creative hub, they shared space with other notable groups like The Byrds, The Mamas and the Papas, and The Beach Boys. Collectively, they gave rise to what has since been recognised as the emblematic ‘California sound’ emblematic of the 1960s.
The band’s self-titled debut album was written entirely by Young and Stills, but by the release of the second album in 1967, the pair had loosened the reins on the project, and Furay became a first-time contributor to the album’s material. In truth, Furay embarked on his initial venture into songwriting by crafting three compositions for their second album, Buffalo Springfield Again. Coincidentally, the track ‘Sad Memory’ marked his debut as a recorded songwriter.
Interestingly, Furay recounted to Uncut that its inclusion on the album was an accident, stemming from Neil Young’s discovery of the tune: “I was waiting for the rest of the band to come to the studio,” he said, “Because we’d come in whenever we woke up. So I got there first, and I was out in the studio, just playing the song. Neil comes in, and all of a sudden, he pushes down the talk button and says, ‘Hey man, we gotta record that song!’ I said, ‘Sounds good to me.’ There wasn’t much like it at the time. It’s very spare. As it ended up, I think Neil’s guitar is the only other instrument on there.”
The album also includes an early folk-rock contribution by Furay, called ‘A Child’s Claim to Fame’, which anticipated his country-rock venture that would supersede his inclusion in Buffalo Springfield. Furay’s lyrics in the song express his annoyance with Young, who had quit and rejoined Buffalo Springfield on several occasions during the recording of the album.
“We did ‘Child’s Claim to Fame’ on the reunion tour in 2011,” he told Uncut. “We were playing Santa Barbara, there’s 5,000 people out there, and Neil stops. ‘Hold up, hold up!’ he says. ‘Richie, did you write this song about me?’ That’s Neil for you. Yeah, when I wrote it, I was frustrated with the guy, but that’s how we communicated with one another.”
Despite both eventually leaving the group, Young left first after his presence in the band became more and more infrequent. At some point, it became difficult to function as a band, and each member wanted to go their own separate ways.
