Buffalo Springfield and Sixties TV

Buffalo Springfield was formed after a chance meeting on Sunset Boulevard in 1966.  Neil Young in the book “Shakey” recalls their bid for stardom and the subsequent fall out as they were pushed into the world of sixties commercial TV.

“It was all over when Buffalo Springfield wanted to do the Johnny Carson show. What were we doin’ the Johnny Carson show for? That was just another of Stephen Stills things, and he was right – if the Springfield was gonna make it, people had to see them – but I didn’t wanna be seen doin’ that. I didn’t wanna do it that way.

Once the Buffalo Springfield were doin’ this light-hearted afternoon TV show –hosted by Woody Woodbury. We were trying to get exposure, the managers wanted us to do it. So we’re doin’ this stupid show, and we played a song, and we were gonna be back later to play another song. We were sittin’ in the back – all the other guests are in the front, and we were supposed to sit in the row behind em’ because they didn’t really want to talk to us other than say “hello” and “who are ya,” that sorta thing.

So Rona Barrett comes out, she’s on the panel there and they’re talkin’ back and forth. She’s talkin’ about this person and that person and their private lives – and I said “Now wait a minute. Just a minute here. Is it true that what you do – what you do – is expose other people’s private lives.? And try to unearth their own personal secrets  and try to share them with everybody else – that’s how you make a living, right?”

That was a dark moment for TV. We weren’t invited back.”