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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Induction Ceremony
The Class of '97: Crosby Stills and Nash / Buffalo Springfield
by Lorraine Kaczorowski
I attended the 12th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction
Dinner in Cleveland OH May of 1997, with friends Cathi Ronnenburg
and Pat Long, and we all had a wonderful time.
First on the agenda was the preview of the Opening of the newest
temporary exhibit @ The Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and Museum called
“Want To Take You Higher” The Psychedelic Years 1965-69. It was
an exciting presentation, portraying the era though various audio
& visuals; including such memorabilia as Stephen Stills famous
poncho worn at Woodstock, John Sebastian’s Tie Dyed Jean Jacket
that he donned during his Woodstock set, and Country Joe McDonald’s
army shirt that he wore when he lead the Fixin to Die Rag (gimme
an F!) in the mud in ‘69. The show ran there thru February 1998.
I noticed in the TV, radio & press blurbs mentioning the 12th
Annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony; all the focus was on The
Bee Gees, The Jackson 5, and the hyped no show of Neil Young for
the Buffalo Springfield Induction. It was a true disappointment
to me, that Neil decided to make a statement, instead of going
to Cleveland to meet with old friends and bandmates. Part of the
reason I really wanted to attend the event, besides support the
acknowledgement of the industry for CSN; was because of the prospect
of seeing Buffalo Springfield play. It would have been a very
rare treat. As the inductor for Buffalo Springfield; Tom Petty
eloquently painted a visual feast, when describing the music &
influence of the band.
VH1 aired a two hour highlights show of the 12th Annual Rock n
Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, showcasing the Class of
'97. CSN shined in their performance at the gala. After the awards
portion of the show, you knew things were gonna smoke when Nash
in his usual stage attire (sans shoes mode), reappeared, with
David and Stephen in also in less formal attire and began their
mini-set. CSN closed the show and got to play the most tunes.
It was the only way to end such an evening of many long winded
speeches and formalities. The REAL deal was to ROCK n ROLL, and
that my friends is what CSN did! The performance showed their
passion, vitality, and unity. A literal showcase for the industry
and their peers they kicked ass!!!!!! The sound was great and
they along with the band (Gerald Johnson, Joe Vitale & Michael
Finnigan) played the following:
-49 BYE BYE'S: The vocal was on the money.
-WOODEN SHIPS: Brought it all home, the song that so subtly screams
CSN.
It smoldered, with the now classic Finnigan/Stills combustion
jam
-TEACH YOUR CHILDREN with Emmy Lou Harris & James Taylor: Stills
brought out the White Falcon!
-FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH: This IS an audience participation song,
with Tom Petty, who looked mighty jazzed to be jamming with CSN. Dewey Martin
and Bruce Palmer were up onstage also, but unfortunately did not
play. Richie Furay had already left before the end of the show
and did not get to be on stage for the finale.
The article on CSN in the program for the event was written by
Rolling Stone journalist, Chet Flippo. He mentioned the “tempestuous”
relationship CSN & RS has had over the years. James Taylor in
his presentors speech to CSN, mentioned several times, how it
is “a good thing” that CSN be inducted, that is was “the right
thing to do”.....
Previously there was a feeling that they might not be inducted
because they were not a favorite of Rolling Stone and Jan Wenner.
Wenner heads the HOF committee....I was glad they finally got
their due credit.
I capped off my visit to the fair city of Cleveland with an stop
@ the Ninth Street Gallery to see Graham Nash’s month long exhibit,
Manuscript Originals & Photography. Half of the show was written lyrics, signed by
the artists, (some were copies, some were originals) who penned
the songs, such as Grace Slick, John Lee Hooker, David Crosby
etc.. and the other half was black & white photos from Graham’s
portfolio, taken in the past several years in various places in
the states and abroad. These prints by Nash Editions, were images
of day to day life through Nash’s eyes. I particularly liked the
two self portraits, an Imelda Marcos shoe homage, and two of R.
Mac Holbert, former road manager for CSN, who currently works
for Nash Editions.
Reflecting on the event as a whole, I am reminded of what David
spoke of in his acceptance speech. He said it’s really all about
"the magic that emerges from the music they create."
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