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Song Stories

“Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”

Crosby, Stills and Nash | 1969

Appropriately, “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” was the first song that appeared on Crosby, Stills and Nash’s first album, and was also the first song they performed at Woodstock. While not their biggest hit – perhaps because of its length (7:24) – the suite is a showcase for the group’s signature strong point: harmonies. “The three-part vocal blend was f---ing fantastic,” says Graham Nash. The song itself was written by Stephen Stills, who plays most of the instruments on the recorded version, as a broken-hearted love ballad for his ex-girlfriend, folk singer Judy Collins. Stills stitched different lyrics from different notebooks together, hence the “suite.”

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Song Stories

“Everyday People”

Sly and the Family Stone | 1968

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.

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