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The Only Song Buffalo Springfield Recorded By Accident

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The Only Song Buffalo Springfield Recorded By Accident

“Sad Memory”: Buffalo Springfield’s song recorded by accident

(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)

During those golden years of rock, as new genres were forming and a buzz of excitement and change was in the air, many musicians struggled to find their feet, moving through different bands before settling into one. In some cases, the bands disbanded, but several members went on to bigger and better projects, leaving their previous project as a legendary relic.

This has happened several times, such as when The Yardbirds achieved considerable success, before its members disbanded and became musical icons in the years that followed. While Jimmy Page became a member of Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton founded Cream and Jeff Beck led the Jeff Beck Group. The same thing happened with Buffalo Springfield, the pioneers of folk rock.

The band was founded by Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Dewey Martin, Bruce Palmer, and Richie Furay. Of course, Stills and Young would eventually form the iconic band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young together, while Young also went on to perfect an incredibly successful solo career as one of the most popular folk singers of all time. Additionally, Furay appeared in Poco with Jim Messina, who also played in Buffalo Springfield for a short time.

Clearly, the band was an ideal launching pad for these musicians, who would soon become some of the most revered names in rock music. They released three albums in the span of two years, before disbanding in 1968 due to complications such as problems recruiting a solid line-up and drug addiction. During these two fruitful years, the band helped popularize folk rock with songs like the protest song “For What It’s Worth.”

The band was truly an opportunity for the members to experiment with music-making, and for Furay, it wasn’t until their second album that he had the courage to write songs himself. He donated three tracks, “A Child’s Claim to Fame,” “Good Time Boy,” and “Sad Memory,” but it was the latter that allowed him to see his contributions taken seriously. For Furay, the fact that the album ended up featuring three of his own compositions was an accident.

Talk to UncutThe guitarist explained: “I was waiting for the rest of the band to get to the studio, because we were getting there as soon as we woke up. So I got there first and I was in the studio, playing the song (‘Sad Memory’).”

He continued: “Neil comes in and all of a sudden he hits the talk button and says, ‘Hey man, we gotta record this song!’ I said, ‘That sounds good to me.'”

Clearly, Young could hear something in these tracks that Furay perhaps didn’t have the confidence to share, but getting the approval of Young—a writing genius even at the time—was enough for Furay. “There wasn’t a lot of stuff like that at the time. It’s very stripped down. In the end, I think Neil’s guitar is the only other instrument there,” Furay added.

The song appears on the second side of the record with the creative title Buffalo Springfield again, which only received positive reception in the years following its release.

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