Editing Stephen Stills (section)

=== Peak solo years (1970–71) ===
In the wake of CSNY's success, all four members recorded high-profile solo albums. In 1970, Stills released his [[Stephen Stills (album)|eponymous]] solo debut album featuring guests [[Eric Clapton]], [[Jimi Hendrix]], [[Cass Elliot]], [[Booker T Jones]] and [[Ringo Starr]] (credited only as "Richie") as well as Crosby, Nash, [[Rita Coolidge]] and CSN&Y drummers Dallas Taylor and [[Johnny Barbata]]. It provided Stills with the US No. 14 hit single "[[Love the One You're With]]", and another US top 40 hit "Sit Yourself Down", peaking at No. 37. The album peaked at No. 3 on the US charts, a solo career peak. At the time of release, Stills's album was the highest selling solo album out of the four. It was recorded in the UK, where Stills bought a mansion in Surrey, England, previously owned by Starr.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last1=Roberts|first1=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_spfDwAAQBAJ&q=thoroughfare+gap+reviews&pg=PT233|title=Stephen Stills: Change Partners|last2=Gedge|first2=David|date=2016-10-28|publisher=This Day In Music Books|isbn=978-1-78759-101-1}}</ref> To promote the album, Stills appeared on the BBC television show ''[[Disco 2 (TV series)|Disco 2]]'' in January 1971.

The 1970 album cover was shot by photographer [[Henry Diltz]] in Colorado, in the early hours of the morning after the death of Jimi Hendrix.<ref>{{Cite web |last=B&H Photo Video Pro Audio |date=January 11, 2013 |title=California Dreamin' – A Talk with Music Photographer Henry Diltz |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrG2rv6YLfQ?t=2781 |access-date=May 21, 2024 |via=YouTube}}</ref> Hendrix's untimely death affected Stills immensely. Ever since being first introduced to Hendrix at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, Stills was inspired by the guitarist and had befriended him. In 1969, Stills was invited to temporarily join the Jimi Hendrix Experience on tour as their bass player, but was held up by previous commitments with CSN&Y. His biggest regret was not making a full album with Hendrix.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stern |first=Howard |date=February 24, 2024 |title=Jimi Hendrix Stories Told on the Stern Show |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQfiT_EWKTo |access-date=May 21, 2024 |via=YouTube}}</ref> In early 1971, on the French music show Pop 2,<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 8, 2015 |title=Stephen Stills at Pop 2, a french TV show on 01/30/1971 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8iV5TILxNY |access-date=May 21, 2024 |via=YouTube}}</ref> Stills talked about the influence that Hendrix had on him as a person and a musician:

{{Quote|text=Jimi [Hendrix] probably had more effect on my music than anybody else. He defined the modernization of the old country blues, as played by [[Blind Willie Johnson]], [[Robert Johnson]], and [[Blind Lemon Jefferson]] and all those little dudes, y’know. Since I met [[Lightnin' Hopkins]] in 1961, he was the first musician that got me off that hard, he tore my brains out, y’know. I really enjoyed the honour of being able to have him come to my record; to my studio, to my family, to my rhythm section, to my track, y’know. And when Jimi plays guitar, I get really knocked out, it's truly the best—and it broke my heart when he died. And he brought me to a place where I really decided that rock 'n' roll, as we know it right now, has got to change and I want to try help it change.|author=Stephen Stills|source=Pop 2 (1971)}}

Stills followed this first album with his second solo album, ''[[Stephen Stills 2]]'', six months later. Recorded in [[Miami]], the album included the singles "Change Partners" and "Marianne", which reached Nos. 43 and 42 in the US. The album itself reached No. 8 on the chart and was certified US Gold a month after release. Even though "Change Partners" was written before CSN formed, Nash saw it as a metaphor for the many relationships in CSN&Y. Stills initially recorded 23 songs and hoped to release them as a double album; this was ultimately rejected by Atlantic.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://aln3.albumlinernotes.com/CSN_Box_Set_Tracklist.html |title=CSN Box Set Tracklist |publisher=AlbumLinerNotes.com |access-date=2017-04-17 |archive-date=June 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620075014/http://aln3.albumlinernotes.com/CSN_Box_Set_Tracklist.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Stills embarked on his first solo US tour with an eight-piece band including [[the Memphis Horns]], in which he sold out [[Madison Square Garden]], [[Spectrum (arena)|The Philadelphia Spectrum]], [[The Forum (Inglewood, California)|LA Forum]] and the [[Boston Garden]], arguably at his solo commercial peak.<ref name=":3" /> Stills's performance at Madison Square Garden occurred one day prior to [[George Harrison]]'s [[The Concert for Bangladesh|Concert For Bangladesh]]. Stills donated his stage, sound, lighting system and production manager in kind, but was later upset when Harrison "neglected to invite him to perform, mention his name, or say thank you". Stills then spent the show drunk in Ringo Starr's dressing room, "barking at everyone".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Zimmer|first=Dave|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kZBKDgAAQBAJ&q=stephen+stills+horn+dave+zimmer&pg=PT244|title=Crosby, Stills & Nash: The Biography|date=2008-09-23|publisher=Hachette Books|isbn=978-0-7867-2611-0}}</ref> Stills's Madison Square Garden show was professionally recorded and remains unreleased, except for a clip of "Go Back Home" that was broadcast in early 1972 on ''[[The Old Grey Whistle Test]]''. Two additional acoustic tracks were released on Stills's 2013 box set ''[[Carry On (Stephen Stills album)|Carry On]]''.

In 1971, ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine ranked him at No. 34 top singles artist, No. 44 top album artist, No. 14 top singles male vocalist, No. 12 top new singles vocalist, No. 17 top album male vocalists, No. 14 top new album artist, number 73 top producers, and ranked his debut album number 70 in the year end album charts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/70s/1971/BB-1971-12-25-II-Talent.pdf|title=Billboard magazine year end|website=Americanradiohistory.com}}</ref> Additionally, ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]'' ranked ''Stephen Stills 2'' as the No. 51 album of 1971, and his debut as No. 52.