This Day in 2010: Buffalo Springfield Reunite

Eight years ago today, Buffalo Springfield reunited for their first proper concert in 42 years, making a lot of fans happy and – bonus! – making money for a good cause in the process.

When the members of Buffalo Springfield went their separate ways in 1968, they’d only been together for about two years, but they managed to make enough music in that short window of time to remain in the public consciousness. Granted, it didn’t hurt that they had not only Neil Young and Stephen Stills in their lineup but also future Poco founder Richie Furay, a threesome whose individual careers subsequently ensured that Buffalo Springfield would be mentioned in articles on a regular basis for decades to come.

The original five members of the band reunited in 1986 at Stills’ house, playing songs from Young’s then-new album, LANDING ON WATER, with the whole thing being filmed. (Alas, the recording has never officially been released, but it’s out there if you look hard enough.) Unfortunately, efforts to get the whole band back together never succeeded, which was particularly notable when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Young was M.I.A. Still, a few years after that, Yougn released a song called “Buffalo Springfield again, the lyrics of which certainly seemed to indicate that he was agreeable to get the band back together. Alas, by the time that actually happened, drummer Dewey Martin and bassist Bruce Palmer had passed away, but to see Young, Stills, and Furay playing together again – with Joe Vitale and Rick Rosas stepping in for Martin and Palmer, respectively – was absolutely a worth-the-wait situation.

Buffalo Springfield played at the 2010 Bridge School Benefit, playing two acoustic shows, and they enjoyed the experience so well that they went on to play six more shows in 2011 – going electric this time – in California, after which they played Bonnaroo. Unfortunately, despite having established plans to do further shows together in 2012, Young changed his mind (and infuriated Stills), and they’ve not played together again since.

Still, at least it can be said that, after 42 years, Buffalo Springfield reunited for charity. That’s better than never getting back together at all.