One of the most sickeningly underrated guitarists and songwriters in history. He was and is the heart and soul of CSN&Y. His art was transcendent. I hope, someday, he gets due recognition.
one of the best solo releases ever in my opinion is Chris Robinson's first release. The guitarist in the songs must be a Stephen Stills fan; sounds a lot like him in places.
@@222Lightning do you mean from Black Crowes? I don't believe I've heard it. I know he was with another band (something with mud), but I'd love some details so I can follow up. Thanks 👍🏽.
I agree 120% with you my friend. He was the body and soul of CSN. The most talented by far. Can play any instrument. Played all on his first solo album. Had a couple guest artists on it most notebly Jimi, on one cut. Still is my favorite guitarist of all time.
After Black Crowes Chris Robinson did a solo release in like 2003...wow it was that long ago! Mudcrutch? Don't believe he was in that....or any of the Black Crowes..but speaking of MudCrutch...I got to find that CD to listen to in my car that has a cd player. @@ijitdunn
This was one of my father's favorite songs. Because I was twelve at the time I couldn't understand why; many moons later, I get it, I love it, and I play it by his grave a few times per year.
One afternoon,my boss came up to me,knowing I've studied CSN &Y religiously,and handed a cassette tape of this track. He said "I flew in Vietnam over the treeline. My job was to flush out the V.C for the Cobra boys above to blow to hell" Steve was and is one hell of a guy and he loved this song because it brought back alot of memories.I never ask a Vet about their time in war,as I'm sure we all know not to. But he said his hitch in Nam was his duty to his country And that's all right by me. Love to all you Tree Top boys...and to your brothers who made the ultimate sacrifice. MIA/POW🇺🇸❤💪🇺🇸 We love you and respect you always.
Lol you’re fucking stupid it’s about how he was flying low to avoid radars to ship crates of illegal marijuana across the border . (Rip a man of the Columbia fields)
@@arimoreno2968 It’s literally in reference to ex-Vietnam pilots who came home from war and found a niche in the cottage industry of smuggling via small planes.
“Treetop Flyer” is from 1991's Stills Alone album, a recording of nearly all unaccompanied mostly-original acoustic songs. The album got mixed reviews, many from people who took issue with the processed sound of Stills’ Martin guitar. But a great song is a great song, and “Treetop Flyer” is one of Stills’ finest. It’s the story of a Vietnam vet who came home from the war with a marketable new skill: the ability to fly under the radar. When these pilots returned from combat to a public that often shunned them, and wouldn’t give them a job or help them deal with what they’d been through, they found a way to make money with this skill in running drugs, guns, and whatever other contraband someone would pay them to deliver. Stills sings in the first person for this song’s six verses - no chorus, no bridge - and really sounds like he is the “Treetop Flyer,” or as if he definitely knows someone who was. This song has conflict, greed, danger, and a romantic relationship - all the pieces that make a song important and memorable. At least one troubadour of the current generation was so influenced by this song that he decided to make music his career. Ray LaMontagne credits Stills’ song with prompting him to make the decision that his life would be music and nothing else. “It was ‘Treetop Flyer’ off a solo record that Stills had done, which really knocked me out,” LaMontagne told NPR. “Treetop Flyer” stands out as one of Stills’ best pieces of work. He still sometimes performs this song live with his band The Rides, with guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd. A word of caution if you decide you want to learn how to play this song. Before you drive yourself nuts trying to figure it out: Stills’ guitar is tuned to the DADGAD tuning, sometimes known as Celtic tuning or Bensusan (as in Pierre Bensusan) tuning. And beware of lyric sites that say the words in the fifth verse are “I get the shit down, I tie it fast” - Stills is really singing “ship,” not “shit.”
Those bars "Aint going to die, I ain't goin' to get caught /'Cause I'm a flyin' fool / and my aeroplane is just too hot" hit like a goddamn atom bomb 🔥
I had the good fortune to work as an airline pilot for twenty plus years. You can believe that I wasn't the only one to hum this tune in tight spots. The guitar solo is one of the best pieces ever!
Stephen Stills is a legend , of course Crosby stills Nash and Young as a group is also very very good but this right here shows Stephen Stills sheer talent
"The government taught me, and they taught me right, stay down under the treeline; ya might be alright." I'm a treetop flyer.. Born survivor.. -and we work alone...
This song is actually a true story. It’s written by a fella named Jimmy, I’m not going to put his last name down but he is from Florida, the St. Pete area. He was one of the biggest Pot smugglers in the 60s and the 70s that ever was. There’s a few books out there, that actually talk about him. He was a Vietnam pilot. I had the opportunity and luxury of meeting him probably about 15 years ago. His stories were just so fascinating. He was the real deal. This is back when marijuana was considered to be a very bad drug, kind of like the way it was depicted in fear and loathing in Las Vegas, the book of course. Jimmy passed away a few years back. But this song was written about him. I am sure, there is a few people out there besides myself that know of this man. I am also sure, there is going to be the foolish ones that are going to argue differently. With that being said; rest in peace Jimmy, I’m sorry life took a turn for the worse for you. I will never forget the stories you told me, it was a pleasure meeting you. In my eyes you were a true legend. Rest in peace ole friend!
@@Cthomas5678 . That could very well have been the same person. That was around the same time frame. Because there was only a few in that era that were big time like they were.
When did Buffalo Springfield get a record deal? '66? ...back then, almost every teenager wanted to be a rock star. The bar was set pretty high for cutting edge rock & roll...high profile record labels were the only way to get noticed. So much competition. You had to really "bring it" if you wanted to a famous rock & roller back then.
@@maxnix346 , it's nice to meet you. I believe it was called "Stringed instrument" in Psalms. Technically a guitar. So, would you be willing to agree to disagree? Greetings from Colorado Springs CO. Thank you my friend.
In the late 1990s, a guy named Ray was working in a shoe factory. One morning he woke up to his alarm clock playing "Treetop Flyer" on the radio, and he decided right then to quit his job and make a living through music. Today Ray LaMontagne is a widely respected (and Grammy-winning) singer/songwriter in his own right.
+NorthWriter The first song that I heard by Ray LaMontagne is called 'Be Right Here'. Immediately I was attracted to his style. His life story is very inspiring.
This song was played throughout my childhood. My father owned the CD “Stills Alone.” I loved the song then and I love the song now. Since then, I’ve dug into the discography of Steven Stills and he’s really one of the best musicians, singers, and songwriters of all time. Multiple successful bands, countless successful records and songs. Stills really is incomparable.
Also: what a fantastic song -- lyrically and musically -- from a timeless artist who paints a vivid snapshot of A time, A heritage, An era, An individual...
This has to be the best smuggling song ever written. Immortal words from an immortal time. For a very few of us those days have never ended. They ( Thank God.) continue to this very day. Thank your Uncle Charlie. Peace.
Reminds me of my ole science teacher/football coach of the 1960's. Coach Asby, who was a WWII Navy pilot, did crop dusting on the side during 50's & 60's. More than once I saw him fly his bi-plane crop duster between electric high lines and a barbed wire fence!
Had the honor to be roomates with an older man while working at a Salmon factory in Ketchikan Alaska. Tom had this song as his alarm clock in honor of his father who would smuggle birth control into Mexico and weed back into the states. Rest in Peace Uncle Tom. God bless the Treetop Flyers.
I heard this late (1) Sunday night here in Philly on the "Gene Shea" show ... it was from a live bootleg show .... I taped it ... I treasured it until it was stolen out of my car ... now I have found it again ....
This song puts me in a beautiful trance. Move my hips wherever i am...Vietnam era folks understand this in their bones. Stephen's "Black Queen" from his LP "Manassas" is killer blues too
First time I heard this song was as a tribute/cover by Jimmy Buffett. Love'em both. I'd say the only difference is that Stills' soul was soaked in whiskey, while Buffett's was in rum.
Just ck'd out this unbelievable song again after all these yrs. 'cause I needed a"lift"-- & man did it bring me a smile & a sing-along & helped to set me off to a shower & my bed ------ LOVE YA' WITH ALL MY HEART STEPHEN STILLS!!!!
Finger picking in double drop d and singing at the same time and he never makes the top 50 guitarists. My opinion is hes up there with hendrix and page as far as talent goes.
Beautiful man! I remember first hearing this song back in the nineties on a great local radio station when I lived in Portland, OR. I have never heard it played again. Its a classic song which deserves more airtime.
My grandfather was no treetop flyer, but a navigator on a KC-130. I'd like to think he helped out some of those treetop flyers with the mid-air refueling. I never met him, he's still there.
Went and saw CSNY live in 1998 at the Tacoma dome in Tacoma,WA I was 16 years old, I remember people passing around pints of Jack and smoking weed in the crowd with sage burning across the whole front of the stage, it was epic. I was sippin on JD and puffin weed watching some of the greats
Most folks think Stephen did this with a capo enabled 12 string. But peeps, it was a straight six string and extreme talent. I love my aeroplane. Twin Pratt & Whitney turbos. Glass cockpit. TWAS. Stormscope. 218 knot cruising speed. And leaves sucked up into the turbochargers...
Beech 18. JATOS. R-985 Pratt & Whitney radials. Two ADF's. 1800 pounds, La Peninsula de la Guajira to the Everglades. Fuck that turbine bullshit. Sure, I later flew Hercs & 747's worldwide, but I love that Beech 18 the most. I'm the only one left alive that I know of. Read Sir John Masefield's poem, Spanish Waters, and you'll catch my drift.
@@TheGuitarMan71 I watch a lot of different music on RU-vid and it makes suggestions based on what I'm into, at that moment I was enjoying a nostalgia trip with some 60's songs and Treetop Flyer popped up. I really enjoy discovering any songs that instantly go on my list of favourites, this is one of them. It took me a while to make the Crosby, Stills and Nash connection LOL 😁 I'm a big Zeppelin fan by the way Mr Page 💜🎸🎵
As a veteran with many hrs in Dustoff ops this one sings to me. Camel hopping dune trimming flying low and fast so others may live. Cheers my brothers 🍻
A Vietnam helicopter rescue pilot told me when they had a lot of people to pick up and the enemy was everywhere, they would send out double or triple the number of helicopters. They figured at least a few might get through to the injured soldiers. He rarely talked about those days to anyone. He ended up being a helicopter rescue pilot in Alaska.
There's raw talent and there's spiritual inspiration, Steven has both!, to our benefit. Beautiful song, turns senses on, don't mind! Lil' piece from the beautiful side for us😊
regardless of what others say, there are great songs being produced these days. They are VERY few and FAR between, but they exist. Sadly only the young nostalgic generation will get to enjoy them in twenty years, when they get popular. Blame the recording companies, and more importantly the death of free radio.
I do have this CD and love this song. When I first heard it I thought it was a 12-string guitar, but nope all that complexity from a 6-string Martin. Love the ‘walk downs’ and just every aspect of it. Just got a pair of Sennheiser headphones so went to heaven for awhile.
Listen to Tommy Emanuel,Ray LaMontagne, Glen Campbell,Vince Gill just to name a few & I'm not saying that Stills is not a master of acoustic guitar.He is a fantastic player,these are just a few guys that are underrated & often overlooked player that you might enjoy.
Stephen, you still HAVE A STRONG HOLD on my heart....I was in Vietnam as a nurse back in 1967...made it back in time to sit up in Woodstock to see you and your group CSNY... breaks my heart you all broke up and are unhappy with David C....you are all better than THAT...step up, forgive...and revisit that lovely woven cloth that made ALL OF YOU the strong representation of music you shared....I survived 'Nam.... surely you can survive your differences and be friends again... David would love for you all to come back together as friends...I would relish that thought... hugs to you, Stephen...
Hand on your shoulder. "Just stay under the treeline. Ya might just be alright" a parting pat on the ass. Thank you for your service soldier. Side note we don't usually work alone.
