"For What It's Worth (Stop, Hey What's That Sound)", often referred to as simply "For What It's Worth", is a song written by Stephen Stills, first recorded by Buffalo Springfield on December 5, 1966, and released as a single on Atco Records in December1966; it peaked at no. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the spring of 1967. The song is often associated with the Vietnam War because students, "flower children" and other young people often clashed with police at anti-war protests and other demonstrations during the counterculture era.

It was later added to the March 1967 second pressing of their first album, Buffalo Springfield. The title was added after the song was written, and does not appear in the lyrics.

In 2004 Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song at number 63 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Background

Although "For What It's Worth" is often considered an anti-war song, Stephen Stills was inspired to write the song because of the Sunset Strip curfew riots in Los Angeles in November 1966, a series of early counterculture-era clashes that took place between police and young people on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, California, the same year Buffalo Springfield had become the house band at the Whisky a Go Go. The unrest continued the next night, and periodically throughout the rest of November and December, forcing some clubs to shut down within weeks. Dowd did take part in the production of Cher's version of the song in 1969. One of the most recognizable elements of the song is Neil Young's use of guitar harmonics. and was followed by rival KRLA on January 14, 1967, where the single entered its "Top 40 Requests" at number eight. Also on January 14, Billboard magazine identified it as a "regional breakout" and the single appeared on its Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart. Two weeks later, it debuted at number 90 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number seven on March 25 and remained on the chart for a total of fifteen weeks. Although the single did not reach the charts in the U.K., the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certified a 2004 release by Warner Music as platinum (sales and streams of 600,000) in 2023.

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To capitalize on the single's success, Atco was pushing for a follow-up album that featured the song. It began printing album jackets with the title Stampede, but the group did not have enough songs for a new LP. Instead, Atco reissued their debut album and added Stills's song as the opening track. It eventually reached number 80 on Billboards Top LPs chart. the Buffalo Springfield box set (2001), and What's That Sound? Complete Albums Collection (2018).

Certifications

Critical commentary and legacy

Cash Box said the single is a "throbbing, infectious protester circling 'round the current happenings in Cal."

"For What It's Worth" quickly became a well-known protest song. In 2006, when interviewed on Tom Kent's radio show Into the '70s, Stills pointed out that many people think the song is about the Kent State shootings of 1970, even though its release predates that event by over three years.

An all-star version of "For What It's Worth", with Tom Petty and others, was played at Buffalo Springfield's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997; Neil Young did not attend the event.

The song appears in the intro to the 2005 film Lord of War, showing the lifecycle of a rifle cartridge, from manufacture to firing.

On August 17, 2020, Billy Porter sang "For What It's Worth" for the 2020 Democratic National Convention backed by Stephen Stills on guitar, a nod to the song's resurgent use in the summer 2020 American protests.

In 2000, the 1966 recording of "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield on ATCO Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The HOF lists the ATCO date as 1967.

Dawes, alongside Stephen Stills and Mike Campbell performed the song on January 30, 2025 at Kia Forum in Inglewood, California for FireAid to help with relief efforts for the January 2025 Southern California wildfires.

Personnel

Personnel taken from Buffalo Springfield liner notes.

  • Stephen Stills – lead vocals, lead guitar
  • Neil Young – lead guitar
  • Richie Furay – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
  • Bruce Palmer – bass guitar
  • Dewey Martin – drums, backing vocals

Covers and sampling

"For What It's Worth" has been covered, sampled, and referenced in numerous musical performances. Versions include those by The Staple Singers (US #66 in 1967, CAN #46 in 1967), Art (1967 single from Supernatural Fairy Tales), King Curtis (in the 1967 album King Sized Soul), Ken Lyon & Tombstone, Rush, Cher, the Candyskins, Oui 3 (UK #28), Queensrÿche (on their album Take Cover), Miriam Makeba (on her album Keep Me in Mind), Ozzy Osbourne and (həd) <sup>p.e.</sup> (retitled Children). Cher's 1969 cover did not make the Billboard Hot 100 but it did reach #88 in Canada. AllMusic retrospectively called her version "mature [and] forceful".

Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 recorded a version of this song. It reached #10 in the Adult Contemporary Music Chart on September 19, 1970.

David Cassidy recorded an extended live version for his 1974 album Cassidy Live! (Bell Records, UK #9; recorded live in Great Britain in May 1974).

The hip-hop group Public Enemy sampled "For What It's Worth" on their 1998 song "He Got Game", which featured Stephen Stills reprising his vocal performance from the original song. Oui 3 adapted the song for their 1993 debut single of the same name, which reached number 26 in the UK chart.

In 2017, Haley Reinhart released a cover of the song as the third single from her third studio album, What's That Sound? In 2018, the Lone Bellow released a cover of the song as a single. In 2022 Stevie Nicks released a cover of it as well, not to be confused with her 2011 song of the same name.

See also

  • List of 1960s one-hit wonders in the United States
  • Protest songs in the United States

Notes

References

  • Reasontorock analysis of song
  • Buffalo Springfield:
  • The Staple Singers: