Travel back to the political protests and civil unrest of the late 1960s that spawned the legendary Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young — America’s first supergroup comprised of members of previously successful bands. The result: clashing egos, legendary breakups, wild lives, yet timeless harmonies that stunned audiences and influenced The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Jackson Browne, and many more that followed. You'll learn:

1. The very different upbringings and personalities of each of the four members
2. How they played their first ever gig in front of 500,000 people
3. Their incredible creation of a powerful protest song only 3 weeks after an American tragedy
4. The often bitter in-group rivalries that challenged their very existence
5. How one member committed serious federal offences and was jailed

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Guest Biography for this episode
David Browne is the author of Crosby Stills, Nash and Young: The Wild, Definitive Saga of Rock's Greatest Supergroup. David is a senior writer at Rolling Stone magazine and a former music critic at Entertainment Weekly. He's profiled legends like Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead and Sonic Youth. He joined us from New York.

Experience one of music's big bang moments when 19-year-old Mick Jagger, carrying a handful of RnB albums, ran into Keith Richards on a train platform. Together, they would overcome tragedy, addictions, death and mayhem of all sorts to make it to the top and stay there. This isn't just the tale of a band, it's the saga of survival, reinvention and rebellion, and at its core, it's the story of two kids from Dartford, Mick and Keith, who led The Stones to became undisputed icons of rock and roll. In Part 1 you'll learn.

1. How fate intervened to bring all of The Stones together as a band
2. Who really founded The Stones and the strange origins of the band name
3. The role that two women played in influencing their music
4. About one of the first famous deaths in rock
5. The financial mayhem they faced & the role of a mysterious Prince
6. Some of the factors that drove their dark songs like Gimme Shelter & Sympathy for the Devil

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Guest Bio
Christopher Sanford is the author of The Rolling Stones: 60 years, he's written acclaimed biographies of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Paul McCartney, Sting and Kurt Cobain, as well as books on John F Kennedy and Roman Polanski. For more than two decades, he's written about music and film for major media outlets on both sides of the Atlantic. Rolling Stone magazine has called him "the preeminent author in his field".

In Part 2, we journey through the 1970s and ’80s, to experience how The Rolling Stones navigated financial ruin, courtroom battles, and drug-fueled chaos. Their survival and evolution forged their legend—every scar a jewel in the crown they wear today. In Part 2 you'll learn:

1. How financial problems led to one of their finest albums
2. About their legendary debaucherous 1972 tour
3. That the chaos of 1970s New York City played a key role in their sound evolution
4. Why Mick and Keith's relationship almost came to an end
5. How one of their most famous tunes started as a reggae song
6. The innovation The Stones brought to the concert touring model

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Guest Bio
Christopher Sanford is the author of The Rolling Stones: 60 years, he's written acclaimed biographies of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Paul McCartney, Sting and Kurt Cobain, as well as books on John F Kennedy and Roman Polanski. For more than two decades, he's written about music and film for major media outlets on both sides of the Atlantic. Rolling Stone magazine has called him "the preeminent author in his field".