“It gets me back to the kid I was before this madness started”: Stephen Stills reveals he got sober at the age of 77
Only 27 artists have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, and Stephen Stills is one of them. Buffalo Springfield and folk supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash helped define Stills as a rock icon – but years of alcoholism took their toll.
Throughout the 2010s, fans started to clock Stills’ decline, with forums discussing his inability to “sing or play” like he did in the ’90s. Elsewhere, reviews also document slurred performances, praising Stills’ fretwork but deeming his voice “irreparably shot”.
However, Stills has since cleaned up his act. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, 80-year-old Stills has revealed that he has been sober for three years. “I’m really comfortable in sobriety,” he says.
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The shift has allowed him to reconnect with the passion he felt for music prior to his alcoholism. “It gets me back to the kid I was before this madness started, pretty affable and friendly,” he explains. “Things were so special at the beginning of my career before I sold a single record. But when you add poison into that mix… I’m just glad I have my original personality back.”
While Stills retired from touring in 2018, his sobriety has allowed him to perform at a slew of one-off gigs with a clear head. Most recently, Stills performed at FireAid on 30th January, where he reunited with CSN bandmate Graham Nash to play Teach Your Children, which served as their first performance together since 2016.
“It felt like putting on an old shoe again,” Stills reflects. “We just fell into it, and there it was. And the pleasure of playing with those kids made it even more special. I don’t see [Nash] a lot since he lives on the East Coast, but it was great to see my old pal.”
The evening also saw Stills performing For What It’s Worth with rock band Dawes and guitarist Mike Campbell.
“FireAid helped me check and see if my thrusting and coagulating still worked,” he jokes. “I’m getting a little more active now, so there’s a possibility [of performing more often]. It depends on the kind of venues I can attract.”
Stills has a couple of performances already penned in his diary. He’s set to perform at Judy Collins’ 85th birthday on 8th March at New York’s Town Hall. He’ll also be headlining the Light Up the Blues benefit for Autism Speaks in April alongside Neil Young, Billy Idol, Cat Power, and Linda Perry.
At this point in his life, Stills is feeling reflective. He admits that he’s planning to write a memoir – and it’s slowly taking shape. He’s even dug out the archives, consulting old newspaper articles to help him piece his history together. “I’m going one word at a time…” he says. “And I must say, it’s a lot easier doing this now that I’m sober.”
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