
Even with this dominance, Stills does not appear on the tracks " Guinnevere" and "Lady of the Island", both featuring Crosby and Nash only and a precursor to their partnership on record and stage during the 1970s. "The other guys won't be offended when I say that one was my baby, and I kind of had the tracks in my head", Stills said.

Stills played all the bass, organ, and lead guitar parts, as well as acoustic guitar on his own songs. Crosby and Nash played guitar on their own songs, while drummer Dallas Taylor played on most tracks except for drummer Jim Gordon on one. Stills dominated the recording of the album.

The album features some of their best known songs, including " Helplessly Hoping", "Long Time Gone", " Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", and " Wooden Ships", a collaboration between Crosby and Stills as well as Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane. Not only blending voices, the three meshed their differing strengths, David Crosby for social commentary and atmospheric mood pieces, Stephen Stills for his diverse musical skills and for folding folk and country elements subtly into complex rock structures, and Graham Nash for his radio-friendly pop melodies, to create an amalgam of broad appeal. Crosby, Stills & Nash presented a new wrinkle in building upon rock's roots, using folk, blues, and even jazz without specifically sounding like mere duplication. Along with the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo and the Band's Music from Big Pink of the previous year, it helped initiate a sea change in popular music away from the ruling late-1960s aesthetic of bands playing blues-based rock music on loud guitars. The album was a very strong debut for the band, instantly lifting them to stardom. It has been certified four times platinum by the RIAA for sales of 4,000,000. 6 on the US Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. 21 the week of December 6, 1969, on the US Billboard Hot 100. 28 the week of August 23, 1969, and at No. The album spawned two Top 40 singles, " Marrakesh Express" and " Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", which peaked respectively at No.

It is the only release by the band prior to adding Neil Young to their lineup. Crosby, Stills & Nash is the debut studio album by the folk rock supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN), released in 1969 by Atlantic Records.
