1966-67......#7 U.S. Billboard Hot 100, #7 U.S. Cash Box Top 100, #5 Canada
Stereo Remix by MixerRog / Original video edited and AI remastered with HQ stereo sound.
"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. Performed by Buffalo Springfield, it was recorded on December 5, 1966, released as a single on Atco Records in December 1966 and peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the spring of 1967.
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.
Stills said in an interview that the name of the song came about when he presented it to the record company executive Ahmet Ertegun (who signed Buffalo Springfield to the Atlantic Records-owned ATCO label). Stills said "I have this song here, for what it's worth, if you want it." Another producer, Charlie Greene, claims that Stills first said the above line to him, but credits Ahmet Ertegun with giving the single the parenthetical subtitle "Stop, Hey What's That Sound" in order that the song would be more easily recognized.
The song was recorded on December 5, 1966, at Columbia Studios, Hollywood. Tom Dowd claimed he mixed the song at Atlantic's studio in New York, though this has been disputed. 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.
While memories of the November riots were still fresh, the group and Ertegun pushed for a rush-release of "For What It's Worth". On December 10, 1966, five days after the song was recorded, local Top 40 radio station KHJ began playing the single. It first appeared on the station's "Boss 30" chart on December 28, 1966, at number 26, 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.
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.