<P> On Saturday, November 12, 1966, fliers were distributed on Sunset Strip inviting people to join demonstrations later that day . Several of Los Angeles' rock radio stations also announced that a rally would be held outside the Pandora's Box club on the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Crescent Heights . That evening as many as 1,000 young demonstrators, including future celebrities like Jack Nicholson and Peter Fonda (who was handcuffed by police), gathered to protest against the enforcement of the curfew laws . Although the rallies began peacefully, trouble eventually broke out among the protesters and police . The unrest continued the next night and periodically throughout the rest of November and December forcing some clubs to shut down within weeks . Against the background of these civil disturbances, Stills recorded the song on December 5, 1966 . </P> <P> 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 . He 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 sentence to him, but credits Ahmet Ertegun with subtitling the single "Stop, Hey What's That Sound" so that the song would be more easily recognized . </P> <P> The song was recorded on December 5, 1966 at Columbia Studios, Hollywood . Tom Dowd claims he mixed the song at Atlantic's studio in New York, though this is disputed by others . He did take part in the production of Cher's version of the song in 1969 . </P> <P> The song quickly became a well - known protest song . In 2006, when interviewed on Tom Kent's radio show Into the' 70s, Stephen Stills pointed out that many people think "For What It's Worth" is about the Kent State shootings (1970), even though the song predates that event by over three years . Neil Young, Stills' bandmate in both Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, would later write "Ohio", in response to the events at Kent State . </P>

For what it’s worth – buffalo springfield