Graham Nash- Graham Nash is one of the most durable musical figures to have emerged from the 1960s, both as a supporting musician, as star in his own right, and as a key figure in both the British Invasion and the '70s singer/songwriter era that followed. As a harmony singer and sometime lead singer with the Hollies and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, his voice is among the most familiar in two distinct eras and schools of rock music.
Graham Nash was born in Manchester, England, where his musical career began to develop at a young age when he, along with classmate, Allen Clarke, sang in the school choir. Nash and Clarke began performing together and joined several groups that would ultimately become the Hollies, featuring Clarke on lead vocals, Nash on rhythm guitar and vocals, Eric Haydock on bass, Tony Hicks on lead guitar, and Don Rathbone on drums. In April of 1963, the Hollies released their debut single, a cover of the Coasters' "(Ain't That) Just like Me", backed with "Hey What's Wrong With Me", which eventually rose to number 25. During the summer of 1965, the Clarke/Hicks/Nash songwriting team caught the attention of Dick James, the most prominent publisher of rock & roll songs in England. This era heralded a series of great original hits for the group, including "Stop Stop Stop", "Pay You Back With Interest", "On a Carousel", "Carrie Anne", "King Midas in Reverse", "Dear Eloise", and "Jennifer Eccles", as well as numerous album tracks of extraordinary beauty. The album For Certain Because, included Graham's song "Clown"—a far more personal song than he'd ever contributed to the group and one that was clearly marked as a "Nash" song in style, more than a "Hollies" number.
In November of 1968, it was announced that Graham was leaving the Hollies. Soon thereafter, he moved to California where he began rehearsing and recording with David Crosby and Stephen Stills. With Nash singing, Crosby singing and strumming, and Stills singing and (along with Dallas Taylor) playing most of the instruments, a self-titled album was recorded and released in the spring of 1969. It never placed higher than number six on the American charts, but Crosby, Stills & Nash stayed on the charts for more than two years and sold more than two million copies. The second half of 1969 saw a rise to stardom for Nash, as for Stills and Crosby, and their eventual new partner, Neil Young. Each one of them, and the collective quartet, was suddenly part of a rock hierarchy occupied by the likes of Bob Dylan and individual members of the Beatles.
Graham’s song "Marakesh Express", which the Hollies never finished, finally saw the light of day as a Crosby, Stills & Nash single that got to number 28 in America and number 17 in England. "Marakesh Express" was also performed by the group at their second (and most famous) gig, the Woodstock Festival in August of 1969. Graham contributed the song "Teach Your Children" to the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album Déjà Vu. "Teach Your Children" is arguably the most fondly remembered song associated with the group. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young lasted long enough as a performing unit for one major national tour and a live follow-up album before the members went their separate ways. Graham emerged in July of 1971 with Songs for Beginners, a beautifully wrought solo album resplendent in personal lyrics ("I Used to Be a King"), topical political subject matter ("Chicago," "Military Madness"), and an easygoing folk-like sound. The album reached number 15 in America and number 13 in England, with the single release of "Chicago" rising to number 35.
In December of 1971, Graham embarked on a tour of Europe with David Crosby, which proved to be a successful pairing and resulted in the recording of the album Graham Nash/David Crosby, which eventually reached number four on the U.S. charts. Graham’s single off the album, "Immigration Man" seemed to sum up the mood of the spring of 1971. Later that year, he joined Neil Young for the single, "War Song", which reached number 61. As an artist coming of age during revolutionary times, Graham naturally became involved in the socio-political movements of the era and he remains a relentless activist for positive change.
In 1974, Graham cut a second solo album, Wild Tales, before he began to devote most of his musical attention to working with David Crosby. The duo released two very successful studio albums, Wind on the Water (1975) and Whistling Down the Wire (1976), plus a live LP and a greatest hits package over the next four years. In the midst of Crosby & Nash's various recording projects and tours, there were periodic reunions of CSNY in its various guises. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young toured in 1974, and Crosby, Stills & Nash recorded an album in 1977, but nobody, in or out of the group, expected these to be long-term reunions. By the end of the 1970s, Nash's partnership with Crosby was also on hiatus. An album that was supposed to be a Crosby & Nash release ended up as Graham’s next solo album, Earth & Sky, released in 1980. In 1982, Graham joined Stephen Stills and David Crosby for a CSN reunion album, Daylight Again, which yielded a hit single in the form of Nash's "Wasted on the Way". Nash's career took an unexpected turn in 1983 when he got back together for a British television appearance with his old bandmates the Hollies. Two years later Nash and the Hollies reunited for an album, What Goes Around, and a concert tour of the United States. In 1986, Nash released a new solo album, Innocent Eyes, and has since performed with Crosby and recorded and toured as part of Crosby, Stills & Nash and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. In May 1997, he was inducted into the Rock ’N Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Crosby, Stills & Nash.
Concurrent with his music, Graham maintained a parallel career as photographer, collector, and partner in a digital fine art press, Nash Editions. He continues to work on various artistic endeavors such as "LifeSighs", his autobiographical multimedia performance piece which debuted in 1995 and continues to evolve as a work in progress. Through his creative expression, whether in music, photography, art or social activism, Graham Nash continues to inspire fans throughout the world.
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© 2007 Sony Corporation of America
© 2007 Sony Corporation of America