Graham nash singer biography book

By signing up, I confirm that I'm over To find out what personal data we collect and how we use it, please visit our Privacy Policy. A worthy effort. Everything you would want to hear about and some you'd maybe rather not is in here. Certainly at this stage of the game it's probably worth one's while to read Crosby's autobio prior to this, so one will have benefit of the historical hindsight brought to the final third of the story- in which Nash tries to come to grips with the continued devolution of Crosby's genius into crackpipe ignobility.

I remember one of my favorite early memories of Crosby a night out at the Great American Music Hall with my best friend, and the woman who at the time was attempting to take up the role, and my bud and I being completely blown away by what was for us the first hearing of his acapella composition Samurai. With a Zen-like acuity this little melodic koan of itself cut through all the other very worthy performances which he offered that evening, including Lee Shore, Guinnevere , and Deja Vu.

A few years later I managed to see him at the beginning of the crack-smackpipe decline at Wolfgang's on Embarcadero Center San Francisco , and signs of the cracks in the royal crown were by then definitely becoming apparent. David and Jerry Garcia had apparently, at that time and for some long whiles before been engaged in a game of one-upmanship as to who could handle the more and most of worse substances and not bode themselves nor the muse any ill.

Garcia seemed to be coming out ahead, of course, although it was only a diabetic coma that put him to the test, and even then, he could not back out completely once time had run out for him although it can be said he was attempting the noble effort. That two otherwise highly gifted, intelligent, absolute craft-masters could come so far and yet be brought so low by their human frailties was indeed a lesson for me.

Nash, while no angel on these issues himself, at least apparently noticed his own inability to fight back that darkness and quit while he was ahead, and in doing so, lent his efforts in the worthy redemption of all which Mr. Crosby ought well be best remembered for. And that this ought to take up, as it does, the last third of his own memoir shows both his devotion to David as a friend, and the intractability in David's personality.

But what the hell. If you love the music these guys made and continue to make, then you are going to like hearing the whole story from the horse's mouth. And as such I give it its due. Jan C. This was great. And I had the enhanced Kindle edition. So there was music and videos. I really enjoyed this book and an inside look at a couple of pop bands I'd enjoyed.

It was wonderful to see how he advanced from being a fan of the Everly Brothers. He and his friend Clarkie patterned their first act after them. This morphed into the Hollies. But the Hollies just stayed the same while Nash evolved in his songwriting. Eventually a trip to California brought him to meet Cass Eliot Mama Cass who told him he had to meet someone who turned out to be his alter ego, David Crosby and his friends Joni Mitchell and Stephen Stills.

Such is the way that legends are born. They all had their troubles with drugs, but none as serious as David's. There came a point for Nash when he decided that cocaine wasn't really helping him that much. Also included are some of the many photographs that he has taken. His father had given him a camera when he was young I think that helped send him to prison and this fostered a love for the art.

He once asked his mother how he had escaped their low life in Manchester. She referred him back to the camera and his gifted voice and told him he was living for them, living their dreams for them. This was very moving to me. Apparently a couple of years ago his daughter, Nile, had helped put out an album of his music from Songs for Beginners performed by young singers as Be Yourself.

I didn't know most of those young artists but it did remind me of how much I had liked that album, even though I probably haven't listened to it for 20 years. I liked him better before I read the book. As always the drug excesses of rock stars makes me gag. Brian Bess. The harmonizing diplomat When I was a young lad, one of the first bands I heard out of that heady mid-sixties British Invasion of talent other than The Beatles was a group called The Hollies, singing an infectious ear worm of a song called "Look Through Any Window.

The harmony was obviously very similar to The Beatles but the voices were sharper, higher pitched, less fuzzy and velvety. I found out a couple of years later that the highest of the high voices belonged to Graham Nash. He was the only member of the group, in —the year of the mustache led by The Beatles—to have facial hair. He stood out and apart from the others.

Just as I was getting used to their sound and their records I heard that Graham had pulled out of the group and was now starting a new group with veterans of other great harmonic groups, David Crosby from The Byrds and Stephen Stills from Buffalo Springfield. This sounded to me to be a very intriguing lineup. When I heard them my suspicions were confirmed.

Great elements from each of those other bands coalesced into a heady, harmonic stew. They were the ultimate harmonizers and they had a fresh and new sound. Over forty years later and after several tumultuous decades of ego battles, drugs, political activism and hedonism, Graham Nash has joined the ranks of elder statesmen of rock to pen his memoirs.

Graham is a self-professed 'simple man. He writes like he talks, unpretentious, intelligent, not terribly literary, but filled with enthusiasm and passion for life, music and art. His tale begins in the post-war north of England, bonding with fellow harmonizer and Everly Brothers fan Allan Clarke. These boys actually fulfill their fantasies when they accost the Everly Brothers after a Manchester gig, who actually stay a while and talk to them as peers, encouraging them to keep at it.

They quickly begin a rise to the top in that competitive time where there was a new rock'n'roll group on almost every corner, not only in Manchester but also Liverpool, Birmingham and the various suburbs of London. However, Graham grew tired of life on the hit-making carousel and, thanks to fortuitous meetings with Americans David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Cass Elliot and others from the West Coast, became magnetically attracted to a different kind of music and lifestyle.

In one fell swoop, he left his country, his marriage, his band, and his childhood best friend Allan Clarke, to come to the States and begin this new phase. One gets a contact high simply from reading his account of that magical vocal alchemy that occurred when he first blended his voice with Crosby and Stills. Of course, along with all that astounding harmony one encounters quite a bit of dis-harmony.

Ego clashes, at least one falling out over stealing another's girlfriend, hedonistic drug consumption. This was the era when the rock music industry changed from being an enthusiastic hit-making partnership to a business. This transition became most vividly illustrated by the enormous event that was the Woodstock festival and the residual fame, influence and cultural effects.

Crosby, Stills and Nash and that other combustible element, Young were at the center of that shift. However, he retains a detached, optimistic, life-affirming spirit that enabled him to live through those crazy years and tell the tales. His account is largely chronologically accurate although he could perhaps be forgiven for getting a few details wrong such as misremembering that short-lived pop star Keith covered the Hollies' "Pay You Back With Interest" rather than "Tell Me to My Face.

One gets the impression that Graham Nash was more of a mediator in those interpersonal disputes than a partisan, although he quickly became an artistic twosome with his erratic partner David Crosby. Nash's loyalty to his friend Crosby is truly admirable. When most others gave him up as a lost cause, another rock'n'roll junkie casualty, Nash steadfastly refused to stop believing that at the heart of this freebasing lunatic monster was the great soul that he always knew was at the heart of Crosby.

This faith is part of what helped David pull himself out of the hell of addiction and incarceration. Nash has not only lived to tell those wild tales but has been able to achieve closure with many chapters from his past, such as when, along with his old friend Allan Clarke, he was honored at The Hollies' induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He retains the healthiest of addictions— music and art—and he seems to have lost none of his passion or idealism and has stayed very involved with the 21st century world, determined not to let it leave him behind. Ray Campbell. I've read a few rock bios. Meeting his best mate at age 6, Graham tells the stories of hearing American rock, getting his first instruments and going to his first concerts.

He also tells the story of his family life and the extreme poverty of his coal mining community. I know Graham belonged to the Hollies, but the story of that act and it's significant in the early 60s is really fun. This is the first quarter of the book. As the book progresses, Graham travels to the US, meets his future circle and makes his move.

I know this story from other books on the period, but Graham's take on Buffalo Springfield, Cass Elliot, the Byrds and the LA scene is interesting and distinctly sentimental. His life with Joni Mitchell is heartbreaking. The CSNY quarter of the book is also material I know, though Graham makes the stories personal as he adds his feelings and reflects on the songs he wrote.

Lot's of fascinating insight. The downfall and resurrection of David Crosby from Graham's point of view is amazing. The final part of the book is about the activism that he has pursued in latter years. While it's a bit of a come down from the stories of his rock star years, it is still interesting. So much of his fundraising has been around putting together artists that the narrative is still interesting.

Graham wraps up with the usual love notes to his family and friends as well as some happy thoughts for the future. Any fan will find this a pleasant read with few real shocks, but lots of fun and engaging insight. I definitely think differently about the Hollies. Andy Miller. Graham Nash writes with a refreshing candor that makes this memoir so much better than many others of its type.

The candor starts in describing hardscrabble growing up in northern, industrial England where money was always tight and opportunities limited. Nash is quick to acknowledge that music gave him a wanted escape from that life but it is just as clear that Nash had an independent passion for music, he still remembers and describes fondly his first musical instruments and how he paid for them.

Nash describes his different bands with his best childhood friend Allen Clarke that eventually led to the Hollies and then describes the stories behind the songs that made the Hollies famous. Nash's candor continued when writing about his leaving the Hollies to go to America, Nash did not handle it well, the abruptness and lack of good-bye was especially inexcusable to his loyal and longtime friend Clarke.

But Nash also weaves in fun asides, such as telling how much he detested his last hit with the Hollies, Jennifer Eccles, especially comparing it to the new, relevant music from other groups. And then comes Crosby, Stills, Nash-and later Young. And in the midst of that early corroboration was his relationship with Joni Mitchell, reading about the genesis of "Our House" was a favorite part of the book along with the stories behind other songs such as Woodstock and Teach Your Children.

But Nash does not shy away from the excesses, especially involving drugs and casual sex, and of course the battles among the four. Interestingly the memoir shows a closeness to Crosby as opposed to Stills and Young, especially Young who comes off pretty unsympathetic in Nash's telling. But throughout the memoir there is Nash's love and passion for music which contributes to making this a great read.

Author 12 books 81 followers. Nash gives just enough back story of his childhood to put his later fame into perspective. Although the book does live up to its title, the main focus is the music. Nash gives a glowing description of the first time he sang harmony with Crosby, and talks about the difference between 2-part and 3-part harmony. He is candid with his comments about Neil Young, reinforcing the belief that Young is a solo act, not a true band guy.

There are many stories of the fabled 60s rock and roll drug lifestyle, and Nash was certainly front and center when it came to that. And yet, shimmering on top of all of these admittedly wild tales, there is always the music. You can hear those searing harmonies singing the book as you read of writing and recording the songs we fell in love with, and to.

He can write, plain and simple, and he weaves his wild tales and layers them in the same manner in which he weaves and layers lyrics and harmonies. Don Gorman. What a concept, a true rock and roll legend who seems to be a fully functional, interesting and rational guy. A survivor of the drug crazed California music world in the late 60's and 70's, Nash claims it was always about the music, and he details it well.

His early years growing un in England were very interesting, but after he left the Hollies the world seemed to get a whole lot larger. Edmonton Journal and the Associated Press. Edmonton , Canada. Archived from the original on 3 October Retrieved 21 September San Francisco: Hearst Newspapers. USA Today. Retrieved 23 February Vanity Fair.

Retrieved 7 January History Of Rock Music. Archived from the original on 6 December Retrieved 10 May Retrieved 21 June Archived from the original on 7 September Australian Chart Book — illustrated ed. St Ives, N. Retrieved 24 December Sheridan Books. Retrieved 7 July Archived from the original on 26 June DaCapo Press. Retrieved 1 October Archived from the original on 16 March Retrieved 23 October American Songwriter.

Retrieved 23 June Wikimedia Commons has media related to Graham Nash. Graham Nash. Over the Years. Awards for Graham Nash. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — Class of Mahalia Jackson Bill Monroe. Syd Nathan. Schmit Greg Reeves Dallas Taylor. David Crosby Graham Nash. The Hollies. Hollies Live Hits. In the Name of Love ". Discography Members.

Chicago Seven. His time on the planet has indeed been well spent, and he has the songs to prove it. Then, to make it different, I put those demos on there. Mancunian by birth but American by choice this August marks the 40th anniversary of his citizenship , he bolsters what he learns from the news with his own extensive reading and research.

Over lunch in midtown Manhattan, a tattoo of an Icelandic compass symbol reveals itself on his right forearm. Does his music have a true north? Over the course of the meal, Nash revealed the fascinating tales behind many of his classics — and in doing so told the story of his incomparable life. Pull up a chair. The Hollies recorded a version of that.

And that pissed them off, because normally every record we had was a Top 10 at least. So after that tune they stopped trusting whatever energy and music I had. It was in the midst of this unhappy episode that Nash flew to Los Angeles to visit Joni Mitchell, an up-and-coming singer-songwriter whose debut album had been produced by his friend, David Crosby.

Mitchell and Nash had crossed paths briefly when the Hollies played a gig in her native Canada in early , and the connection was instant. I had come from London to spend four days with Joni. I got to the parking lot and heard other voices. I was kind of upset that there were other people there. I just wanted to spend time with Joan!

But it was David and Stephen [Stills.

Graham nash singer biography book

They sang it, and I loved it. I asked them to sing it again, I loved it even more, I asked them to sing it one last time and I had my harmony down. And we burst out laughing in the middle of the song because it was so stupidly delicious. That sound that we created happened instantly. We have to form a trio and we have to find a record company and we have to make a record.

I played the last show with the Hollies on December the 8th. Crosby was there at the London Palladium for the last Hollies show.