Graham Nash: Magic sound of CSN was born in 45 seconds
MUSICIAN Graham Nash has said the sound of folk rock band Crosby, Stills & Nash was created in less than a minute when they first met.
The 81-year-old formed the band in 1968 alongside David Crosby and Stephen Stills after leaving The Hollies, the band he had co-founded in Manchester.
Speaking to Lauren Laverne on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs today, the Blackpool-born songwriter said: “Joni [Mitchell, his thenpartner] was the only witness to the beginnings of Crosby, Stills & Nash.
“I had come to Los Angeles to spend three or four days with Joni.
“David and Stephen were having dinner with Joni.
“And after dinner, David said to Stephen, ‘Play Willy [Nash’s nickname], that song that we were just doing’, and because the Buffalo Springfield had broken up and because David had been thrown out of The Byrds they were trying to get a duo kind of thing together.
“And they sang You Don’t Have To Cry, which is on the first [CSN] record.
“And I said, ‘Do me a favour, sing it again.’
“When they finished the second time, I said, ‘Trust me, do me a favour, just sing it for the third time.’
“When we started the song, and I added my harmony, after 45 seconds, we had to stop and laugh.
“We were all in bands that were pretty decent harmony bands, but this was completely different. It had a magic to it, immediately.
“And so the sound, whatever sound that is, of Crosby, Stills & Nash was born in 45 seconds.”
Neil Young joined Crosby, Stills & Nash in 1969.
Crosby died aged 81 in January 2023 and Nash paid tribute on Instagram saying: “He spoke his mind, his heart, and his passion through his beautiful music and leaves an incredible legacy.”
Nash has been inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with both The Hollies and CSN.
Desert Island Discs airs on Sunday at 11.15am on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.