Crosby & Nash…Decades of Harmony

David Crosby & Graham Nash loved to blend their voices.

From 1965 into 1968, David Crosby sang harmony and sometimes lead with The Byrds.  During those same years, Graham Nash sang harmony and sometimes lead with The Hollies.  Together, their voices were magic.

When they formed Crosby, Stills & Nash with Stephen Stills in 1968, they took on different roles in the group.  Graham Nash could write memorable melodies.  He wrote five of CSN(&Y)’s nine Top-40 hits…”Marrakesh Express”, “Teach Your Children”, “Our House”, “Just A Song Before I Go”, and “Wasted On The Way”.  His writing was seriously important to the popularity of the group.

David Crosby didn’t write any of their hits.  Instead, he wrote songs of social conscience, or artistic love songs that didn’t fit on the pop music charts… “Guinevere”, “Long Time Gone”, “Deja Vu”, “In My Dreams”, and many more that added depth and beauty to their CSN albums.

After the initial rush of CSN&Y, Graham Nash released his 1971 solo album Songs For Beginners, with…”Chicago”, “Simple Man”, “Sleep Song” and “I Used To Be A King”.

David Crosby’s 1971 album is If I Could Only Remember My Name, with… “Laughing”, “Orleans”, “Music Is Love” and “Traction In The Rain”.

David Crosby and Graham Nash then worked together on three studio albums that made it into the top-30… Graham Nash David Crosby (1972, #4), Wind On The Water (1975 #6), and Whistling Down The Wire (1976 #26).  Some favorite songs from these albums include:  “Southbound Train”, “The Wall Song”, “Games”, “Immigration Man”, “Where Will I Be?”, “Page 43”, “Taken At All”, “Homeward Through The Haze”, and maybe their best collaboration, “Critical Mass/Wind On The Water”.

They continued to do other CSN(&Y) albums and solo albums.  As in the previous article for Stephen Stills, I’ve tried to summarize their careers with single playlists that are approximately CD length.  It’s a way of better seeing their individual contributions to the group, as well as their solo work.

Graham Nash Career Best:

1. King Midas In Reverse (Hollies)
2. Dear Eloise (Hollies)
3. Marrakesh Express (CSN)
4. Lady Of The Island (CSN)
5. Teach Your Children (CSN)
6. Our House (CSN)
7. Simple Man
8. Chicago
9. Sleep Song
10. I Used To Be A King
11. Immigration Man (Crosby & Nash)
12. Southbound Train (Crosby & Nash)
13. Taken At All (CSN&Y)
14. Wind On The Water (Crosby & Nash)
15. Another Sleep Song
16. Prison Song (CSN&Y)
17. And So It Goes
18. Cathedral (CSN)
19. Just A Song Before I Go (CSN)
20. Wasted On The Way (CSN)
21. Find A Dream (CSN)
22. This Path Tonight
23. Encore

David Crosby Career Best:

1. Renaissance Fair (Byrds)
2. Guinnevere (CSN)
3. Long Time Gone (CSN)
4. Almost Cut My Hair (Alternate version, CSN&Y)
5. Deja Vu (CSN)
6. The Lee Shore (CSN&Y)
7. Orleans
8. Laughing
9. Traction In The Rain
10. The Wall Song (Crosby & Nash)
11. Games (Crosby & Nash)
12. Where Will I Be (Crosby & Nash)
13. Page 43 (Crosby & Nash)
14. For Free (Byrds)
15. Homeward Through The Haze (CSN&Y)
16. Time After Time (Crosby & Nash)
17. In My Dreams (CSN)
18. Anything At All (CSN)
19. Delta (CSN)
20. River Rise (with Michael McDonald)
21. Rodriguez For A Night

If you love songs with great melodies, harmonies, and thoughtful lyrics, Crosby & Nash deliver!

Although they were no longer recording together, David Crosby and Graham Nash still put out solo albums.  Among them, Crosby’s Croz (2014) and Nash’s This Path Tonight (2016) are both solid.

David Crosby and Graham Nash provided over 50 years of some of the best harmony anyone will ever hear.  We were lucky to share in it.

Update (July 23rd, 2021):  David Crosby released a really good album, For Free.  Here’s the link for the review:

https://ontherecords.net/2021/07/david-crosbyfor-free-album-review/

(Please check out the previous article on Stephen Stills.)  Here’s the link:

https://ontherecords.net/2017/11/stephen-stills-hey-whats-that-sound/