by Robert Wilkinson
February 2 was the birthday of Graham Nash, founding member of the Hollies and Crosby, Stills, and Nash (and occasionally, Young.) We have some extraordinary video performances today and tonight for your enjoyment!
I saw Graham Nash with David Crosby and Steven Stills in 2012, and they were awesome! Now old men compared to how young they were at Woodstock, they still put on one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen, and the thousands there with us roared over and over and over. The 60s may have left the building a long time ago, but the flame still burns in the hearts of millions, if that show was any indication.
All three have been playing professionally for over 50 years. They were a team for 46, and though Steven Stills (Jan 3, 1945) and David Crosby (Aug 14, 1941) have had their share of medical problems, and we send a big thanks to David who just died recently. Still, Steven and Graham are still with us and rocking out in their own way. Though CS&N broke up for good in March 2016, we’ll have their music forever!
Graham Nash (Feb 2, 1942) co-founded the Hollies with Allan Clarke, cracked the big time in the first British Invasion, and never looked back. With their ringing guitars and vocal harmonies, the Hollies were a vibrant sound, and gave us some memorable tunes!
Welcome to the British Invasion, where it’s obvious the Beatles set the performing style of the day! This one is an extraordinary live performance by a very young Graham Nash and the Hollies very live and at their best at the 1964 NME, looking sharp performing their very first hit, “Just One Look”
From that same breakthrough year, here they are on the BBC Top of the Pops television show lip-synching to the studio version of “Just One Look”
This was when I discovered them! Here’s another fantastic performance on Shindig in 1965 complete with the very choreographed Shindig dancers doing their second major hit “I’m Alive.”
Here’s another tv performance back in the day, clearly lip synched. “I’m Alive.”
A great one! Very much live at their peak in the London Palladium in March 1965, the Hollies performing their huge hit “Look Through Any Window”
From Hullabaloo (1965-66) with Graham and the Hollies lip-synching “Look Through Any Window”
From the Beat Club in 1966, the Hollies live performing “I Can’t Let Go”
Also from 1966, a lip synched music video of the Hollies doing “I Can’t Let Go”
I found it again! Here’s a great clip from Top of the Pops in 1966 with the Hollies lip-synching to “Bus Stop”
Hits in 1966! Here are the studio recordings of “Stop Stop Stop” and “Bus Stop”
Closing out 1966, a real gem! The Everly Brothers went to England and cut an album that year featuring the Hollies, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and Elton John! Welcome to those incredible harmonies cranking out British hits from the era! It begins with the great Spencer Davis hit “Somebody Help Me” and autoloads from there. For your enjoyment, Two Yanks in England
For the third hit from this era, the original audio-only studio version of their 1967 hit “Pay You Back With Interest”
This is from their performance on the German Beat Beat Beat television show in 1967 (though one date code says 1968). The Hollies very live doing “On A Carousel”
Here’s a couple of live performances from their 1968 concert in Croatia! First, “On A Carousel” and then “Jennifer Eccles”
I still can’t find the entire 1968 show in Croatia on one clip, but I did find this clip which will autoload the rest of the show, so enjoy! We begin with the folk classic “The Very Last Day”
Now for Crosby, Still, Nash, and (occasionally) Young! The first batch are songs written by Graham.
From very early in their career, a live acoustic performance of one of their most loved tunes written by Graham Nash, the immortal “Teach Your Children”
From Graham's mid-60s trip to Morocco where he states he went in search of the big one and found (and smoked) it! “Marrakesh Express”
Woodstock 1969 was only the second time they performed together live. Enjoy history being made!
This song kicked it off and introduced the band to the world! “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” They followed that huge hit with two more extraordinary performances of “Marrakesh Express” and “Blackbird” followed by “Helplessly Hoping.” They closed their set with the iconic David Crosby tune of a vision where we all were offered a dream that we really could find our way across the troubled waters of 1969 to a better world. I guess the ship couldn’t find the harbor we were looking for, but we'll get there someday.... “Wooden Ships”
From their 1974 tour, live at Wembley, a very hairy Graham cranks out a song with topical importance! “Immigration Man”
The 2 hour and 56 clip of their 1974 Wembley concert has reappeared! For your enjoyment, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young! Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young at Wembley, London – September 1974
Here’s an audio-only version from 1974 live at the Roosevelt Raceway cranking out “Military Madness”
Jump forty years to the Santa Barbara Bowl in 2014, and we have another straight up delivery of the anti-war rallying cry of “Military Madness.” Yes, war is madness.
This year I found both audio sets from the Roosevelt Raceway show in September 1974.
Crosby Stills Nash and Young at Roosevelt Raceway, NY – 1974 Set 1 (1 hour 13)
Crosby Stills Nash and Young at Roosevelt Raceway, NY – 1974 Set 2 (1 hour 16)
Here’s a real score from the 1974 tour! It’s an audio-only anthology of several stops on that tour. Welcome to several hours of great music when they were at their peak!
Crosby Stills Nash and Young Reunion Tour - The Complete 1974 Tour Anthology Disc 1
Crosby Stills Nash and Young Reunion Tour - The Complete 1974 Tour Anthology Disc 2
Crosby Stills Nash and Young Reunion Tour - The Complete 1974 Tour Anthology Disc 3
Crosby Stills Nash and Young Reunion Tour - The Complete 1974 Tour Anthology Disc 4 is nowhere to be found.
From the early 70s, this is just as powerful as it was years ago! Written by Graham Nash in response to an Amerikan gross miscarriage of justice, this was the rallying cry of a generation. Here’s a great performance of "Chicago." From a more recent performance, "Chicago."
This year I found the video of their entire hour and 25 performance at Woodstock 94! Crosby, Stills & Nash - Full Concert - 08/13/94 - Woodstock 94
The very beautiful "Wasted On The Way"
From the Cow Palace in 1989, “Just A Song Before I Go”
Here they are at Farm Aid 2000 giving us “Our House.”
The next few tunes were written by David Crosby during his CS&N tenure, so enjoy these great live performances!
From the first Crosby, Stills, and Nash album, “Guinevere”
From 1969, here’s an interesting live performance by CSN&Y on the Tom Jones television show! Tom takes the lead vocals on “Long Time Gone”
From 2009 in Glastonbury, “Long Time Gone”
From 1970 on the Tom Jones Show in London, some great live harmonies in “You Don’t Have To Cry”
From 1977 in Houston, the legendary tune David wrote with Stills and the great Paul Kantner, “Wooden Ships”
Live in 1989 at the Ring, here’s Crosby and Nash with Grace Slick in a live performance of “Wooden Ships”
A live acoustic performance in 1991 gives us a great version of “Déjà Vu”
Here’s a performance bootlegged from Rome 2010 with a very electric almost jazzed out version of “Déjà Vu.” This is similar to the arrangement they did when I saw them a couple of years ago.
In this clip, they look almost exactly as they did in the recent show. From Madison Square Gardens in 2009, “Almost Cut My Hair”
The song that blew the doors down and let the world know a new style of music had arrived! Steven Stills’ masterpiece, “Suite Judy Blue Eyes”
Another early clip of some incredible harmonies! Here's Steven's “Helplessly Hoping”
From the 2009 Madison Square Garden concert, the iconic Joni Mitchell song from their second album, “Woodstock”
Steven's “Southern Cross”
The amazing Stephen Stills' tune, "Find The Cost of Freedom"
I’ll digress a little with this these next two gems. First, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young live at the Fillmore East in June 1970 doing a fabulous acoustic version of Neil’s Buffalo Springfield classic “On The Way Home.”
Then from Toronto in 2000, we have the 4 together doing an extremely electric version of “Ohio”
(If you don’t know the importance of this song, please reference A Day of Infamy 51 Years Ago Today “Four dead in Ohio, four dead in Ohio….”)
Here Graham duets with David in a 29 minute BBC concert in 1970. Graham Nash in Concert with David Crosby – BBC 1970
Some years later in 1983, Steven Stills and Graham Nash did an acoustic duo set on Rock and Roll Tonite performing an exquisite set of “Change Partners,” “4 + 20,” and “Crossroads”
Three whole shows from way back! First, an audio-only 76 minute December 1969 show! Crosby, Stills, and Nash in Detroit 1969
Then a great 55 minute video from October 1973 in Winterland! Crosby, Stills, and Nash – Live at Winterland 1973
And from a decade later in 1982 at their peak, here’s a great hour and 47 video performance! From the Universal Amphitheater, Daylight Again
Two years ago I had a 2006 performance live on Jools Holland, with David and Graham giving us an acoustic version of “Immigration Man,” but this year it’s disappeared. So instead, I found you a 2016 performance by Graham and Shayne Fontaigne of this classic! “Immigration Man”
We’ll close this celebration of joyous music with a long set from MTV in 1990, a great live 23 minute acoustic video at the Ed Sullivan Theater! I saw them in Austin on this tour, and they really were fantastic! For your enjoyment, the joyous harmonies of one of the best groups ever to sing a note. And if you find yourselves smiling or tapping your foot, you’re in the company of millions!!
Because I had it in 2 parts last year, I’ll put them up again. Crosby, Stills, and Nash – Unplugged Part 1 and Crosby, Stills & Nash – Unplugged Part 2.
For our encore, a great score! First, an entire 2 hour 12 minute live acoustic concert video from 1991 at the Bill Graham memorial concert in San Francisco! Crosby, Stills, and Nash – The Acoustic Concert
For the second encore, a 38 minute live concert video in 1988 in Oakland! Crosby, Stills, and Nash Live in Golden Gate Park
Here’s a great 72 minute documentary titled Graham Nash – Wild Tales: A Rock and Roll Life
Here’s a great 43 VH1 documentary titled Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young – VH1 Legends
The Official Graham Nash Website
Spreading a huge vibe of peace and love 53 years after the end of the 1960s is a great way to live, and an awesome legacy to leave the world. As your occasional bandmate is known to sing, “Long May You Run.” You are loved by millions!
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Also, a big Happy Birthday shout out to another amazing talent! February 2 was also the birthday of the brilliant comedian, composer, and musician Tommy Smothers (February 2, 1937) His shows brought us all a lot of laughs and some great talent back in the 60s. Thanks for battling the censors then, Tommy.
Copyright © 2023 Robert Wilkinson
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