Graham Nash

My guest on this episode of Writers at Work is Graham Nash, singer, performer, band leader, photographer, activist, and for our purposes, songwriter. Graham is a two-time member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for his role in The Hollies and Crosby, Stills, & Nash and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Also a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, he's composed pop songs that are known to several generations, "Teach Your Children," "Our House," "Just a Song Before I Go," among them. But Graham has written scores of other songs, also worthy of admiration and affection. There's at least one gem on each of his seven solo albums, including NOW, his latest, his four albums with David Crosby, eight albums with David, Stephen Stills, and sometimes Neil Young, and those written during his half-dozen years with The Hollies. Many of his songs are uniquely his, tender and open-hearted, written in an intimate style as if whispered to a lover or a friend. I want to explore those songs with him today. When Graham left The Hollies in 1968, he said, "I can't take touring anymore. I just wanna sit at home and write songs." Landing in Los Angeles, he did write, though decades of touring ensued. In fact, at age 84, he and his band will resume his tour in support of NOW on July 7, and continue into October. See grahamnash.com for more. Before we proceed, I'll be referencing a lot of songs many of you may have never heard. I checked, and you can find every one of them on YouTube, and I've posted under my name a playlist on Tidal of more than two dozen Graham Nash compositions.