(Credits: Raph Pour-Hashemi / Tore Sætre)
Sun 18 May 2025 20:00, UK
The lives of Graham Nash and Neil Young are forever intertwined. The two men operated as bandmates for some time as they became one of the greatest supergroups ever known alongside David Crosby and Stephen Stills, forming Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. But their journeys extended far beyond those moments.
In recent years, following Crosby’s death, Nash has noted that he will likely never want to play with Young again, noting that the “heart” of the group would be missing without Crosby. Despite their years of issues, the two men have become inextricable through music. In fact, perhaps one of Young’s greatest songs, ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’, was written for Nash.
Written by his bandmate after another friend, Joni Mitchell, had ended hers and Nash’s relationship, the song goes down as perhaps one of the most potent love songs of all time. Recalling when Young wrote the song, Nash told Uncut: “That song means a lot to me because Neil wrote it about me and Joni. It’s such a beautiful song. I knew it was about me the day Neil played it for me at Stephen’s house in Laurel Canyon.”
He continued: “It’s a beautiful song and it was incredibly important for me to hear what Neil had said because he was dead right, it is only love that can break your heart. We are strong, mankind, but these love things can really trip you up. He was only 24 when he wrote that”.
But, in truth, the two men first connected when Young was still in his former band and even before Mitchell effectively put CSNY together with the utterance of the simple phrase “You’ve got to meet Neil Young” to David Crosby. No, their first corssing of paths happened without Young;s knowledge as Nash, touring Canada with his band The Hollies was given a record to spin by the up and coming folk rock outfit Buffalo Springfield.
Nash told Bill Deyoung: “I loved Neil; when the Hollies toured Canada, I’d brought a small record player with me, and the Buffalo Springfield Again album. I’d constantly play ‘Expecting to Fly’ — it was one of the best records I’d ever heard in my life. I loved his voice, but I didn’t know how it would fit in with this three–part that was so strong in my soul.”
Thankfully, Nash would come together with another two voices perfectly made for harmonies as he, David Crosby and Stephen Stills would become the most integral part of the upcoming supergroup, with Young filtering in and out. But while their relationship has endured the ups and downs that most do, Nash has always had a special place in his heart for his bandmate, and especially his music.
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