Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY) was a folk-rock group comprised of David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, and Neil Young. Crosby and Stills were American singer-songwriters, while Nash and Young are English and Canadian, respectively. Popular in the 1960s, the men were considered a supergroup, meaning they had successful solo careers in addition to their group success. They were known for their harmonies, as well as their political activism. The band began in 1968 after Crosby, Stills, and Nash performed together that summer. Young was added in 1969 when the trio decided to tour. The four, along with additional band members, performed in August 1969 at the Woodstock festival in Bethel, New York. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young released their first album, Déjà Vu, in 1970. The album sold more than eight million copies.

In addition to their successful music careers, each group member was active in politics and social causes. Their 1970 song, “Ohio,” was written by Neil Young in response to the Kent State shootings. Although numerous AM stations at the time would not play the song because it criticized then-president Richard Nixon’s politics, in less than two months, it reached the Top 40. The placement gave the band two songs in heavy radio-play rotation (the other being “Teach Your Children”).

Overview

David Crosby was born on August 14, 1941, in Los Angeles, California. He attended the Crane Country Day School in Montecito, California and starred in a number of musical productions before failing out of the school. He completed his high school degree through correspondence school and then moved on to study drama at Santa Barbara City College, although he dropped out before graduating to pursue a music career. His first claim to fame was in 1964 as a member and founder of the Los Angeles band the Byrds. He and the band had their first number-one hit in 1965 with a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man.” In 1968, Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash formed their own band. From time to time, they were joined by fellow musician Neil Young. As a solo artist, Crosby released eight albums. In 2019, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Crosby died in his sleep on January 18, 2023, due to complications from COVID-19.

Stephen Stills was born on January 3, 1945, in Dallas, Texas. He was raised in a military family and moved frequently before graduating from Lincoln High School in Costa Rica. He attended Louisiana State University but left to focus on music. He began his professional career with the rock band Buffalo Springfield. Their song “For What It’s Worth,” which was composed by Stills, is considered one of the most identifiable songs of the 1960s. When Buffalo Springfield broke up, Stills began working with Crosby and Nash.

Graham Nash was born on February 2, 1942, in Blackpool, England, though he spent most of his childhood in Salford. In the 1960s, Nash was one of the leading members of the Hollies, one of the most successful groups to come from the United Kingdom. In 1958, Nash visited the United States, where he met Crosby. Nash made the decision to leave the Hollies and join forces with Crosby and Stills. Like the other members of CSNY, Nash also had a successful solo career. In his solo work, he experimented with jazz and percussion in a pop format.

Neil Young was born on November 12, 1945, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. As a child, Young contracted polio and became partially paralyzed. Although he briefly attended school in Florida while he was recovering, Young received most of his schooling in Canada. Like Stills, he was also a member of Buffalo Springfield. When the band permanently disbanded in 1968, Young was able to record his first solo album. He reunited with Stills shortly after and was able to join Crosby, Stills, and Nash at Woodstock.

As CSNY, the men recorded Déjà Vu in 1970 and then “4-Way Street” a year later. Déjà Vu yielded the band three Top 40 singles, including “Woodstock,” “Teach Your Children,” and “Our House.” An expanded version of the album was released in 2021 to mark its fiftieth anniversary. Déjà Vu is certified platinum seven times by the Recording Industry of America Association. Reports show that it is the highest-selling album for each of the CSNY members. Like many artists of the 1960s and 1970s, CSNY was active in politics. In 1970, Young reacted to the May 4 shootings at Kent State University by writing the song “Ohio.” The shootings occurred following a mass student demonstration on the campus in protest of the Vietnam War. The four students were unarmed when they were killed by members of the Ohio National Guard. Young immediately wrote the song and within a week CSNY band members recorded it. The song was released as a single and wrapped in a sleeve that reprinted Article I of the Bill of Rights that states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble.” By July 11, the song reached the Top 40.

The band was successful, with eight studio albums and five live recordings, and crossed generations. However, the relationships between the band members have not always been smooth. Arguments and stress caused them to separate at various points throughout their careers; this was especially true of Crosby and Young. In the mid-2010s, rumors circulated about a potential reunion. However, at the time of Crosby’s death, no reunion had been planned.

Bibliography

“Bio,” David Crosby, 2023, davidcrosby.com/pages/bio-1. Accessed 11 Apr. 2023.

“Graham Nash Bio,” Graham Nash, www.grahamnash.com/content/bio. Accessed 11 Apr. 2023.

“Neil Young,” Neil Young, 2012, www.neilyoung.eu/bio.html. Accessed 11 Apr. 2023.

“Stephen Stills Bio,” Stephen Stills, 2023, stephenstills.com/pages/bio. Accessed 11 Apr. 2023.

Sweeting, Adam. “David Crosby Obituary.” The Guardian, 20 Jan. 2023. www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jan/20/david-crosby-obituary. Accessed 11 Apr. 2023.

“Today Is the 50th Anniversary of the Kent State Shootings,” Bethel Woods Centre for the Arts, 4 May 2020, www.bethelwoodscenter.org/blog/remembering-the-kent-state-shootings-50-years-later#:~:text=Neil%20Young's%20%22Ohio%22,in%20just%20a%20few%20takes. Accessed 11 Apr. 2023.