Graham Nash has reflected upon his tumultuous relationship with Neil Young.
It was 1969 when CSN, at the urging of record executive Ahmet Ertegun, recruited Young to become their fourth member. During a recent appearance on The Rockonteurs podcast, Nash recalled meeting his future bandmate for the first time.
“I know Neil’s a decent writer and I know he’s a decent singer, but I’ve never met him,” Nash recalled thinking. “I don’t know whether I can be his friend, whether I could tell him secrets, whether I could hang with him. I’ve got to meet this guy before we fucking invite him into this band. So I had breakfast with Neil on Bleaker Street here in Manhattan. And at the end of the breakfast, I’d have made him king of the world. He was funny. He was self-effacing. He was very smart.”
Impressed by Young’s talent and charmed by his personality, Nash agreed to Young joining the group. The first album by CSNY was 1970’s Deja Vu, a landmark release that was both a commercial and a critical success. While Young’s addition garnered plenty of praise, Nash believes the album would have still been a hit without the fourth member.
READ MORE: Crosby, Stills Nash & Young Combine for ‘Deja Vu’
“I mean, the truth is that, in a way, that Deja Vu album should have been the second Crosby, Stills and Nash record,” Nash noted. “We already had ‘Almost Cut My Hair’. We already had ‘Teach Your Children.’ We already had ‘Our House.’ We already had ‘4 + 20.’ We already had ‘Carry On.’”
“We only got two songs from Neil and he never played one note or sang a note on ‘Teach Your Children’ or ‘Our House,’” Nash continued. “So in a way, the best thing that ever happened to CSN was Neil, and the worst thing that ever happened to CSN was Neil.”
Neil Young Refused to Travel With His Bandmates
The clashing of egos within CSNY kept the band constantly in flux. The group endured long periods of inactivity over the years, beginning with their initial breakup in 1970. Even after reuniting for a stadium tour in 1974, Young routinely joined and left the band throughout much of its existence.
READ MORE: Top 10 Crosby, Stills and Nash Songs
“I have great respect for Neil. I know he’s a wonderful musician, you know, but he does things occasionally that really piss me off,” Nash confessed. The singer pointed to Young’s refusal to travel with his bandmates as one such infuriating move.
“He always traveled alone,” Nash noted. “He never traveled in the buses like me and David and Stephen on that entire 1974 tour. He never joined. He never traveled with us.”
Nash recently launched his 2025 North American tour, a trek which will keep him on the road through the summer. Meanwhile, Young’s Love Earth world tour begins in Europe in June, with US dates starting in August.
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The year may have marked a new decade, at least on the calendar, but as far as music was concerned, it was still pretty much the ’60s.
Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci
