When Buffalo Springfield split, Stills and Crosby began jamming and were soon joined by Nash. The three of them first sang together at a party in the L.A. home of Mama Cass Elliot. Quickly landing a recording contract, the trio would find success with their first effort, "Marrakesh Express", the song the Hollies had turned down. The sweet harmonies featured on the track helped it to climb to #28 in the US in 1969 and was followed by "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", a song written by Stills about folk singer Judy Collins, which made it to number 21 in the U.S. later that same year.
Wanting to expand to a quartet, Stills approached John Sebastian of The Lovin' Spoonful. When Sebastian said no, Neil Young was brought on board in time for the Woodstock Festival in August, 1969. The their first album, "Deja Vu", took two months to record and was certified Gold before it was released. The L.P. contained their first three hit singles, "Woodstock" (#11), "Teach Your Children" (#16) and "Our House" (#30). Just after the album's release, The National Guard shot and killed four students at Kent State University in Ohio and Neil Young was quick to respond with the song "Ohio", which, despite limited radio air play, made it to #14 in 1970. The four toured during the Summer of 1970, but by the time they released their second album, "Four Way Street", egos and frayed nerves had caused the band to split. Crosby and Nash both released solo albums as well as touring and recording together during the early seventies. Young continued as a solo act, as did Stills, who scored a number 4 hit with "Love The One Your With" in 1971.
By 1974, the four were touring together again, but Young insisted on traveling separately. Stills and Young released a duet album, "Long May You Run" in 1976 and once again Young made a sudden exit during their tour of 1976. Now just Crosby, Stills and Nash, the remaining trio released the Quadruple-Platinum album, "CSN", which yielded the #7 hit, "Just A Song Before I Go" in 1977, and continued to tour together. Their next L.P. would wait until 1982, when "Daylight Again" produced two Top Twenty singles, "Wasted On The Way" (#9) and "Southern Cross" (#18).
David Crosby had a number of minor run-ins with the law and in 1985 was charged with possession of cocaine and carrying a gun. He served nine months in prison after completing a drug re-hab program which kept him from the full five years that he was sentenced to. During an appeal, he appeared with Stills, Nash and Young at Live Aid. The foursome united again in 1989 to record Young's "American Dream" (#16) after which Neil again refused to tour with his ex-bandmates. The other three then issued an album of unreleased tracks which was so poor it couldn't crack Billboard's Hot 100.
By the early 1990s, Young had built a following with the younger crowd who regarded him as The Godfather of Grunge. Graham Nash had been busy with his publishing company, Nash Editions, as well as hosting his own television show. Crosby's long time drug abuse led to a liver transplant in 1994. On a brighter note, David had re-united with a son that was given up for adoption in 1962 and the pair recorded three albums together. He also made the news for being the sperm donor for lesbian mothers, Melissa Etheridge and Julie Cypher. At the instigation of Stephen Stills, CSN&Y re-formed in 1999 to record the critically acclaimed L.P. "Looking Forward". Earlier that year, Nash suffered two broken legs in a boating accident, but recovered enough to contribute to the album and the band's first tour since 1974. That trek grossed more than $42 million and a thirty-five date tour of America was scheduled for 2002.
On New Year's Eve, 2005, the band's long-time manager, Gerry Tolman, was killed in a car accident. In 2006, Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young kicked off their Freedom of Speech tour to support Neil Young's album "Living With War". On May 16th of that year, Crosby, Stills And Nash were honored as a BMI Icon at the 54th annual BMI Pop Awards. They were noted for what was called their "Unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers." In February 2007, CSN were forced to postpone a tour of Australia and New Zealand due to David Crosby's illness.
On July 30th, 2008, Crosby, Stills And Nash performed "Teach Your Children" on the TV show The Colbert Report with host Stephen Colbert filling in the fourth harmony. In 2009, Crosby, Stills And Nash released "Demos", an album made up of demo recordings of popular group and solo tunes. In June of that year, Crosby, Stills And Nash performed at the Glastonbury Festival in England. Neil Young did not appear on stage with them, but did perform as a solo artist. They also headlined the 14th annual Gathering Of The Vibes festival that same Summer. Halfway through their set, they enthusiastically announced to the crowd that they would be back the following year. Although rumors of pending tours still persisted, the band's website had no tour dates listed for 2012.
In November, 2013, David Crosby announced a return to his solo career with the release of "Croz", an eleven-track LP set for release in February, 2014. The album would be supported by a twelve date tour, with stops in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles early in the year. The final dates of that tour were re-scheduled when the 72-year-old singer was forced to undergo heart surgery, after which he was expected to make a full recovery.
The trio of Crosby, Stills And Nash were back on the road again in 2014 with a 36-date concert tour, starting July 2 in Bethlehem, Pa. and wrapping up on October 4th at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. In early November, Neil Young's latest album, "Storytone," was released to mixed reviews, with one publication calling it 'a forgettable mess.' The effort was a collection of songs inspired by his new love interest, actress Daryl Hannah, whom he took up with after divorcing his longtime wife Pegi. After David Crosby said that Hannah was a "purely poisonous predator," Young announced that he would never work with the trio again.
In March of 2015, David Crosby made headlines for hitting a 46-year-old jogger with his car while driving the posted speed limit, 55 MPH. The man sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries in the incident which took place in Santa Ynez, California, not far from Crosby's home. Neither drugs nor alcohol played a role in the accident according to a police report.
The 2015 Summer touring season saw David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash each touring as solo acts. The official break-up seemed to come in early March, 2016 when Graham Nash told the Dutch magazine Lust for Life, "You asked me if there's more of CSN? My answer is no, and that's very sad because we're pretty good. But I don't like David Crosby right now. He's been awful to me these last two years, just fucking awful." He went on to say "I've been there and saved his fucking ass for forty-five years and he treated me like shit. You can't do that to me. You can do it for a day or so, until I think you're going to come 'round. But when it goes on longer and I keep getting nasty emails from him, I'm done. Fuck you." At the same time he made those comments, Nash released his first new solo album in fourteen years, "This Path Tonight", a collection of songs inspired in part by his pending divorce from his second wife, Susan and a new relationship with girlfriend Amy Grantham. In early September, 2016, Nash repeated his stance on a CSN reunion when asked about it by a reporter from the TV show TMZ. Nash was quoted as saying, "In my world there will never, ever be a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young record and there will never be another Crosby, Stills & Nash record or show."
As for David Crosby, the 75-year-old was keeping busy with two new albums, "Lighthouse", scheduled for release in the Fall of 2016, and "Home Free", slated for 2017. Neil Young, meanwhile, announced his latest album, "Peace Trail" would be issued in December, 2016. Graham Nash was set to perform a twenty-two date tour of the UK and Europe in 2018 and David Crosby had similar plans later that same year. As for a possible reunion of CSNY, Graham Nash said in May, 2018 "No one talks to Crosby. I don't know what's going on. All I know is I'm here on my own trip now and having a great time. If someone comes to me, if Neil calls again and says, 'Hey Willy, man, I've got six great songs here. What do you want to do?' then we're off and running again. But until that happens, nothing's going on."
For 2019, David Crosby played a twenty-three date tour across the U.S. which kicked off on May 10th in Minneapolis and wrapped up on June 16th in Bar Harbor, Maine. He was also scheduled to perform at the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock Festival at the racetrack in Watkins Glen, N.Y in mid-August. Neil Young had his own tour set to start in May that would see him play theaters in the Pacific Northwest before heading to Europe in late June where he was booked to play more shows with Promise Of The Real, including gigs in London and Kilkenny, Ireland where they shared the bill with Bob Dylan. Young and his old band, Crazy Horse also released their first new album in seven years, "Colorado" in late October. When asked about the possibility of a CSNY reunion, Young replied, "If a reunion happens, it would be a surprise. I won't close the door on anything. I can hold a grudge with the best of them, but only if there's a reason for it."
In January, 2020, Canadian born Neil Young finally became an American citizen. He celebrated the event by posting a video on his Instagram, singing "I'm proud to be a Canarican" to the tune of "God Bless the U.S.A." while waving miniature flags of both countries. Young entered the United States illegally in 1966, driving a Pontiac hearse. In mid-February of 2020, he announced plans to take Crazy Horse on a tour across America. That tour was eventually postponed by the COVID-19 virus. In mid-August, Neil announced that a special club gig that he and Crazy Horse played on November 13th, 1990 at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz, California, would be released as an album and film titled "Way Down in the Rust Bucket" on December 6th.
Also frustrated by having to cancel three separate tours in 2020, David Crosby told Billboard that he reached out via e-mail to Neil Young, but he doesn't foresee a CSNY reunion ever happening. He also said that Stephen Stills would love to do it, but he hadn't talked with Graham Nash in a long time.
Meanwhile, Neil Young began compiling his "Official Bootleg" series with a concert he played at New York's Carnegie Hall on December 4th, 1970 as the inaugural release. In September, 2020 he announced that "The Archives Vol. II: 1972-1976" box set would be released on November 20th. The 10-disc collection will include a vintage live album recorded in London and Japan with all previously unheard versions of his classic songs.
In early March, 2021, David Crosby followed many other artists when he sold the rights to his back catalog to Irving Azoff's Iconic Artists Group. Later that same month, Neil Young released his January 22nd, 1971 concert at the Shakespeare Theater in Stratford, Connecticut, as a live album and concert film titled "Young Shakespeare". Not to be outdone, Crosby announced an album of new music called "For Free" would be issued on July 23rd, less than a month before his 80th birthday.
In an interview on the American TV show CBS Sunday Morning in mid-May, 2021, celebrating the 50th anniversary of CSNY's "Deja Vu" LP, Graham Nash spoke about why the four have not and probably will never reunite. "Stephen (Stills) and Neil (Young) and I are great. We talk often. We don't talk to David." Musing about the challenges of putting the band back together after the "silver thread that connects gets broken," Nash added, "Things that happened to me (and) David's life broke that silver thread, and for the life of me, I can't put it back together." Asked if he wishes he could repair that damage, he replied, "Yes, I do. I do wish I could, only because of the loss of the music." In a separately filmed interview, David Crosby said, "I don't expect to be friends with Graham at any point. Neil hates my guts. I said bad stuff about his girlfriend." (Daryl Hannah) When asked if he regrets those comments, he said, "Yeah, sure."
Meanwhile, Neil Young began working on a new album called "Barn", with his band, Crazy Horse, saying "This music we are making for souls. It's like fresh water on a desert. Life is going on." The new LP was expected in December, 2021. As the annual Farm Aid concert approached on September 25th, Young announced that he would not be joining the line-up because of COVID-19 concerns. He did however release a "lost but not forgotten" album called "Summer Songs", which consisted of eight songs recorded entirely by Neil himself in 1987.
Neil was back in the news again in January, 2022 when he insisted that Spotify remove his music from their platform. In an on-line statement, Neil wrote, "I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them." Shortly after, Spotify complied with his wishes. Graham Nash then jumped in to support Neil. "Having heard the Covid disinformation spread by Joe Rogan on Spotify, I completely agree with and support my friend Neil Young and I am requesting that my solo recordings be removed from the service." When asked if he would join in, David Crosby responded on Twitter, "I no longer control it or I would in support of Neil." Crosby sold his catalog to Irving Azoff's Iconic Artists Group in March, 2021.
In mid-March, 2022, Neil Young announced that "Official Release Series Volume 4", the latest in his series of box sets collecting his Reprise-era albums, would be available on vinyl and CD on April 29th through Reprise Records. The set includes Young's 1980s albums "Hawks & Doves" (1980), "Re•ac•tor" (1981) and "This Note's For You" (1988) as well as the "Eldorado" EP (1989), which was previously released only in Japan and Australia. Shortly after, Graham Nash revealed a new in-concert album titled "Graham Nash: Live", which was recorded from shows in 2019. The LP features him performing his first two solo LPs, 1971's "Songs For Beginners" and 1974's "Wild Tales", in their entirety. As the summer progressed, a concert movie and companion album called "Noise And Flowers" by Neil Young was given an August 5th release date. As for Stephen Stills, he was kept busy by working out a deal to sell a controlling interest in his intellectual property to Irving Azoff's Iconic Artists Group. The agreement included a controlling interest in Stills' intellectual property, including his music publishing catalog of over 1,000 songs from his time in Buffalo Springfield; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; Crosby, Stills & Nash; Manassas; The Rides and The Stills-Young Band, as well as his solo career along with his name, image and likeness.
In the summer of 2022, David Crosby dashed any hopes of another string of live shows when he replied to a Twitter question by saying, "I think I'm too old to tour anymore...sadly." He was however, determined to keep putting out new music. "I'm sure someone told you. And I want to crank out all the music I possibly can before I do. Now I'm 80 years old so I'm gonna die fairly soon. That's how that works. And so I'm trying really hard to crank out as much music as I possibly can, as long as it's really good. I have another one already in the can waiting."
Neil Young and Crazy Horse announced a new album called "World Record" near the end of September, 2022. A November 18th release date was given for the effort, which was to be available as a three-sided 2 LP, as well as regular LP, CD, and cassette. Young's multi-Platinum album "Harvest" was also set to return as a 50th-anniversary-edition box set on December 2nd in CD, DVD and vinyl formats.
Despite being locked in a bitter war of words over the past few years, Graham Nash said he misses and appreciates David Crosby. "I think he's really a great musician, totally unique, and we made a lot of really good music together in our lives." To that end, Nash was working on a new compilation album that features him and Crosby singing vocal harmonies with the likes of Jackson Browne, Stephen Stills, James Taylor and Carole King. Shortly after, he divulged plans for the Sixty Years of Songs and Stories 2023 U.S. tour, that would mark the 60th anniversary of his first single release with The Hollies. Also in the works was the release a new album titled "Now" in the spring of 2023. David Crosby was also staying busy with his first-ever live album and accompanying concert DVD, "David Crosby & the Lighthouse Band Live at the Capitol Theatre". That effort was set for release on November 25th.
Fans of CSNY were saddened to learn of David Crosby's death on January 19th, 2023 at the age of 81. He had been in declining health for a few months before his passing. In an on-line statement, Graham Nash wrote, "It is with deep and profound sadness that I learned that my friend David Crosby has passed. I know people tend to focus on how volatile our relationship has been at times, but what always mattered to David and me more than anything was the pure joy of all the music we created together, the sound we discovered with one another, and the deep friendship we shared over all these many long years." Neil Young posted on-line, "David is gone, but his music lives on. The soul of CSNY, David's voice and energy were at the heart of our band. His great songs stood for what we believed in and it was always fun and exciting when we got to play together."
About a month after Crosby's death, Neil Young announced that he was returning to the stage on April 22nd when he would join up with Stephen Sills at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles for the Light Up the Blues charity show benefiting Autism Speaks. More music was in-store for fans in the form of a new album from Crazy Horse – Ralph Molina, Billy Talbot and Nils Lofgren, along with Neil Young, when they revealed a new album called "All Roads Lead Home" would be released on March 31, 2023. Along with that LP, "Official Release Series Volume 5" was issued on July 14. An archival box set called "Archives Vol 1 (1963-1972)" was announced shortly after that. Graham Nash kept pace by announcing his first studio album of new material in seven years, titled "Now", was due May 19.
Graham Nash's plans for 2023 included a ten date tour of some of the UK's most prestigious theatres in August and September. In the middle of October, he announced that he had sold the rights to his back catalog to Irving Azoff's Iconic Artists Group. The deal included everything from his work in The Hollies, through his years in CSN/CSNY, and his solo career.
For 2024, Neil Young and Crazy Horse were scheduled to set out on their first tour in over a decade. The sixteen date trek, set to kick off on April 24th in San Diego, would promote their new album, "Fu##in'".
Be Sure To Read Gary James' Interviews With
Graham Nash
and CSN&Y drummer
Dallas Taylor
