Pushkin. I want to let you know that Rick has a new podcast called Tetragrammaton. After about four to five years of recording Broken Record, Rick decided he wanted to talk to him more than just musicians, So on his new podcast, he'll be talking to actors, directors, wrestlers, business people, anyone that Rick finds interesting. So make sure to subscribe to Tetragrammaton wherever you listen to podcasts. At any one years old. Graham Nash describes his life as a magic story from beginning to end, and he's not wrong. Graham's career began in sixty two as a singer songwriter in the British pop band The Hollies. After string of hits in the UK, Graham moved to LA to start a band with former Birds vocalist David Crosby and Steven Stills, whose band Buffalo Springfield had just broken up. From the start, Crosby, Stills and Nash were dubbed a folk rock supergroup and went on to become one of the era's most revered bands thanks to their gorgeous three part harmony and exquisite songwriting. Following the death of David Crosby in January, Rick Rubin sat down with Graham Nash to talk about Graham's deep love and admiration for kros On today's episode, we'll hear the first part of Rick's conversation with Graham, who reminisces about the day he met Crosby, who immediately rolled Graham the most perfect joint he'd ever seen. Graham also explains how it was actually cass Elliott from The Mamas and Papas who was responsible for bringing CSN together, and he recalls classic stories about Neil Young's unpredictable early days with the group. This is broken record liner notes for the digital Age. I'm justin Richmond. Here's part one of Rick Rubin's conversation with Graham Nash. What's happening mane, Good morning. How are you feeling, man? Well, it's been a it's been an intense year so far, you know, yeah, losing friends and the combination of being incredibly sad because of the loss of friends and incredibly excited that I have a new record coming out. It's like I'm in between this thing. It's it's been very strange this year, completely understood. Can we listen to something together before we start talking? Cheer up for that? Why not? Okay, let's listen to something way. Oh, let's see. Oh what do I do? M m h m m m. Where will I be when I go back? Who will I see when I'm all alone? You tell me what am I going to do? What comes up for you when we listen to this. I'm very sadly David's passing. I was just thinking about how wonderful his voices. You know, he had an incredible voice, and this was a very tender moment for both of us. I have to smile at the simplicity and the beautifulness of him singing alone like that, and then me coming in on the harmony. I'm going to miss David a great deal in my life. That's a beautiful piece of music. It's astounding. It feels like it's coming from another planet. It moves me so much, and when I hear it, it takes me to another place. I'm so thankful for you both from making something so beautiful for us to have. Tell me about the recording of that. How does that recording exist in the world? What brought up that? David has this twelve string that he built from two different guitars, A Guild guitar and a Martin guitar, and it sounded beautiful, and David was very sad at that moment, and basically he sat down and played it. And that's one of the beauties of it. It's a perfectly instant capture of a great piece of music. And it was done. If it's two minutes and fifty two seconds, he did it in one take, and then we added the unearthly sounds that adds to putting it into the space that it is. And what it was was David had turned me on to this glass harmonica that someone had built and it was wine glasses on their side, and what we did was we replicated that on an eight track machine and we stood and we tuned the glass and we did the finger around it to produce the sound, and we recorded that to one track and then took some water out of the glass so it goes up in key and we put that to the So when we had we had eight tracks of this beautiful glass harmonica sound that we would bring in and out to project that piece of music into the future. So beautiful. And then the harmonies in general, when you're coming up with harmonies for you is it a mathematical equation or is it an instinctive finding the note? I have to, in a strange way, be David, watching his body language, watching his breathing, watching him. I have to be a part of David momentarily so I can lock in perfectly with what he's doing. And because he had such a one for melody, it was very easy to find interesting harmonies to go along with that melody, and those harmonies once again put it into that beautiful sound that you were discussing earlier. I never thought about this before, but hearing what you're saying, is the fact that the two voices are singing in perfect unison essential to making the harmony do what the harmony does. Yes, I believe you're right, and we were pretty good at duplicating. If I listened to one of David's league vocal tracks, I soak it into my soul and I just sing what I think is appropriate, and in most cases it works out pretty good because of it the direct melody that he's singing. He trusts me to do the right thing, and I loved that part of our relationship, the trust that we had with each other. And I assume the trust was mainly as it related to singing that. Would you say that or no? No, I would say the trust came from being deep friends. Beautiful. That's a beautiful thing. I wouldn't have guessed you say that. I love hearing that. Yeah, it's because we were so close together. I mean, we could really harmonize, you know. And yes, we had a wonderful time. It was great making that particular piece of music because I wanted to stay out of David's way because he was talking to you heart directly, and I only came in when I felt it needed to take another breath. And it gives the song beautiful dynamics. You're not aware of the length of the song because of the changes in dynamics that happened because the harmony is not there all the time, right, So there's a period of time where there's no harmony. Then there's a period where there's your harmony. But then there's the beg ending with many voices. I imagine all you and David, Yes, all me, David, amazing, so beautiful. Yes, tell me about meeting David. I once was in the village in New York here and I saw the birds walking into a record store and I knew who they were. They had no idea that I was there, and I never approached them at all. But we had a mutual friend, Cass Elliott, from the Mamas and the Papers. I sincerely believe that Cass knew what CSN would sound like if CSN ever got together. She was friends with David and Stephen, obviously, and she knew that they David had been thrown out of the Birds and Stephen of Buffalo Springfield had broken up, and Cass instinctively felt that if they had a third harmony it would be great. So one day I'm in Los Angeles. Cass caused me and says, you know, what are you doing at noon? I said, actually, we have a day off. I'm doing anything. She said, good, I'll come and pick you up. I want to introduce you to a friend of mine. She picks me up at the Neckobaco Hotel in Los Angeles and was there in her Porsche convertible porsh. So we got in and of course, you know, Laurel Canyon is ten minutes from Hollywood. And she picked me up and took me to this strange little house and there was another convertible push right in the garage there. Anyway, we go upstairs and there's this nice living room, very little furniture, a couch and a couple of speakers and a stack of music stuff. And then there's this guy lying on the couch in a white and blue striped T shirt and his jeans, no shoes, and on his chest was a shoe box lid full of grass, and he was looking at me while Cass introduced me as her end and he never lost eye contact with me whilst shaking the lid of this shoe box and separating the seed from the stems from the actual grass. And I thought that was amazing. And then he proceeded to roll one of the most perfect joints I'd ever seen in my life. And Cass introduced me and he knew that I was the high voice in the Hollies, and we got on beautifully. And that was the first day I ever met David. And was this your first trip to California? No, we had been to California earlier. Cass thought that Lou Adler, their producer, might want to produce the Hollies, and she paid for the Hollies to fly from New York to Los Angeles to meet with lou So. No, it wasn't the first time I'd been in Los Angeles, And how did you meet Cass? The Hollies were being given an introductory getting together to release an album, and it's one of those things where you know, you have a glass of wine and you're waiting for, you know, somebody, and this little fifteen year old kid came up to me and he knew everything about the Hollies. Knew every B side, he knew every A side, he knew everything that we've done. In a foreign man. He was a big Hollies fan. It was Rodney Bingenheimer, who later became a very famous DJ in Los Angeles. And so Rodney looked at me and he said, so, what are you doing after this getting together? I said, I you know, I'm English, So I said, I'm not sure. What do you think you're doing? He said, well, I have these friends and they're recording down the street, and I thought you might want to go to a session. And I said it sounds interesting. Who are your friends and he said they called the Mamas and the Paupers. Now I'd seen their first album cover and I saw Michelle on the front and it was very attracted to this blonde, you know, hippie southern California girl. And when I went into the session, John and Danny and Michelle were putting an overdope in the studio, so I couldn't go in there, but outside the studio was cast. So I started talking to Cass. And one of the things she asked me, she said, what do you think John Lennon would think about the Mamas and Papas? And I said, well, you know, I don't know John that well, but I know that he would probably keep you at arm's length, you know, until he figured out that he was comfortable with you when Danny would open up. And I said, so, he probably would put your music down at first before he accepted it. And I look at Cass and she's crying. What I didn't know is that Cass had a crush on John Lennon, and that's how I met Cass. Wow, interesting story. Had you heard The Mamas and the Papa's music at that time or not yet? I had heard the music because I had that first, that first album, so I did know that they were a pretty damn fine band. And it was only you know when I told you that I think that Cass intuitively knew what Stephen and David's sound would do with an added harmony. I think she knew right from the very beginning before any of us, what that would sound like. You know, she's in my prayers every single night. She's the last face I see when I go through my prayers, and she will always be there. And it's one of the reasons why on every album that we have made since she passed away, we have dedicated the album to Cass because, in a strange way, she started it all beautiful and it makes sense that she would understand the three voices because of her role in the Mamas and the Papas. She understood three part harmony. Yes, it makes sense. It makes sense. And she fought to get into that band because they didn't want her in that band, but she knew, she knew that her voice would do something special with theirs. That's right, that's right. But she she physically, she didn't look like, you know, she should be in that band. You know, she was. She was heavy. She was a large lady, and she knew it. But boy, could cast Elliott sing. Did you ever get to sing with her? She is the only voice on the first Crosby stills in Nash record that is not me and David and Stephen. I didn't know that. That's amazing. What does she sing? Do you remember? Yeah, she sang a high harmony on pre road downs. Wow. So cool. We'll be back after a quick break with more from Rick Rubin and Graham Nash. We're back with Rick Rubin's conversation with Graham Nash. How was the David who passed different than the David laying on the couch at Casses. David was a very interesting couple of people. On one side, he could be most generous, funny, brilliant at telling stories, obvious, really brilliant at singing and playing the guitar, totally unique. The other side of David was if there was something that he didn't like, he had no problem in telling you. And he could become nasty and he could become vicious. And those were the two sides of David. And I always wanted the first side. You know, I want to feel easy. I want to I want to feel like I want to you know, I want to feel part of whatever. But the other side of David was pretty scary. Knowing that scary side of him did it help you to feel like that's just David or did he always personal? If he would say something not nice, it would feel personal. And I always knew that that part of David was there. I tried to stare our relationship away from the nasty side of David and we managed to do that probably ninety five percent of the time that we moved together. Tell me about leaving England. How popular were the Hollies. I think of them as very popular. I don't really know. I wasn't there. How popular were the Hollies? How about fifteen top ten records in seven years? Wow? So popular popular band? Yes? Tell me about the world that the Hollies appeared in. What was the world that allowed the Hollies to come together? The Hollies were five kids from the north of England who made it down to London and managed to be recorded, and as I said, we had many, many top ten records. It was easy and strange, but it was very easy for me to leave that band because it happened at a time when we had recorded a song called King Midas in Reverse, which is a song that I wrote. And normally a Holly's release would go into the top ten within the first couple of weeks, this didn't This only made it to the low thirties, and so the Hollies stopped trusting my musical path. So it happened. At that time, I was feeling a little removed from them, and then David came into my life. And at one point I had gone from London to Los Angeles to spend a few days with Johnny Mitchell. And when I got to the house, there were other voices there, which I wasn't too happy with, but it was David and Stephen and they were having dinner with Johnny, and at one point after dinner, I'm smoking a big one. David said to Steve and play play Willie that song that we were doing, and they were doing a two part harmony on a song of Steven's called you Don't Have to Cry. They got to the end of it, and I was overwhelming how beautiful the song was and how simple it was, and how beautiful it was, and I asked them to sing it again, and they sang it again. In the meantime, I'm learning. I asked them to sing it just one more time, and when they did, I put my harmony on and my world changed. Completely amazing. Once I heard that sound, which happened within the first forty five seconds of as Ever singing together, that sound was created. That was how magical it seemed to me. And once I had heard that, there was no doubt as a musician what I had to do. I had to undo my life and reform my life. And that's what I did. I left the Hollies, I left my equipment. I came to America with a suitcase and my guitar and a strange mirror that I have that I still have to this day. And it was overwhelmingly easy to leave the Hollies, and a lot of people thought I was crazy because it was a very popular band, and as a matter of fact, they're still going to this day. And I think this week, Beautiful is the sixtieth anniversary of the release of our first record, Amazing, tell me about it? So cool? Has there ever been a live Hollies reunion? Have you ever sung together since leaving or never? Yes. I got a call one day from Tony Hicks that there was a very famous English television show called Top of the Pops and we had done the very first one. And this was twenty five years later. And they wanted the Hollies to do the show again, and obviously I wasn't there. I was in America, and so I went over there and we did sing and we did a short tour after that. I think it was in like eighty three or something, and there's a radio show wanted to record the entire show on two tracks, and they did and it was beautiful. So I did sing with the Hollies after I left, and I was proud to do it, and that same magic was there. It's beautiful, and it's beautiful that there's a recording that exists that people can experience it beautiful. Was your relationship with Janie at all in the consideration of your deciding to leave England or was it purely the band? Well, you know, in the big picture, it was purely the band. But in the small picture, you know, the addition of Joni Mitchell to the to the equation was fantastic. Yeah, because I imagine if you're at the age that you're at, you're starting a relationship with someone that you feel strongly about. I could see that having a strong gravitational forces. Absolutely, we have known each other a long time. Rickon, you know that I've always said that my life has been a magic story from beginning to end, and quite frankly, with the release of my new record, it's still going on, you know, sixty years later. Incredible and speaking to that magic. My first memory of I don't even know if we met, but of seeing you was I was on the beach in Kauai. I don't know, thirty years ago, maybe one of the first times I was in Kauhai. Might have been the first time I was in Kawai and I was on Hanale Beach and I was laying on the beach and it was Christmas, and I know Santa Claus in full garb coming down the beach giving everyone on the beach candy canes, and that was you. Yeah, that's right. I'd lived on the island for a great many years and it was an annual trip that me and my family did. We would go and dress up and put funny hats on and all that kind of stuff and hand out candy canes to everybody that wanted one. So that that was the first time you saw me. Yeah, funny, Yeah, I didn't. I didn't meet you at that time, but someone's like, oh, that's Graham Nash. Yeah, coming to California from the experience you had in England, What was the world of California like in those days? How was it different than even the music scene that you came from in England? How did it feel different? It felt different from the point of view of freedom. When we were in England, if you didn't know John and Paul and George and Ringo, you and nobody. You couldn't touch the ball. You couldn't add the base if you wanted to. You had to talk to your producer, who talked to the engineer, who would then, you know, in his white smart turned the bass up, you know, making records then? What was was wonderful? I mean there we were making actual records. Fantastic. It was a different world in the freedom. When I came here, people wanted to know my opinion. People said, you know, what do you think of this? How do you think we should do this? What would you do here? And it was it was freedom. I mean Laurel Canyon in those days was was unbelievable. It was sunshine. It was full of music, It was full of pretty ladies. It was in a way, a small rock and roll paradise, and it was very, very different from the way that we had been recording in England. When I said that we had to talk to our producer and then he would talk to the engineer to turn the base up. Once she started to sell a lot of records, you could do what you want, and we did. And it was a thing that even David and I recognized and we admitted to each other that we can't be a product of this music industry that gets forgotten. We have to maintain our hold on the tools of our trade, meaning we need to be in a place where we can call up a studio book, the time book, the tape book, the musicians and do it. And it was very different from the way that I was recording in England. So in England you felt like you were at the mercy of the powers that be about when you could record and all parts of it, whereas in America you had it more of a sense of freedom. Absolutely. I mean in even an abbey road where it was we were recording, we had to stop recording at ten thirty because that's what Ron Richards, our producers said, And it wasn't until years later we realized that ten thirty was time when the pubs were shutting and they wanted to drink after the day, so they would shut everything down at ten thirty. Now, then, obviously when we started to sell millions of records and it all changed, then we went past ten thirty, that's for sure. Technically, you've you've seen a lot of changes technically in the recording business from when you started till now. Describe some of what you think have been some of the biggest changes along the way from the earliest days of the Hollies to now in terms of what you can create and how you can create it. The first time we were recording it was on two track and that was it. And now you have a thousand tracks on your iPhone. Yeah, it's very, very different. But you know something, as you well know, no amount of technology you can make a bad song into a good song. Yes, you have to start with a good song, and that's what we do. We tried to start with the good song that each one of us loves. We had this kind of rule that that we only recorded songs that each one of us really loved. Within Crosby Stills in Nash did relationships change over time? Were their bonds created between members that shifted at different times because you've known each other for a long period of time. Yes, mainly it was David and I that. I mean, for instance, it choosing the name of the band. Stephen wanted it to be Stills, Crosby, Nash with a hyphen. I said, try and say that, and he tried to say it, and I said, see, you can't say it smoothly, I says. The only combination of these three voices that makes sense sonically was Crosby, Stills and Nash. That's the way it came out the easiest, and that's the way that we did it. And unfortunately on that first album and we're sitting in the wrong order, and people for a few months after that thought I'd written Guinevere. It's also has a musical Crosby stials in Nash has a musical phrasing to it. Just that the name has a musical phrase. Absolutely, and that's why we chose the better lyric of the different choices. So the power was mainly me and David. We formed the bond that you were talking about a little earlier. Yeah, and sometimes it would shift, but not often. Mostly mostly David and I knew what was best for us. You know, Stephen in this particular name incident, his ego was in the way, and it was David and I that convinced him that it should be Crosby Stials in Nash and he went along with it, which is a testament to ultimately, even when there's a difference of opinion, if you get to the best solution, everybody wins correct And it's very democratic too, even though there's only three of us, if two of us wanted to do it, that's the way the three of us did it. We have to take another quick break and then we'll be back with more from Graham Nash. We're back with the rest of Rick Rubin's conversation with Graham Nash. How popular were Crosby, Stills and Nash out of the box? People used to tell me you couldn't go past any college places to live where the window wasn't open, and Crosby, Stills and Nash music was coming out of it. We had created a sound that we knew it was going to be pretty popular, you know, because I mean between you know, the Birds and the Buffalo, Springfield and the Hollies, we had we'd had a lot of hit records. We knew what was popular, We knew what would grab people's is and we do that with Sweet Judy Blue Eyes. We knew that no one was going to get up and take the needle off the record. After that, you've got to hear what the rest of the record is. And it was the same when we did Deja Vu too. You know. I came to Stephen one day and said, you know, we don't have Sweet Judy Blue Eyes, and he said, I know, we used it on the Fish right. I said, no, no, you misunderstand me. We don't have that song where you're guaranteed that no one will get up and take off the needle of the record. He heard me. A day and a half later, we were staying at the Caravan Lodge motel in San Francisco because we were recording at while he hid his studios, And one and a half days later, after that conversation with Stephen, he goes, hey, Willy, what do you think of this? Don't we do? Do do? Do? Do? Do do do? And he played me carry on and I said, oh boy, did you just knock it out of the park. That's why he wanted it to be called Still's Crosby and yep, and you know he was right in thinking that. I mean, you mustn't understand Steven played most of the instruments on our first record, Yes, David and I did our You know, you play guitar on Long Time Gone On and play guitar on Guinevere and I play guitar on my songs. But Stephen played lead guitar, rhythm and guitar, bass, piano, B three and percussion. Yeah, brilliant. But ultimately it's about the songs. Yes, and everybody contributed to the songs, and the voices are the voices, and it's that combination. It really doesn't matter who contributes what if Again, if the thing is so good, everybody wins. So it worked out. Yes, it all works. I always want to win. When I'm faced with the problem, I try and figure out a solution where everybody wins. Yeah, it's the best. It's the best chances are if everybody wins, it's a better solution in terms of outwardly in the world, because if there were only three people involved and all three people are on the same page, the chances of more people being on the same page just seems statistically better. It makes sense. YEA it showed us. Yeah, if someone in the group doesn't like it, why would a stranger like it? Correct? You know, it makes sense, that's right, and that's why we only do songs that each of us loves beautiful. Another question about harmony. How much of the magic of different voices singing together can be planned versus it's just the nature of the voices and you can't plan it. There it was a combination of both, and we did sing a lot, you know, totally instinctively, but sometimes you have to really plan it, particularly when you added Neil Young to the combination. Three part harmony is very different than four part as you well know, and so we'd c S N Y vocals. Some of it was planned, like carry on with the song we were just talking about when we get to the very end there where we go almost acapella. We had to plan those harmonies because we added another voice. How did Neil end up in that picture? How did Neil join? Remember a moment ago I was telling you that Stephen played all the instruments or most of the instruments on that first record. Yes, instinctively we knew that this album that we had just put out was going to be very, very popular. We instinctively felt that and we were correct. Of course, the addition of Neil happened this way. Stephen and David were having dinner in New York City at arm at Erdigan's house. Arm it was the CEO of Atlantic Records, and he was a great fan of ours and protected us a great many times. For instance, we signed a contract first to do an album a year. We never did an album year's you know, sometimes there's many years between albums. But Armor protected us. And after dinner they were talking about the fact that we would have to go on the road, and he knew that Stephen to play most of the instruments, so he said out, I don't know he should get man. Steven said to Armor, oh you do? Who is up? He goes, well, Man, I think you should get Nail Young. And Stephen said, Armor, we've just been through two years of madness with this kid. You know, he's in the band, he's out of the band, he's not in the Vand yes he is in the band. He does want to do the Ed Sullivan Show. No, he's not doing the Ed Sullivan Show. Stephen said, do you want do you want me to do all that? And arm It said, and quite correctly, No, I'm just thinking of the music. I think that he would add something great to the band. And when Stephen and David kind of admitted to Armor that that was probably the right thing to do. When they told me, I said, wait a second, I'm never even met Neil Young. How can we add somebody to this band that I've never even met. I need to know whether I can be his friend, whether I could tell him secret I don't know. I don't know. I need to meet Neil Young. And so Neil and I had breakfast in the village here in New York, and I was convinced afterwards that yeah, this kid should should actually be in the band. He's a great songwriter. I personally feel that he's a great singer also, but I think Bob Dylan is a great singer too, and a lot of people you disagree with me, But that's how Neil Young came into the band. Amazing and hearing that story, what it makes me think of is Crosby, Stills and Nash were a vocal group, and by adding Neil it becomes a rock band. YEP. That's why he's there. Because Stephen and Neil play and I experienced this a thousand times. Standing in the middle of the stage while Neil Young and Stephen Stills are talking to each other with their guitars is an incredible moment, and it happened a thousand times for me. I would be astonished at their conversations that they could have with their guitars, both angry and loving. Their conversations with their guitars is something to behold. And I loved every moment. And there's no question that both of them respect each other's musicality in a way that they view each other as equals, so that also lends a great credibility. There's no sideman in that equation of those two guitar players, that's right. I remember one night on stage, Stephen did an incredible solo in one song and came up to me and he nudged me and he said, I can't do that. It's great. Yeah, Stephen and Neil have this magic between them that goes on to this day. I mean, I think they're going to play another Light Up the Blues show for Autism in Los Angeles in about a month. Oh beautiful, that'd be great. Tell me how songs get written and how do you write a song versus how you believe Still's Crosbie or Neil would do it. I think we write songs from the same place. First of all, we have to feel something. We have to hear something that pisces us off. We have to hear something that makes us fall in love. We have to hear something, and we have to feel something. And when I feel something, when I see something that's happening, when I check out the world news and something mad is going on. If I pick up on something that I don't think is right, I have to do my research and I recognize the fact that your words are very important. And once I get in that mood, I then need a title. And when I come up with the title, it usually ends up somewhere in the end of the first chorus. You know, I have to feel something, and when I do, I'm dedicated to making it the simplest, most communicative piece of music that I can make. I personally am not interested in waiting for seven minutes before you know what I'm talking about. I want you immediately, and I think I show that on this new record. I mean the opening line of my new record is I used to think that I would never love again. Wow, beautiful line. It's a strong line to open up an album with, but it indicates what's to come. It's a great opening line as it tells us so much and opens the door for now this. You know, it's like once upon a time, who know, there's going to be a big story following it. It's a line like that. It really is a what's going to happen now? Gets your attention and pulls you into the story. Yeah, and that's why the album is called now. It's called now beautiful. And there's a beautiful photograph of me that my wife Amy took, as she has done and crafted my image for the last five or six years. It's a beautiful shot of me. I do look my age and so what it's me now? Yeah, it's honest and there's nothing more powerful in music than honesty, all aspects of it. That's what attracts us warts and all. You know, we like the humanity in it. Yes, that's why the opening line of my album is so strong. I feel I wouldn't you want to hear what the rest of that song was? And then what's the rest of the album if you heard that? Absolutely, because I think absolutely. A lot of us feel the same way. A lot of us fall in and out of love. And when you're deeply in love and then it crumbles, you think that that's the end. I'll never love again. And I was looking at my age. I was eighty years old when I made this record, and I was looking at my life, and I realized that I'm getting on. I know that I'm coming to the end of an incredible life. I certainly hope to be around for at least the next twenty years, so I can be one hundred years old. And it's been a long, strange trip. To quote the dead, Yes, would you be up for playing us one of the new songs? Do you want to do that? Love to hear one of the new songs? Do you have a guitar handy that happens to be a Gibson right here? Okay, again, no obligation, but if it would be fun for you, I'd love to hear it. Let me let me see what I can do, Okay, Excited to get the flavor and see what you've been what's been on your mind? You know? Yeah, this song I wrote for my wife Amy. It's it's called Love of Mine. Very simple. It's just me on the record with my acoustic guitar and Todd Caldwell on piano, Love of Mine, I did mean to hurt your heart so badly. I didn't mean to make your soul so sad about me and you, Love of Mine, regretting every word I said to you. I can't take them back, but I wanted to for me and you. How can I help your heart that truly wants to heal? Can I ever make it right and tell the truth? I know its saptly how I feel. I don't want to be losing you tonight, Love her Mine. I can't believe I might be losing you, And as soon I'll thank the universe fusing you and me. That was beautiful. Thank you so much for playing that, and the emotion in it is very palpable. I love her I can feel it. I can feel it. We get to experience your love through hearing the song. Beautiful. Yeah, That's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to touch you. It's interesting I asked you about writing songwriting and you answered the question as it relates to lyrics, So, for you, is the lyrical content of the song the primary part of it is the music just accompanying the words. Sometimes, yeah, I have this thing on my iPhone. I can be recording instantly, you know, So I put a lot of Really, I have this idea and I put it down and sometimes, like a little earlier, I was talking about, I need a title. Well, that title has a rhythm to it, you know, a vocal rhythm, and it might match a piece of music that I've got in my mind that I haven't put lyrics to yet. And so I in my mind, I have these bunches of music and these bunches of lyrics, and sometimes they marry, and that's how I write. That's the end of part one of Rick's conversation with Graham Nash. We'll be back apart two or Graham talks about the inspiration behind Rick's favorite CS songs and share a story about Joni Mitchell, Jared Garcia, and Marianne Faithful very soon, so make sure to check in for that. In the meantime, you can hear all of our favorite Process, Stills and Nash songs at Broken Record podcast dot com. You can subscribe to our YouTube channel at YouTube dot com slash Broken Record Podcast, where you can find all of our new episodes. You can follow us on Twitter at broken Record. Broken Record is produced with helpful Lea Rose, Jason Gambrell, Benaladay, and Eric Samer. Our editor is Sophie Craig. Broken Record is a production of Pushkin Industries. If you love this show and others from Pushkin, consider subscribing to Pushkin Plus. Pushkin Plus is a podcast subscription that offers bonus content and uninterrupted ad free listening for four ninety nine a month. Look for Pushkin Plus on Apple podcast subscriptions, and if you like the show, please remember to share, rate, and review us on your podcast. At a theme musics by Kenny Beats, I'm justin Richmond.

Pushkin. I want to let you know that Rick has a new podcast called Tetragrammaton. After about four to five years of recording Broken Record, Rick decided he wanted to talk to him more than just musicians, So on his new podcast, he'll be talking to actors, directors, wrestlers, business people, anyone that Rick finds interesting. So make sure to subscribe to Tetragrammaton wherever you listen to podcasts. At any one years old. Graham Nash describes his life as a magic story from beginning to end, and he's not wrong. Graham's career began in sixty two as a singer songwriter in the British pop band The Hollies. After string of hits in the UK, Graham moved to LA to start a band with former Birds vocalist David Crosby and Steven Stills, whose band Buffalo Springfield had just broken up. From the start, Crosby, Stills and Nash were dubbed a folk rock supergroup and went on to become one of the era's most revered bands thanks to their gorgeous three part harmony and exquisite songwriting. Following the death of David Crosby in January, Rick Rubin sat down with Graham Nash to talk about Graham's deep love and admiration for kros On today's episode, we'll hear the first part of Rick's conversation with Graham, who reminisces about the day he met Crosby, who immediately rolled Graham the most perfect joint he'd ever seen. Graham also explains how it was actually cass Elliott from The Mamas and Papas who was responsible for bringing CSN together, and he recalls classic stories about Neil Young's unpredictable early days with the group. This is broken record liner notes for the digital Age. I'm justin Richmond. Here's part one of Rick Rubin's conversation with Graham Nash. What's happening mane, Good morning. How are you feeling, man? Well, it's been a it's been an intense year so far, you know, yeah, losing friends and the combination of being incredibly sad because of the loss of friends and incredibly excited that I have a new record coming out. It's like I'm in between this thing. It's it's been very strange this year, completely understood. Can we listen to something together before we start talking? Cheer up for that? Why not? Okay, let's listen to something way. Oh, let's see. Oh what do I do? M m h m m m. Where will I be when I go back? Who will I see when I'm all alone? You tell me what am I going to do? What comes up for you when we listen to this. I'm very sadly David's passing. I was just thinking about how wonderful his voices. You know, he had an incredible voice, and this was a very tender moment for both of us. I have to smile at the simplicity and the beautifulness of him singing alone like that, and then me coming in on the harmony. I'm going to miss David a great deal in my life. That's a beautiful piece of music. It's astounding. It feels like it's coming from another planet. It moves me so much, and when I hear it, it takes me to another place. I'm so thankful for you both from making something so beautiful for us to have. Tell me about the recording of that. How does that recording exist in the world? What brought up that? David has this twelve string that he built from two different guitars, A Guild guitar and a Martin guitar, and it sounded beautiful, and David was very sad at that moment, and basically he sat down and played it. And that's one of the beauties of it. It's a perfectly instant capture of a great piece of music. And it was done. If it's two minutes and fifty two seconds, he did it in one take, and then we added the unearthly sounds that adds to putting it into the space that it is. And what it was was David had turned me on to this glass harmonica that someone had built and it was wine glasses on their side, and what we did was we replicated that on an eight track machine and we stood and we tuned the glass and we did the finger around it to produce the sound, and we recorded that to one track and then took some water out of the glass so it goes up in key and we put that to the So when we had we had eight tracks of this beautiful glass harmonica sound that we would bring in and out to project that piece of music into the future. So beautiful. And then the harmonies in general, when you're coming up with harmonies for you is it a mathematical equation or is it an instinctive finding the note? I have to, in a strange way, be David, watching his body language, watching his breathing, watching him. I have to be a part of David momentarily so I can lock in perfectly with what he's doing. And because he had such a one for melody, it was very easy to find interesting harmonies to go along with that melody, and those harmonies once again put it into that beautiful sound that you were discussing earlier. I never thought about this before, but hearing what you're saying, is the fact that the two voices are singing in perfect unison essential to making the harmony do what the harmony does. Yes, I believe you're right, and we were pretty good at duplicating. If I listened to one of David's league vocal tracks, I soak it into my soul and I just sing what I think is appropriate, and in most cases it works out pretty good because of it the direct melody that he's singing. He trusts me to do the right thing, and I loved that part of our relationship, the trust that we had with each other. And I assume the trust was mainly as it related to singing that. Would you say that or no? No, I would say the trust came from being deep friends. Beautiful. That's a beautiful thing. I wouldn't have guessed you say that. I love hearing that. Yeah, it's because we were so close together. I mean, we could really harmonize, you know. And yes, we had a wonderful time. It was great making that particular piece of music because I wanted to stay out of David's way because he was talking to you heart directly, and I only came in when I felt it needed to take another breath. And it gives the song beautiful dynamics. You're not aware of the length of the song because of the changes in dynamics that happened because the harmony is not there all the time, right, So there's a period of time where there's no harmony. Then there's a period where there's your harmony. But then there's the beg ending with many voices. I imagine all you and David, Yes, all me, David, amazing, so beautiful. Yes, tell me about meeting David. I once was in the village in New York here and I saw the birds walking into a record store and I knew who they were. They had no idea that I was there, and I never approached them at all. But we had a mutual friend, Cass Elliott, from the Mamas and the Papers. I sincerely believe that Cass knew what CSN would sound like if CSN ever got together. She was friends with David and Stephen, obviously, and she knew that they David had been thrown out of the Birds and Stephen of Buffalo Springfield had broken up, and Cass instinctively felt that if they had a third harmony it would be great. So one day I'm in Los Angeles. Cass caused me and says, you know, what are you doing at noon? I said, actually, we have a day off. I'm doing anything. She said, good, I'll come and pick you up. I want to introduce you to a friend of mine. She picks me up at the Neckobaco Hotel in Los Angeles and was there in her Porsche convertible porsh. So we got in and of course, you know, Laurel Canyon is ten minutes from Hollywood. And she picked me up and took me to this strange little house and there was another convertible push right in the garage there. Anyway, we go upstairs and there's this nice living room, very little furniture, a couch and a couple of speakers and a stack of music stuff. And then there's this guy lying on the couch in a white and blue striped T shirt and his jeans, no shoes, and on his chest was a shoe box lid full of grass, and he was looking at me while Cass introduced me as her end and he never lost eye contact with me whilst shaking the lid of this shoe box and separating the seed from the stems from the actual grass. And I thought that was amazing. And then he proceeded to roll one of the most perfect joints I'd ever seen in my life. And Cass introduced me and he knew that I was the high voice in the Hollies, and we got on beautifully. And that was the first day I ever met David. And was this your first trip to California? No, we had been to California earlier. Cass thought that Lou Adler, their producer, might want to produce the Hollies, and she paid for the Hollies to fly from New York to Los Angeles to meet with lou So. No, it wasn't the first time I'd been in Los Angeles, And how did you meet Cass? The Hollies were being given an introductory getting together to release an album, and it's one of those things where you know, you have a glass of wine and you're waiting for, you know, somebody, and this little fifteen year old kid came up to me and he knew everything about the Hollies. Knew every B side, he knew every A side, he knew everything that we've done. In a foreign man. He was a big Hollies fan. It was Rodney Bingenheimer, who later became a very famous DJ in Los Angeles. And so Rodney looked at me and he said, so, what are you doing after this getting together? I said, I you know, I'm English, So I said, I'm not sure. What do you think you're doing? He said, well, I have these friends and they're recording down the street, and I thought you might want to go to a session. And I said it sounds interesting. Who are your friends and he said they called the Mamas and the Paupers. Now I'd seen their first album cover and I saw Michelle on the front and it was very attracted to this blonde, you know, hippie southern California girl. And when I went into the session, John and Danny and Michelle were putting an overdope in the studio, so I couldn't go in there, but outside the studio was cast. So I started talking to Cass. And one of the things she asked me, she said, what do you think John Lennon would think about the Mamas and Papas? And I said, well, you know, I don't know John that well, but I know that he would probably keep you at arm's length, you know, until he figured out that he was comfortable with you when Danny would open up. And I said, so, he probably would put your music down at first before he accepted it. And I look at Cass and she's crying. What I didn't know is that Cass had a crush on John Lennon, and that's how I met Cass. Wow, interesting story. Had you heard The Mamas and the Papa's music at that time or not yet? I had heard the music because I had that first, that first album, so I did know that they were a pretty damn fine band. And it was only you know when I told you that I think that Cass intuitively knew what Stephen and David's sound would do with an added harmony. I think she knew right from the very beginning before any of us, what that would sound like. You know, she's in my prayers every single night. She's the last face I see when I go through my prayers, and she will always be there. And it's one of the reasons why on every album that we have made since she passed away, we have dedicated the album to Cass because, in a strange way, she started it all beautiful and it makes sense that she would understand the three voices because of her role in the Mamas and the Papas. She understood three part harmony. Yes, it makes sense. It makes sense. And she fought to get into that band because they didn't want her in that band, but she knew, she knew that her voice would do something special with theirs. That's right, that's right. But she she physically, she didn't look like, you know, she should be in that band. You know, she was. She was heavy. She was a large lady, and she knew it. But boy, could cast Elliott sing. Did you ever get to sing with her? She is the only voice on the first Crosby stills in Nash record that is not me and David and Stephen. I didn't know that. That's amazing. What does she sing? Do you remember? Yeah, she sang a high harmony on pre road downs. Wow. So cool. We'll be back after a quick break with more from Rick Rubin and Graham Nash. We're back with Rick Rubin's conversation with Graham Nash. How was the David who passed different than the David laying on the couch at Casses. David was a very interesting couple of people. On one side, he could be most generous, funny, brilliant at telling stories, obvious, really brilliant at singing and playing the guitar, totally unique. The other side of David was if there was something that he didn't like, he had no problem in telling you. And he could become nasty and he could become vicious. And those were the two sides of David. And I always wanted the first side. You know, I want to feel easy. I want to I want to feel like I want to you know, I want to feel part of whatever. But the other side of David was pretty scary. Knowing that scary side of him did it help you to feel like that's just David or did he always personal? If he would say something not nice, it would feel personal. And I always knew that that part of David was there. I tried to stare our relationship away from the nasty side of David and we managed to do that probably ninety five percent of the time that we moved together. Tell me about leaving England. How popular were the Hollies. I think of them as very popular. I don't really know. I wasn't there. How popular were the Hollies? How about fifteen top ten records in seven years? Wow? So popular popular band? Yes? Tell me about the world that the Hollies appeared in. What was the world that allowed the Hollies to come together? The Hollies were five kids from the north of England who made it down to London and managed to be recorded, and as I said, we had many, many top ten records. It was easy and strange, but it was very easy for me to leave that band because it happened at a time when we had recorded a song called King Midas in Reverse, which is a song that I wrote. And normally a Holly's release would go into the top ten within the first couple of weeks, this didn't This only made it to the low thirties, and so the Hollies stopped trusting my musical path. So it happened. At that time, I was feeling a little removed from them, and then David came into my life. And at one point I had gone from London to Los Angeles to spend a few days with Johnny Mitchell. And when I got to the house, there were other voices there, which I wasn't too happy with, but it was David and Stephen and they were having dinner with Johnny, and at one point after dinner, I'm smoking a big one. David said to Steve and play play Willie that song that we were doing, and they were doing a two part harmony on a song of Steven's called you Don't Have to Cry. They got to the end of it, and I was overwhelming how beautiful the song was and how simple it was, and how beautiful it was, and I asked them to sing it again, and they sang it again. In the meantime, I'm learning. I asked them to sing it just one more time, and when they did, I put my harmony on and my world changed. Completely amazing. Once I heard that sound, which happened within the first forty five seconds of as Ever singing together, that sound was created. That was how magical it seemed to me. And once I had heard that, there was no doubt as a musician what I had to do. I had to undo my life and reform my life. And that's what I did. I left the Hollies, I left my equipment. I came to America with a suitcase and my guitar and a strange mirror that I have that I still have to this day. And it was overwhelmingly easy to leave the Hollies, and a lot of people thought I was crazy because it was a very popular band, and as a matter of fact, they're still going to this day. And I think this week, Beautiful is the sixtieth anniversary of the release of our first record, Amazing, tell me about it? So cool? Has there ever been a live Hollies reunion? Have you ever sung together since leaving or never? Yes. I got a call one day from Tony Hicks that there was a very famous English television show called Top of the Pops and we had done the very first one. And this was twenty five years later. And they wanted the Hollies to do the show again, and obviously I wasn't there. I was in America, and so I went over there and we did sing and we did a short tour after that. I think it was in like eighty three or something, and there's a radio show wanted to record the entire show on two tracks, and they did and it was beautiful. So I did sing with the Hollies after I left, and I was proud to do it, and that same magic was there. It's beautiful, and it's beautiful that there's a recording that exists that people can experience it beautiful. Was your relationship with Janie at all in the consideration of your deciding to leave England or was it purely the band? Well, you know, in the big picture, it was purely the band. But in the small picture, you know, the addition of Joni Mitchell to the to the equation was fantastic. Yeah, because I imagine if you're at the age that you're at, you're starting a relationship with someone that you feel strongly about. I could see that having a strong gravitational forces. Absolutely, we have known each other a long time. Rickon, you know that I've always said that my life has been a magic story from beginning to end, and quite frankly, with the release of my new record, it's still going on, you know, sixty years later. Incredible and speaking to that magic. My first memory of I don't even know if we met, but of seeing you was I was on the beach in Kauai. I don't know, thirty years ago, maybe one of the first times I was in Kauhai. Might have been the first time I was in Kawai and I was on Hanale Beach and I was laying on the beach and it was Christmas, and I know Santa Claus in full garb coming down the beach giving everyone on the beach candy canes, and that was you. Yeah, that's right. I'd lived on the island for a great many years and it was an annual trip that me and my family did. We would go and dress up and put funny hats on and all that kind of stuff and hand out candy canes to everybody that wanted one. So that that was the first time you saw me. Yeah, funny, Yeah, I didn't. I didn't meet you at that time, but someone's like, oh, that's Graham Nash. Yeah, coming to California from the experience you had in England, What was the world of California like in those days? How was it different than even the music scene that you came from in England? How did it feel different? It felt different from the point of view of freedom. When we were in England, if you didn't know John and Paul and George and Ringo, you and nobody. You couldn't touch the ball. You couldn't add the base if you wanted to. You had to talk to your producer, who talked to the engineer, who would then, you know, in his white smart turned the bass up, you know, making records then? What was was wonderful? I mean there we were making actual records. Fantastic. It was a different world in the freedom. When I came here, people wanted to know my opinion. People said, you know, what do you think of this? How do you think we should do this? What would you do here? And it was it was freedom. I mean Laurel Canyon in those days was was unbelievable. It was sunshine. It was full of music, It was full of pretty ladies. It was in a way, a small rock and roll paradise, and it was very, very different from the way that we had been recording in England. When I said that we had to talk to our producer and then he would talk to the engineer to turn the base up. Once she started to sell a lot of records, you could do what you want, and we did. And it was a thing that even David and I recognized and we admitted to each other that we can't be a product of this music industry that gets forgotten. We have to maintain our hold on the tools of our trade, meaning we need to be in a place where we can call up a studio book, the time book, the tape book, the musicians and do it. And it was very different from the way that I was recording in England. So in England you felt like you were at the mercy of the powers that be about when you could record and all parts of it, whereas in America you had it more of a sense of freedom. Absolutely. I mean in even an abbey road where it was we were recording, we had to stop recording at ten thirty because that's what Ron Richards, our producers said, And it wasn't until years later we realized that ten thirty was time when the pubs were shutting and they wanted to drink after the day, so they would shut everything down at ten thirty. Now, then, obviously when we started to sell millions of records and it all changed, then we went past ten thirty, that's for sure. Technically, you've you've seen a lot of changes technically in the recording business from when you started till now. Describe some of what you think have been some of the biggest changes along the way from the earliest days of the Hollies to now in terms of what you can create and how you can create it. The first time we were recording it was on two track and that was it. And now you have a thousand tracks on your iPhone. Yeah, it's very, very different. But you know something, as you well know, no amount of technology you can make a bad song into a good song. Yes, you have to start with a good song, and that's what we do. We tried to start with the good song that each one of us loves. We had this kind of rule that that we only recorded songs that each one of us really loved. Within Crosby Stills in Nash did relationships change over time? Were their bonds created between members that shifted at different times because you've known each other for a long period of time. Yes, mainly it was David and I that. I mean, for instance, it choosing the name of the band. Stephen wanted it to be Stills, Crosby, Nash with a hyphen. I said, try and say that, and he tried to say it, and I said, see, you can't say it smoothly, I says. The only combination of these three voices that makes sense sonically was Crosby, Stills and Nash. That's the way it came out the easiest, and that's the way that we did it. And unfortunately on that first album and we're sitting in the wrong order, and people for a few months after that thought I'd written Guinevere. It's also has a musical Crosby stials in Nash has a musical phrasing to it. Just that the name has a musical phrase. Absolutely, and that's why we chose the better lyric of the different choices. So the power was mainly me and David. We formed the bond that you were talking about a little earlier. Yeah, and sometimes it would shift, but not often. Mostly mostly David and I knew what was best for us. You know, Stephen in this particular name incident, his ego was in the way, and it was David and I that convinced him that it should be Crosby Stials in Nash and he went along with it, which is a testament to ultimately, even when there's a difference of opinion, if you get to the best solution, everybody wins correct And it's very democratic too, even though there's only three of us, if two of us wanted to do it, that's the way the three of us did it. We have to take another quick break and then we'll be back with more from Graham Nash. We're back with the rest of Rick Rubin's conversation with Graham Nash. How popular were Crosby, Stills and Nash out of the box? People used to tell me you couldn't go past any college places to live where the window wasn't open, and Crosby, Stills and Nash music was coming out of it. We had created a sound that we knew it was going to be pretty popular, you know, because I mean between you know, the Birds and the Buffalo, Springfield and the Hollies, we had we'd had a lot of hit records. We knew what was popular, We knew what would grab people's is and we do that with Sweet Judy Blue Eyes. We knew that no one was going to get up and take the needle off the record. After that, you've got to hear what the rest of the record is. And it was the same when we did Deja Vu too. You know. I came to Stephen one day and said, you know, we don't have Sweet Judy Blue Eyes, and he said, I know, we used it on the Fish right. I said, no, no, you misunderstand me. We don't have that song where you're guaranteed that no one will get up and take off the needle of the record. He heard me. A day and a half later, we were staying at the Caravan Lodge motel in San Francisco because we were recording at while he hid his studios, And one and a half days later, after that conversation with Stephen, he goes, hey, Willy, what do you think of this? Don't we do? Do do? Do? Do? Do do do? And he played me carry on and I said, oh boy, did you just knock it out of the park. That's why he wanted it to be called Still's Crosby and yep, and you know he was right in thinking that. I mean, you mustn't understand Steven played most of the instruments on our first record, Yes, David and I did our You know, you play guitar on Long Time Gone On and play guitar on Guinevere and I play guitar on my songs. But Stephen played lead guitar, rhythm and guitar, bass, piano, B three and percussion. Yeah, brilliant. But ultimately it's about the songs. Yes, and everybody contributed to the songs, and the voices are the voices, and it's that combination. It really doesn't matter who contributes what if Again, if the thing is so good, everybody wins. So it worked out. Yes, it all works. I always want to win. When I'm faced with the problem, I try and figure out a solution where everybody wins. Yeah, it's the best. It's the best chances are if everybody wins, it's a better solution in terms of outwardly in the world, because if there were only three people involved and all three people are on the same page, the chances of more people being on the same page just seems statistically better. It makes sense. YEA it showed us. Yeah, if someone in the group doesn't like it, why would a stranger like it? Correct? You know, it makes sense, that's right, and that's why we only do songs that each of us loves beautiful. Another question about harmony. How much of the magic of different voices singing together can be planned versus it's just the nature of the voices and you can't plan it. There it was a combination of both, and we did sing a lot, you know, totally instinctively, but sometimes you have to really plan it, particularly when you added Neil Young to the combination. Three part harmony is very different than four part as you well know, and so we'd c S N Y vocals. Some of it was planned, like carry on with the song we were just talking about when we get to the very end there where we go almost acapella. We had to plan those harmonies because we added another voice. How did Neil end up in that picture? How did Neil join? Remember a moment ago I was telling you that Stephen played all the instruments or most of the instruments on that first record. Yes, instinctively we knew that this album that we had just put out was going to be very, very popular. We instinctively felt that and we were correct. Of course, the addition of Neil happened this way. Stephen and David were having dinner in New York City at arm at Erdigan's house. Arm it was the CEO of Atlantic Records, and he was a great fan of ours and protected us a great many times. For instance, we signed a contract first to do an album a year. We never did an album year's you know, sometimes there's many years between albums. But Armor protected us. And after dinner they were talking about the fact that we would have to go on the road, and he knew that Stephen to play most of the instruments, so he said out, I don't know he should get man. Steven said to Armor, oh you do? Who is up? He goes, well, Man, I think you should get Nail Young. And Stephen said, Armor, we've just been through two years of madness with this kid. You know, he's in the band, he's out of the band, he's not in the Vand yes he is in the band. He does want to do the Ed Sullivan Show. No, he's not doing the Ed Sullivan Show. Stephen said, do you want do you want me to do all that? And arm It said, and quite correctly, No, I'm just thinking of the music. I think that he would add something great to the band. And when Stephen and David kind of admitted to Armor that that was probably the right thing to do. When they told me, I said, wait a second, I'm never even met Neil Young. How can we add somebody to this band that I've never even met. I need to know whether I can be his friend, whether I could tell him secret I don't know. I don't know. I need to meet Neil Young. And so Neil and I had breakfast in the village here in New York, and I was convinced afterwards that yeah, this kid should should actually be in the band. He's a great songwriter. I personally feel that he's a great singer also, but I think Bob Dylan is a great singer too, and a lot of people you disagree with me, But that's how Neil Young came into the band. Amazing and hearing that story, what it makes me think of is Crosby, Stills and Nash were a vocal group, and by adding Neil it becomes a rock band. YEP. That's why he's there. Because Stephen and Neil play and I experienced this a thousand times. Standing in the middle of the stage while Neil Young and Stephen Stills are talking to each other with their guitars is an incredible moment, and it happened a thousand times for me. I would be astonished at their conversations that they could have with their guitars, both angry and loving. Their conversations with their guitars is something to behold. And I loved every moment. And there's no question that both of them respect each other's musicality in a way that they view each other as equals, so that also lends a great credibility. There's no sideman in that equation of those two guitar players, that's right. I remember one night on stage, Stephen did an incredible solo in one song and came up to me and he nudged me and he said, I can't do that. It's great. Yeah, Stephen and Neil have this magic between them that goes on to this day. I mean, I think they're going to play another Light Up the Blues show for Autism in Los Angeles in about a month. Oh beautiful, that'd be great. Tell me how songs get written and how do you write a song versus how you believe Still's Crosbie or Neil would do it. I think we write songs from the same place. First of all, we have to feel something. We have to hear something that pisces us off. We have to hear something that makes us fall in love. We have to hear something, and we have to feel something. And when I feel something, when I see something that's happening, when I check out the world news and something mad is going on. If I pick up on something that I don't think is right, I have to do my research and I recognize the fact that your words are very important. And once I get in that mood, I then need a title. And when I come up with the title, it usually ends up somewhere in the end of the first chorus. You know, I have to feel something, and when I do, I'm dedicated to making it the simplest, most communicative piece of music that I can make. I personally am not interested in waiting for seven minutes before you know what I'm talking about. I want you immediately, and I think I show that on this new record. I mean the opening line of my new record is I used to think that I would never love again. Wow, beautiful line. It's a strong line to open up an album with, but it indicates what's to come. It's a great opening line as it tells us so much and opens the door for now this. You know, it's like once upon a time, who know, there's going to be a big story following it. It's a line like that. It really is a what's going to happen now? Gets your attention and pulls you into the story. Yeah, and that's why the album is called now. It's called now beautiful. And there's a beautiful photograph of me that my wife Amy took, as she has done and crafted my image for the last five or six years. It's a beautiful shot of me. I do look my age and so what it's me now? Yeah, it's honest and there's nothing more powerful in music than honesty, all aspects of it. That's what attracts us warts and all. You know, we like the humanity in it. Yes, that's why the opening line of my album is so strong. I feel I wouldn't you want to hear what the rest of that song was? And then what's the rest of the album if you heard that? Absolutely, because I think absolutely. A lot of us feel the same way. A lot of us fall in and out of love. And when you're deeply in love and then it crumbles, you think that that's the end. I'll never love again. And I was looking at my age. I was eighty years old when I made this record, and I was looking at my life, and I realized that I'm getting on. I know that I'm coming to the end of an incredible life. I certainly hope to be around for at least the next twenty years, so I can be one hundred years old. And it's been a long, strange trip. To quote the dead, Yes, would you be up for playing us one of the new songs? Do you want to do that? Love to hear one of the new songs? Do you have a guitar handy that happens to be a Gibson right here? Okay, again, no obligation, but if it would be fun for you, I'd love to hear it. Let me let me see what I can do, Okay, Excited to get the flavor and see what you've been what's been on your mind? You know? Yeah, this song I wrote for my wife Amy. It's it's called Love of Mine. Very simple. It's just me on the record with my acoustic guitar and Todd Caldwell on piano, Love of Mine, I did mean to hurt your heart so badly. I didn't mean to make your soul so sad about me and you, Love of Mine, regretting every word I said to you. I can't take them back, but I wanted to for me and you. How can I help your heart that truly wants to heal? Can I ever make it right and tell the truth? I know its saptly how I feel. I don't want to be losing you tonight, Love her Mine. I can't believe I might be losing you, And as soon I'll thank the universe fusing you and me. That was beautiful. Thank you so much for playing that, and the emotion in it is very palpable. I love her I can feel it. I can feel it. We get to experience your love through hearing the song. Beautiful. Yeah, That's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to touch you. It's interesting I asked you about writing songwriting and you answered the question as it relates to lyrics, So, for you, is the lyrical content of the song the primary part of it is the music just accompanying the words. Sometimes, yeah, I have this thing on my iPhone. I can be recording instantly, you know, So I put a lot of Really, I have this idea and I put it down and sometimes, like a little earlier, I was talking about, I need a title. Well, that title has a rhythm to it, you know, a vocal rhythm, and it might match a piece of music that I've got in my mind that I haven't put lyrics to yet. And so I in my mind, I have these bunches of music and these bunches of lyrics, and sometimes they marry, and that's how I write. That's the end of part one of Rick's conversation with Graham Nash. We'll be back apart two or Graham talks about the inspiration behind Rick's favorite CS songs and share a story about Joni Mitchell, Jared Garcia, and Marianne Faithful very soon, so make sure to check in for that. In the meantime, you can hear all of our favorite Process, Stills and Nash songs at Broken Record podcast dot com. You can subscribe to our YouTube channel at YouTube dot com slash Broken Record Podcast, where you can find all of our new episodes. You can follow us on Twitter at broken Record. Broken Record is produced with helpful Lea Rose, Jason Gambrell, Benaladay, and Eric Samer. Our editor is Sophie Craig. Broken Record is a production of Pushkin Industries. If you love this show and others from Pushkin, consider subscribing to Pushkin Plus. Pushkin Plus is a podcast subscription that offers bonus content and uninterrupted ad free listening for four ninety nine a month. Look for Pushkin Plus on Apple podcast subscriptions, and if you like the show, please remember to share, rate, and review us on your podcast. At a theme musics by Kenny Beats, I'm justin Richmond.