Graham Nash

Graham Nash

Graham Nash is a singer-songwriter from Blackpool, England, known for work in folk rock, folk, pop and rock. Born in 1942, he grows up in Salford in Greater Manchester and begins his career in the early 1960s as a leading member of The Hollies. In that group he contributes songs more often than lead vocals, frequently writing with Allan Clarke, and he becomes associated with the band’s light tenor singing and its move towards a more psychedelic sound on Butterfly.

The Hollies and group work

With The Hollies, Nash is part of a run of major singles including “Bus Stop”, “Look Through Any Window”, “Stop, Stop, Stop”, “Carrie Anne” and “On a Carousel”. In 1968 he leaves the band at the height of its success after meeting David Crosby in Laurel Canyon and moving into a new direction in the United States.

Crosby collaborations

Nash forms Crosby, Stills & Nash with David Crosby and Stephen Stills, later becoming Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young with Neil Young. He also works as a duo with Crosby as Crosby & Nash, starting in 1972. That partnership continues until the re-formation of Crosby, Stills & Nash in 1977, later reunites for a studio album in 2004, and also releases material from a 1970s tour in 1998. His duo recording “Immigration Man” becomes Crosby and Nash’s biggest hit.

Solo work and political songs

Nash’s solo recordings usually keep a pop structure while drawing on melody and ballad writing, although he also experiments with jazz and electronic percussion. His politically direct songs include “Military Madness” and “Chicago (We Can Change the World)”. He becomes an American citizen in 1978.

Activism and projects

In 1979 Nash co-founds Musicians United for Safe Energy and is part of the No Nukes group, which opposes the expansion of nuclear power. In 2007 the group records a new version of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth”.

Other collaborations and labels

Nash works with a-ha in 2005 on “Over the Treetops” and “Cosy Prisons” for the album Analogue. In 2006 he collaborates with David Gilmour and David Crosby on the title track of On an Island and tours the UK with Gilmour, contributing backing vocals on “On an Island”, “The Blue”, “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” and “Find the Cost of Freedom”. He records under labels including Giving Room Music, Nash Notes and Graham Nash, Inc., and his associated acts include L. Ransford, R.A.D.D. (Recording Artists Against Drunk Driving) and The Red Hots.

Photography and printmaking

Beginning in the 1970s, Nash collects photographs and later becomes a significant figure in the market for fine-art photography. The 1990 sale of his collection through Sotheby’s helps establish that market and funds charitable causes as well as the founding of Nash Editions, a digital fine-arts printmaking company that still operates. Using an IRIS printer, a hand-built scanner and software written by Nash and Holbert, the company develops methods for printing large-scale black-and-white photographs on archival paper. In 2005 Nash and Mac Holbert donate the IRIS 3047 printer to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. Nash also exhibits photographs at the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego and elsewhere, and publishes the photography catalogue Eye to Eye in 2004.