Graham Nash says losing David Crosby was 'insanely sad for me' as tour heads to Phoenix

Graham Nash sets the tone for “Now,” his first release in seven years, with a song inspired by his third wife, Amy Grantham, the New York-based artist he married in 2019.

“I was actually being quite brave with the opening line of the album, which is, 'I used to think that I would never love again,'” Nash says.

“At 79, almost 80, when I made this record, I wanted people to know that you can still rock at 80. Why not?”

The singer-songwriter has since turned 81, a point of pride he mentions often in a conversation ranging from the writing of that new release to the recent loss of David Crosby, the long-estranged bandmate he refers to as “one of my very best friends for over 50 years.”

Crosby died at age 81 on Jan. 18, 2023.

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Three months earlier, Nash reflected on his strained relationship with Crosby, telling The Arizona Republic, “Of course, it saddens me. But it saddens me most for the music that we may have lost.”

They met in 1968 at Joni Mitchell’s Laurel Canyon house, where Crosby had been working on a song called “You Don’t Have to Cry” with Stephen Stills.

It was the day Nash first experienced the magic vocal blend that helped make Crosby, Stills & Nash one of the most beloved rock acts of their generation.

He decided then and there to leave his home in England and one of the British Invasion’s most successful groups, the Hollies, to follow the sound he heard that day, occasionally joined by kindred spirit Neil Young.

Graham Nash on the making of 'Now,' his first new music in 7 years

Question: I was hoping you could talk a bit about the inspiration behind a few of the album’s more topical songs.

Answer: With “Stars & Stripes,” I'm talking about what Trump has done to the actual truth. You know, this “alternative facts” bull (expletive) that we're dealing with. So that's what “Stars & Stripes” is. The flag is waving, but it's waving goodbye to the truth.

“Golden Idols” started with an Instagram image I saw of Trump as a golden idol. And I thought, you know, there's more than Trump here. There's Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy and Ted Cruz and all those incredibly stupid Republicans.

Q: You maintain your sense of optimism as well in moments like "A Better Life." Is it hard to find the optimistic side of things?

A: No, I am always optimistic. I think today's gonna be great and tomorrow is gonna be even better. I've always been like that. All my life. I mean, holy (expletive), the English people made it through two world wars. So, you know, give me a real problem here. Don't tell me your coffee is too cold.

Q: Did something in particular inspire the writing of “Buddy’s Back” (a Buddy Holly tribute)?

A: I wrote it for Allan Clarke's solo record. Allan Clarke is my oldest friend. I've known him since I was 6. We started the Hollies together in December 1962. He lost his voice and left the Hollies. Now he’s found his voice again and he's done a solo record. So I sang on several tracks on that, and I wrote “Buddy's Back” because of the Hollies love for Buddy Holly.

Q: There’s another song on this release that started with you writing lyrics to a melody by Alan Price.

A: Alan Price, who was the keyboard player for the Animals, a really great musician, wrote an album for a movie called “Oh Lucky Man!” many years ago. And one of the pieces of music on there was this beautiful, beautiful instrumental. I always wondered why he didn't write words for it. I'm a writer. You can't show me a beautiful melody and not have words for it. So I called Alan and said I wanted to write words to his piece of music.  He said, “Sure, send it to me.” So I sent it to him and he loved it.

Q: How does it feel to have this record come out after all the work you put into the writing of it?

A: It feels very good. It's not gonna sell in the millions, that's for sure. But I do love this record. It's very personal. I am wearing my heart on both sleeves. And here I am at 81 years old looking forward to the show that I'm about to do when I get off the phone with you.

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Graham Nash on the thrill of touring 'at 81, for God's sake'

Q: How has this tour been going?

A: Phenomenal. Completely sold out the entire tour.

Q: That’s amazing.

A: It is amazing. Particularly at 81, for God's sake.

Q: You don't sound 81.

A: No. And I don't feel 81. But I actually am 81.

Q: Are you doing much from the new album on this tour?

A: My problem is this. In a normal show, it's usually roughly 24, 25 songs. But when you write more tunes, what are you gonna throw out so you can put the new tunes in? Am I not going to sing “Marrakesh Express”? Am I not gonna sing “Teach Your Children” or “Our House” or “Cathedral” or “Military Madness” or “Chicago”? What do I do? But two or three of the new songs are in the show.

Q: How does the feeling you get from performing for an audience compare to earlier in your career?

A: It's exactly the same. When I write a new song, the first thing I want to do is play it for my wife, and then my friends and then the band and then public. That's what I do. I'm a writer.

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Q: Is there anything from this album you're particularly looking forward to performing live?

A: Yes, there's a song on there called “Love of Mine,” which is actually a love song I wrote for my wife, Amy, about an argument we had. It’s a strange kind of love song, but it's a beautiful little song.

Q: What did your wife think of the song?

A: Well, the first time I tried to play it for her, I actually stopped because there were tears in my eyes.

Graham Nash calls David Crosby 'one of my very best friends for over 50 years'

Q: I was hoping you could talk a bit about what it meant to you to lose David this year.

A: It was insanely sad for me. He was one of my very best friends for over 50 years. I feel very sad for his wife, Jan, and his son Django, of course. With all due respect, we were expecting Crosby to leave us much earlier than this. Because he had not taken care of himself during his life, of course. So it was incredibly sad for me. But I make a choice to only remember the good stuff. I don't want to remember that bad side of David Crosby, that cruel side. I’d rather just remember the good music that we made and the good times we had together.

Q: It's my understanding that you made your peace with David at the end. Is that true?

A: Yes. That is true. We were emailing each other and voice mailing and setting up a time to FaceTime with each other so we could see each other. I set up a time for 2 o'clock my time in New York, which would have been 11 o'clock his time on the West Coast. And I waited and waited. But he never called and then he was gone.

On playing with Stephen Stills and Neil Young: 'It won't be the same without Crosby'

Q: That is really sad. Do you anticipate that you and Stephen and Neil will be able to work together moving forward?

A: I'm not sure about that. I mean, we talk. Of course we talk, particularly since David passed. But I don't know. It won't be the same without Crosby. It just won't be the same. It could be something different if we ever did, but it will never be the same.

Q: When I've heard you speak about the first time you heard that magical blend of you, Stephen and David, it sounds like it was an amazing experience from the start.

A: It changed my life. I realized when I heard that sound that I would have to go back to England and leave the Hollies, leave my equipment and follow that sound. And I did because I'm a musician. The Hollies and the Springfields and the Byrds were pretty good harmony bands, but this was something very different.

Q: Was it hard to leave the Hollies?

A: No. Once I have heard me and David and Stephen sing, no.

Q: And I guess there wouldn’t have been a way to just do both?

A: No. My time with the Hollies was done.

Q: It’s nice that you and Allan are working together again.

A: It is. And it was my honor, for sure.

Q: The Hollies made many great records as well.

A: Yeah, I've made a lot of interesting music in my life.

Graham Nash

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 21.

Where: Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St., Phoenix.

Admission: Resale ticket prices vary.

Details: 602-267-1600, celebritytheatre.com.

Reach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Graham Nash reflects on losing David Crosby, new album and 2023 tour