Legendary singer Graham Nash reminisces at Everly Brothers Park: 'They changed my life'

Knoxville has a real gem in the Everly Brothers Park, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer and longtime fan Graham Nash told those gathered for a special ceremony Nov. 13.

“I think this will be an international jewel for Knoxville,” the former member of Crosby, Stills and Nash and the Hollies told members of the media following his first visit to the park. “This park is very, very special.”

Nash said he liked how a former service station garage was turned into a nice and small greenspace in such an urban setting, adding, “What a wonderful thing to do.”

The 81-year-old singer was in Knoxville for a concert at the Bijou Theatre and, after communicating recently with longtime Bearden Village Council and park advocate and former City Councilman Duane Grieve, he was taken to the park by Grieve. The city of Knoxville also got behind his visit and had a brief ceremony recognizing him.

This man who had penned the famous and still-played hit “Our House” was certainly made to feel at home with praises by Grieve, City Councilman and Vice Mayor Andrew Roberto, Legacy Parks Foundation’s Carol Evans, former mayor Madeline Rogero, and others.

And while he was there as a fan paying tribute to the Everly Brothers − Don and Phil − many of the 50-plus people in attendance were showing they were big fans of him, too. Many had pictures taken with him before and after the ceremony and brief press conference, with Grieve often snapping while Nash graciously posed.

Nash’s connection to the park had started when he was performing at the Bijou another time about five years ago. Grieve and fellow Bearden Village Council and park supporter Terry Faulkner met him backstage and told him about the park.

As a young man in England, Nash had taken a liking to the brothers and once waited for and met them after a concert, Roberto told the gathering, quoting a Wall Street Journal article. They had encouraged him, Roberto said, so when he learned of the park, he agreed to help get some quotes from fellow famous singers that were inscribed on walking stones in the park.

Grieve – whose wife, Marsha, had first told him of Nash’s admiration for the Everly Brothers – told the Nov. 13 gathering that Nash had gotten four or so quotes within a couple of days. Nash said after his brief ceremony remarks that he immediately agreed to participate with the park effort to pay the late brothers back for their musical influence on him. As a result, he was made honorary co-chairman of the park development efforts.

“They changed my life,” he said. “Their vocal harmonies changed my life unbelievably so. I wanted to honor that feeling and I am still honoring that feeling.”

He added that the brothers – who lived in Knoxville near the park with their parents for a short period in the 1950s before becoming rock ‘n’ roll pioneers – influenced other musicians, from Carole King to Bob Dylan to Paul McCartney. And that was made evident by their willingness to provide quotes for the park stones, he said.

“I got a great reception,” he said, adding that he called the other singers personally. “Some were a little more difficult (to reach) than the others, but I realized that the Everly Brothers and the sound they created worldwide were incredibly influential.”

He added after the ceremony that the Everly Brothers were so important and influential to him because of their natural singing gifts and harmonious sound.

“It was their family DNA, the fact they were brothers who came out of the same womb, and then a vocal blend that was unbelievable and everybody recognized them.”

Nash, who also wrote and recorded such other hits as “Teach Your Children,” “Marrakesh Express” and “Just a Song Before I Go” and dated fellow iconic singer Joni Mitchell during the Woodstock era of the late 1960s, also revealed his favorite Everly Brothers songs.

“I’ve got a million of them – ‘So Sad,’ ‘All I Have To Do Is Dream,’ ‘Cathy’s Clown.’ ” he said to the media. “You can go on and on and on for about 45 songs. It’s that sound that is my favorite. There’s nothing like it and there never will be again.”

As he left the park with Grieve, Nash looked at his own stone with his quote while a few of those gathered snapped additional pictures with their phones.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Graham Nash honors music pioneers at Knoxville's Everly Brothers Park