WEBVTT - Graham Nash, Part 1 0:00:15.436 --> 0:00:21.476 Pushkin. I want to let you know that Rick has 0:00:21.476 --> 0:00:25.516 a new podcast called Tetragrammaton. After about four to five 0:00:25.596 --> 0:00:28.516 years of recording Broken Record, Rick decided he wanted to 0:00:28.516 --> 0:00:30.876 talk to him more than just musicians, So on his 0:00:30.956 --> 0:00:36.636 new podcast, he'll be talking to actors, directors, wrestlers, business people, 0:00:37.036 --> 0:00:40.716 anyone that Rick finds interesting. So make sure to subscribe 0:00:40.716 --> 0:00:44.996 to Tetragrammaton wherever you listen to podcasts. At any one 0:00:45.076 --> 0:00:48.476 years old. Graham Nash describes his life as a magic 0:00:48.556 --> 0:00:53.596 story from beginning to end, and he's not wrong. Graham's 0:00:53.596 --> 0:00:56.156 career began in sixty two as a singer songwriter in 0:00:56.196 --> 0:00:59.236 the British pop band The Hollies. After string of hits 0:00:59.236 --> 0:01:01.916 in the UK, Graham moved to LA to start a 0:01:01.956 --> 0:01:05.796 band with former Birds vocalist David Crosby and Steven Stills, 0:01:05.916 --> 0:01:10.876 whose band Buffalo Springfield had just broken up. From the start, Crosby, 0:01:10.916 --> 0:01:13.996 Stills and Nash were dubbed a folk rock supergroup and 0:01:14.076 --> 0:01:16.756 went on to become one of the era's most revered 0:01:16.796 --> 0:01:21.076 bands thanks to their gorgeous three part harmony and exquisite songwriting. 0:01:21.916 --> 0:01:24.716 Following the death of David Crosby in January, Rick Rubin 0:01:24.796 --> 0:01:27.276 sat down with Graham Nash to talk about Graham's deep 0:01:27.356 --> 0:01:31.196 love and admiration for kros On today's episode, we'll hear 0:01:31.236 --> 0:01:34.396 the first part of Rick's conversation with Graham, who reminisces 0:01:34.396 --> 0:01:38.036 about the day he met Crosby, who immediately rolled Graham 0:01:38.116 --> 0:01:42.716 the most perfect joint he'd ever seen. Graham also explains 0:01:42.716 --> 0:01:44.916 how it was actually cass Elliott from The Mamas and 0:01:44.956 --> 0:01:49.076 Papas who was responsible for bringing CSN together, and he 0:01:49.116 --> 0:01:53.356 recalls classic stories about Neil Young's unpredictable early days with 0:01:53.436 --> 0:01:59.236 the group. This is broken record liner notes for the 0:01:59.276 --> 0:02:03.156 digital Age. I'm justin Richmond. Here's part one of Rick 0:02:03.196 --> 0:02:09.596 Rubin's conversation with Graham Nash. What's happening mane, Good morning. 0:02:09.996 --> 0:02:12.996 How are you feeling, man? Well, it's been a it's 0:02:12.996 --> 0:02:16.756 been an intense year so far, you know, yeah, losing 0:02:16.836 --> 0:02:21.716 friends and the combination of being incredibly sad because of 0:02:21.756 --> 0:02:24.356 the loss of friends and incredibly excited that I have 0:02:24.396 --> 0:02:27.196 a new record coming out. It's like I'm in between 0:02:27.236 --> 0:02:32.156 this thing. It's it's been very strange this year, completely understood. 0:02:32.476 --> 0:02:35.636 Can we listen to something together before we start talking? 0:02:35.796 --> 0:02:38.836 Cheer up for that? Why not? Okay, let's listen to 0:02:38.916 --> 0:03:08.476 something way. Oh, let's see. Oh what do I do? 0:03:22.596 --> 0:05:33.956 M m h m m m. Where will I be 0:05:36.356 --> 0:05:50.236 when I go back? Who will I see when I'm 0:05:50.276 --> 0:05:57.236 all alone? You tell me what am I going to do? 0:06:03.436 --> 0:06:05.756 What comes up for you when we listen to this. 0:06:08.116 --> 0:06:13.596 I'm very sadly David's passing. I was just thinking about 0:06:13.636 --> 0:06:17.276 how wonderful his voices. You know, he had an incredible voice, 0:06:17.996 --> 0:06:22.516 and this was a very tender moment for both of us. 0:06:23.396 --> 0:06:27.596 I have to smile at the simplicity and the beautifulness 0:06:28.036 --> 0:06:31.596 of him singing alone like that, and then me coming 0:06:31.636 --> 0:06:36.116 in on the harmony. I'm going to miss David a 0:06:36.156 --> 0:06:39.676 great deal in my life. That's a beautiful piece of music. 0:06:40.796 --> 0:06:44.156 It's astounding. It feels like it's coming from another planet. 0:06:44.236 --> 0:06:48.916 It moves me so much, and when I hear it, 0:06:48.916 --> 0:06:53.116 it takes me to another place. I'm so thankful for 0:06:53.596 --> 0:06:56.756 you both from making something so beautiful for us to have. 0:06:57.356 --> 0:07:00.516 Tell me about the recording of that. How does that 0:07:00.596 --> 0:07:04.356 recording exist in the world? What brought up that? David 0:07:04.476 --> 0:07:10.396 has this twelve string that he built from two different guitars, 0:07:10.436 --> 0:07:14.836 A Guild guitar and a Martin guitar, and it sounded beautiful, 0:07:15.436 --> 0:07:22.876 and David was very sad at that moment, and basically 0:07:22.916 --> 0:07:26.516 he sat down and played it. And that's one of 0:07:26.516 --> 0:07:30.036 the beauties of it. It's a perfectly instant capture of 0:07:30.156 --> 0:07:33.756 a great piece of music. And it was done. If 0:07:33.756 --> 0:07:37.196 it's two minutes and fifty two seconds, he did it 0:07:37.396 --> 0:07:42.436 in one take, and then we added the unearthly sounds 0:07:42.716 --> 0:07:46.876 that adds to putting it into the space that it is. 0:07:47.476 --> 0:07:50.636 And what it was was David had turned me on 0:07:50.876 --> 0:07:55.636 to this glass harmonica that someone had built and it 0:07:55.716 --> 0:08:00.996 was wine glasses on their side, and what we did 0:08:01.156 --> 0:08:04.996 was we replicated that on an eight track machine and 0:08:05.196 --> 0:08:09.596 we stood and we tuned the glass and we did 0:08:09.636 --> 0:08:13.476 the finger around it to produce the sound, and we 0:08:13.596 --> 0:08:16.876 recorded that to one track and then took some water 0:08:16.996 --> 0:08:19.596 out of the glass so it goes up in key 0:08:20.076 --> 0:08:22.836 and we put that to the So when we had 0:08:22.876 --> 0:08:27.036 we had eight tracks of this beautiful glass harmonica sound 0:08:27.356 --> 0:08:31.036 that we would bring in and out to project that 0:08:31.116 --> 0:08:35.396 piece of music into the future. So beautiful. And then 0:08:35.436 --> 0:08:39.316 the harmonies in general, when you're coming up with harmonies 0:08:40.196 --> 0:08:43.956 for you is it a mathematical equation or is it 0:08:44.196 --> 0:08:50.276 an instinctive finding the note? I have to, in a 0:08:50.316 --> 0:08:57.676 strange way, be David, watching his body language, watching his breathing, 0:08:58.436 --> 0:09:01.036 watching him. I have to be a part of David 0:09:01.996 --> 0:09:06.476 momentarily so I can lock in perfectly with what he's doing. 0:09:07.236 --> 0:09:10.516 And because he had such a one for melody, it 0:09:10.636 --> 0:09:13.756 was very easy to find interesting harmonies to go along 0:09:13.796 --> 0:09:18.676 with that melody, and those harmonies once again put it 0:09:18.276 --> 0:09:23.516 into that beautiful sound that you were discussing earlier. I 0:09:23.596 --> 0:09:26.036 never thought about this before, but hearing what you're saying, 0:09:26.716 --> 0:09:29.196 is the fact that the two voices are singing in 0:09:29.356 --> 0:09:34.356 perfect unison essential to making the harmony do what the 0:09:34.356 --> 0:09:39.076 harmony does. Yes, I believe you're right, and we were 0:09:39.116 --> 0:09:42.676 pretty good at duplicating. If I listened to one of 0:09:42.756 --> 0:09:47.236 David's league vocal tracks, I soak it into my soul 0:09:47.356 --> 0:09:50.676 and I just sing what I think is appropriate, and 0:09:50.756 --> 0:09:53.836 in most cases it works out pretty good because of 0:09:53.876 --> 0:09:59.436 it the direct melody that he's singing. He trusts me 0:09:59.556 --> 0:10:05.436 to do the right thing, and I loved that part 0:10:05.476 --> 0:10:08.956 of our relationship, the trust that we had with each other. 0:10:09.676 --> 0:10:12.196 And I assume the trust was mainly as it related 0:10:12.236 --> 0:10:15.356 to singing that. Would you say that or no? No, 0:10:15.596 --> 0:10:19.556 I would say the trust came from being deep friends. Beautiful. 0:10:19.596 --> 0:10:22.036 That's a beautiful thing. I wouldn't have guessed you say that. 0:10:22.116 --> 0:10:24.316 I love hearing that. Yeah, it's because we were so 0:10:24.996 --> 0:10:28.836 close together. I mean, we could really harmonize, you know. 0:10:29.036 --> 0:10:34.756 And yes, we had a wonderful time. It was great 0:10:34.836 --> 0:10:38.396 making that particular piece of music because I wanted to 0:10:38.436 --> 0:10:42.596 stay out of David's way because he was talking to 0:10:42.636 --> 0:10:46.436 you heart directly, and I only came in when I 0:10:46.596 --> 0:10:50.516 felt it needed to take another breath. And it gives 0:10:50.516 --> 0:10:53.756 the song beautiful dynamics. You're not aware of the length 0:10:53.796 --> 0:10:56.396 of the song because of the changes in dynamics that 0:10:56.436 --> 0:10:59.036 happened because the harmony is not there all the time, right, 0:10:59.196 --> 0:11:01.516 So there's a period of time where there's no harmony. 0:11:01.756 --> 0:11:04.436 Then there's a period where there's your harmony. But then 0:11:04.476 --> 0:11:07.356 there's the beg ending with many voices. I imagine all 0:11:07.436 --> 0:11:11.876 you and David, Yes, all me, David, amazing, so beautiful. Yes, 0:11:12.276 --> 0:11:15.636 tell me about meeting David. I once was in the 0:11:16.316 --> 0:11:19.756 village in New York here and I saw the birds 0:11:20.676 --> 0:11:25.356 walking into a record store and I knew who they were. 0:11:25.436 --> 0:11:27.516 They had no idea that I was there, and I 0:11:27.556 --> 0:11:32.196 never approached them at all. But we had a mutual friend, 0:11:32.356 --> 0:11:36.556 Cass Elliott, from the Mamas and the Papers. I sincerely 0:11:36.596 --> 0:11:41.716 believe that Cass knew what CSN would sound like if 0:11:41.796 --> 0:11:46.116 CSN ever got together. She was friends with David and Stephen, obviously, 0:11:46.476 --> 0:11:48.996 and she knew that they David had been thrown out 0:11:48.996 --> 0:11:51.996 of the Birds and Stephen of Buffalo Springfield had broken up, 0:11:52.396 --> 0:11:57.636 and Cass instinctively felt that if they had a third 0:11:57.716 --> 0:12:01.596 harmony it would be great. So one day I'm in 0:12:01.676 --> 0:12:05.156 Los Angeles. Cass caused me and says, you know, what 0:12:05.156 --> 0:12:08.036 are you doing at noon? I said, actually, we have 0:12:08.116 --> 0:12:10.636 a day off. I'm doing anything. She said, good, I'll 0:12:10.676 --> 0:12:12.956 come and pick you up. I want to introduce you 0:12:13.036 --> 0:12:15.756 to a friend of mine. She picks me up at 0:12:15.756 --> 0:12:20.076 the Neckobaco Hotel in Los Angeles and was there in 0:12:20.116 --> 0:12:24.676 her Porsche convertible porsh. So we got in and of course, 0:12:24.716 --> 0:12:28.196 you know, Laurel Canyon is ten minutes from Hollywood. And 0:12:28.316 --> 0:12:31.756 she picked me up and took me to this strange 0:12:31.836 --> 0:12:35.556 little house and there was another convertible push right in 0:12:35.596 --> 0:12:39.716 the garage there. Anyway, we go upstairs and there's this 0:12:40.236 --> 0:12:44.836 nice living room, very little furniture, a couch and a 0:12:44.876 --> 0:12:48.316 couple of speakers and a stack of music stuff. And 0:12:48.356 --> 0:12:51.516 then there's this guy lying on the couch in a 0:12:51.556 --> 0:12:56.236 white and blue striped T shirt and his jeans, no shoes, 0:12:56.996 --> 0:13:01.356 and on his chest was a shoe box lid full 0:13:01.356 --> 0:13:07.596 of grass, and he was looking at me while Cass 0:13:07.636 --> 0:13:12.156 introduced me as her end and he never lost eye 0:13:12.156 --> 0:13:16.396 contact with me whilst shaking the lid of this shoe 0:13:16.436 --> 0:13:19.276 box and separating the seed from the stems from the 0:13:19.316 --> 0:13:22.596 actual grass. And I thought that was amazing. And then 0:13:22.636 --> 0:13:25.516 he proceeded to roll one of the most perfect joints 0:13:25.516 --> 0:13:29.156 I'd ever seen in my life. And Cass introduced me 0:13:29.516 --> 0:13:32.556 and he knew that I was the high voice in 0:13:32.596 --> 0:13:37.116 the Hollies, and we got on beautifully. And that was 0:13:37.156 --> 0:13:40.316 the first day I ever met David. And was this 0:13:40.396 --> 0:13:43.836 your first trip to California? No, we had been to 0:13:43.916 --> 0:13:49.316 California earlier. Cass thought that Lou Adler, their producer, might 0:13:49.356 --> 0:13:52.436 want to produce the Hollies, and she paid for the 0:13:52.476 --> 0:13:55.236 Hollies to fly from New York to Los Angeles to 0:13:55.276 --> 0:13:58.476 meet with lou So. No, it wasn't the first time 0:13:58.516 --> 0:14:01.796 I'd been in Los Angeles, And how did you meet Cass? 0:14:03.036 --> 0:14:09.276 The Hollies were being given an introductory getting together to 0:14:09.436 --> 0:14:12.836 release an album, and it's one of those things where 0:14:13.236 --> 0:14:15.276 you know, you have a glass of wine and you're 0:14:15.316 --> 0:14:19.516 waiting for, you know, somebody, and this little fifteen year 0:14:19.516 --> 0:14:22.516 old kid came up to me and he knew everything 0:14:22.916 --> 0:14:25.436 about the Hollies. Knew every B side, he knew every 0:14:25.476 --> 0:14:27.516 A side, he knew everything that we've done. In a 0:14:27.596 --> 0:14:30.796 foreign man. He was a big Hollies fan. It was 0:14:31.636 --> 0:14:36.236 Rodney Bingenheimer, who later became a very famous DJ in 0:14:36.316 --> 0:14:40.356 Los Angeles. And so Rodney looked at me and he said, so, 0:14:40.556 --> 0:14:43.876 what are you doing after this getting together? I said, 0:14:44.076 --> 0:14:47.396 I you know, I'm English, So I said, I'm not sure. 0:14:47.716 --> 0:14:50.636 What do you think you're doing? He said, well, I 0:14:50.716 --> 0:14:53.236 have these friends and they're recording down the street, and 0:14:53.276 --> 0:14:54.996 I thought you might want to go to a session. 0:14:55.436 --> 0:14:58.796 And I said it sounds interesting. Who are your friends 0:14:59.196 --> 0:15:01.676 and he said they called the Mamas and the Paupers. 0:15:02.516 --> 0:15:05.196 Now I'd seen their first album cover and I saw 0:15:05.436 --> 0:15:08.156 Michelle on the front and it was very attracted to 0:15:08.276 --> 0:15:15.596 this blonde, you know, hippie southern California girl. And when 0:15:15.676 --> 0:15:20.076 I went into the session, John and Danny and Michelle 0:15:20.356 --> 0:15:22.996 were putting an overdope in the studio, so I couldn't 0:15:22.996 --> 0:15:25.556 go in there, but outside the studio was cast. So 0:15:25.596 --> 0:15:28.676 I started talking to Cass. And one of the things 0:15:28.716 --> 0:15:31.076 she asked me, she said, what do you think John 0:15:31.156 --> 0:15:34.876 Lennon would think about the Mamas and Papas? And I said, well, 0:15:34.876 --> 0:15:36.996 you know, I don't know John that well, but I 0:15:37.116 --> 0:15:40.076 know that he would probably keep you at arm's length, 0:15:40.236 --> 0:15:43.116 you know, until he figured out that he was comfortable 0:15:43.156 --> 0:15:46.916 with you when Danny would open up. And I said, so, 0:15:47.276 --> 0:15:50.356 he probably would put your music down at first before 0:15:50.396 --> 0:15:54.116 he accepted it. And I look at Cass and she's crying. 0:15:54.596 --> 0:15:57.676 What I didn't know is that Cass had a crush 0:15:57.836 --> 0:16:02.156 on John Lennon, and that's how I met Cass. Wow, 0:16:02.716 --> 0:16:06.036 interesting story. Had you heard The Mamas and the Papa's 0:16:06.116 --> 0:16:08.756 music at that time or not yet? I had heard 0:16:08.756 --> 0:16:11.236 the music because I had that first, that first album, 0:16:12.156 --> 0:16:14.396 so I did know that they were a pretty damn 0:16:14.476 --> 0:16:20.316 fine band. And it was only you know when I 0:16:20.396 --> 0:16:24.196 told you that I think that Cass intuitively knew what 0:16:25.116 --> 0:16:29.116 Stephen and David's sound would do with an added harmony. 0:16:29.196 --> 0:16:31.916 I think she knew right from the very beginning before 0:16:31.956 --> 0:16:34.996 any of us, what that would sound like. You know, 0:16:36.116 --> 0:16:39.596 she's in my prayers every single night. She's the last 0:16:39.596 --> 0:16:44.196 face I see when I go through my prayers, and 0:16:44.316 --> 0:16:46.116 she will always be there. And it's one of the 0:16:46.156 --> 0:16:48.676 reasons why on every album that we have made since 0:16:48.716 --> 0:16:52.436 she passed away, we have dedicated the album to Cass because, 0:16:53.276 --> 0:16:57.036 in a strange way, she started it all beautiful and 0:16:57.116 --> 0:17:01.636 it makes sense that she would understand the three voices 0:17:01.676 --> 0:17:04.636 because of her role in the Mamas and the Papas. 0:17:04.676 --> 0:17:08.636 She understood three part harmony. Yes, it makes sense. It 0:17:08.676 --> 0:17:11.036 makes sense. And she fought to get into that band 0:17:11.076 --> 0:17:14.036 because they didn't want her in that band, but she knew, 0:17:14.156 --> 0:17:17.396 she knew that her voice would do something special with theirs. 0:17:17.556 --> 0:17:20.836 That's right, that's right. But she she physically, she didn't 0:17:20.916 --> 0:17:23.516 look like, you know, she should be in that band. 0:17:23.996 --> 0:17:26.436 You know, she was. She was heavy. She was a 0:17:26.516 --> 0:17:29.316 large lady, and she knew it. But boy, could cast 0:17:29.436 --> 0:17:31.636 Elliott sing. Did you ever get to sing with her? 0:17:32.836 --> 0:17:36.116 She is the only voice on the first Crosby stills 0:17:36.116 --> 0:17:38.996 in Nash record that is not me and David and Stephen. 0:17:39.596 --> 0:17:42.356 I didn't know that. That's amazing. What does she sing? 0:17:42.396 --> 0:17:45.116 Do you remember? Yeah, she sang a high harmony on 0:17:45.636 --> 0:17:52.716 pre road downs. Wow. So cool. We'll be back after 0:17:52.756 --> 0:17:59.236 a quick break with more from Rick Rubin and Graham Nash. 0:17:59.916 --> 0:18:04.316 We're back with Rick Rubin's conversation with Graham Nash. How 0:18:04.596 --> 0:18:12.076 was the David who passed different than the David laying 0:18:12.116 --> 0:18:17.036 on the couch at Casses. David was a very interesting 0:18:17.076 --> 0:18:22.396 couple of people. On one side, he could be most generous, funny, 0:18:23.476 --> 0:18:27.596 brilliant at telling stories, obvious, really brilliant at singing and 0:18:27.756 --> 0:18:31.876 playing the guitar, totally unique. The other side of David 0:18:32.436 --> 0:18:35.356 was if there was something that he didn't like, he 0:18:35.476 --> 0:18:39.356 had no problem in telling you. And he could become 0:18:39.676 --> 0:18:42.956 nasty and he could become vicious. And those were the 0:18:42.996 --> 0:18:46.636 two sides of David. And I always wanted the first side. 0:18:46.876 --> 0:18:50.636 You know, I want to feel easy. I want to 0:18:50.876 --> 0:18:52.916 I want to feel like I want to you know, 0:18:52.996 --> 0:18:55.676 I want to feel part of whatever. But the other 0:18:55.716 --> 0:19:02.396 side of David was pretty scary. Knowing that scary side 0:19:02.396 --> 0:19:06.956 of him did it help you to feel like that's 0:19:06.996 --> 0:19:10.916 just David or did he always personal? If he would 0:19:10.956 --> 0:19:14.276 say something not nice, it would feel personal. And I 0:19:14.316 --> 0:19:16.716 always knew that that part of David was there. I 0:19:17.116 --> 0:19:21.396 tried to stare our relationship away from the nasty side 0:19:21.396 --> 0:19:24.956 of David and we managed to do that probably ninety 0:19:24.996 --> 0:19:28.716 five percent of the time that we moved together. Tell 0:19:28.716 --> 0:19:32.276 me about leaving England. How popular were the Hollies. I 0:19:32.316 --> 0:19:34.436 think of them as very popular. I don't really know. 0:19:34.556 --> 0:19:37.996 I wasn't there. How popular were the Hollies? How about 0:19:38.116 --> 0:19:43.276 fifteen top ten records in seven years? Wow? So popular 0:19:43.516 --> 0:19:47.116 popular band? Yes? Tell me about the world that the 0:19:47.196 --> 0:19:51.516 Hollies appeared in. What was the world that allowed the 0:19:51.716 --> 0:19:55.716 Hollies to come together? The Hollies were five kids from 0:19:55.756 --> 0:19:58.276 the north of England who made it down to London 0:19:58.436 --> 0:20:03.476 and managed to be recorded, and as I said, we 0:20:03.516 --> 0:20:07.876 had many, many top ten records. It was easy and strange, 0:20:07.876 --> 0:20:10.196 but it was very easy for me to leave that 0:20:10.276 --> 0:20:14.916 band because it happened at a time when we had 0:20:14.956 --> 0:20:17.716 recorded a song called King Midas in Reverse, which is 0:20:17.756 --> 0:20:22.716 a song that I wrote. And normally a Holly's release 0:20:23.076 --> 0:20:25.356 would go into the top ten within the first couple 0:20:25.396 --> 0:20:29.076 of weeks, this didn't This only made it to the 0:20:29.156 --> 0:20:36.516 low thirties, and so the Hollies stopped trusting my musical path. 0:20:37.716 --> 0:20:40.036 So it happened. At that time, I was feeling a 0:20:40.116 --> 0:20:46.436 little removed from them, and then David came into my life. 0:20:47.436 --> 0:20:50.236 And at one point I had gone from London to 0:20:50.556 --> 0:20:53.556 Los Angeles to spend a few days with Johnny Mitchell. 0:20:54.116 --> 0:20:56.956 And when I got to the house, there were other 0:20:57.036 --> 0:21:00.836 voices there, which I wasn't too happy with, but it 0:21:00.916 --> 0:21:03.476 was David and Stephen and they were having dinner with Johnny, 0:21:04.236 --> 0:21:07.476 and at one point after dinner, I'm smoking a big one. 0:21:07.836 --> 0:21:10.516 David said to Steve and play play Willie that song 0:21:10.596 --> 0:21:12.836 that we were doing, and they were doing a two 0:21:12.876 --> 0:21:15.236 part harmony on a song of Steven's called you Don't 0:21:15.236 --> 0:21:17.916 Have to Cry. They got to the end of it, 0:21:18.276 --> 0:21:22.316 and I was overwhelming how beautiful the song was and 0:21:22.396 --> 0:21:26.436 how simple it was, and how beautiful it was, and 0:21:26.516 --> 0:21:28.916 I asked them to sing it again, and they sang 0:21:28.916 --> 0:21:34.596 it again. In the meantime, I'm learning. I asked them 0:21:34.796 --> 0:21:38.036 to sing it just one more time, and when they did, 0:21:38.076 --> 0:21:42.796 I put my harmony on and my world changed. Completely amazing. 0:21:43.036 --> 0:21:47.556 Once I heard that sound, which happened within the first 0:21:47.636 --> 0:21:51.436 forty five seconds of as Ever singing together, that sound 0:21:51.556 --> 0:21:55.196 was created. That was how magical it seemed to me. 0:21:56.476 --> 0:22:00.196 And once I had heard that, there was no doubt 0:22:00.236 --> 0:22:03.036 as a musician what I had to do. I had 0:22:03.076 --> 0:22:07.796 to undo my life and reform my life. And that's 0:22:07.836 --> 0:22:11.396 what I did. I left the Hollies, I left my equipment. 0:22:11.836 --> 0:22:15.756 I came to America with a suitcase and my guitar 0:22:15.876 --> 0:22:18.596 and a strange mirror that I have that I still 0:22:18.636 --> 0:22:23.556 have to this day. And it was overwhelmingly easy to 0:22:23.676 --> 0:22:26.036 leave the Hollies, and a lot of people thought I 0:22:26.116 --> 0:22:29.356 was crazy because it was a very popular band, and 0:22:29.996 --> 0:22:32.316 as a matter of fact, they're still going to this day. 0:22:33.036 --> 0:22:37.916 And I think this week, Beautiful is the sixtieth anniversary 0:22:37.956 --> 0:22:42.436 of the release of our first record, Amazing, tell me 0:22:42.516 --> 0:22:47.516 about it? So cool? Has there ever been a live 0:22:47.596 --> 0:22:51.636 Hollies reunion? Have you ever sung together since leaving or never? Yes. 0:22:52.316 --> 0:22:54.356 I got a call one day from Tony Hicks that 0:22:55.516 --> 0:22:59.076 there was a very famous English television show called Top 0:22:59.116 --> 0:23:02.916 of the Pops and we had done the very first one. 0:23:03.796 --> 0:23:06.716 And this was twenty five years later. And they wanted 0:23:06.716 --> 0:23:11.636 the Hollies to do the show again, and obviously I 0:23:11.716 --> 0:23:15.916 wasn't there. I was in America, and so I went 0:23:15.956 --> 0:23:19.836 over there and we did sing and we did a 0:23:19.876 --> 0:23:21.796 short tour after that. I think it was in like 0:23:22.116 --> 0:23:27.636 eighty three or something, and there's a radio show wanted 0:23:27.756 --> 0:23:31.476 to record the entire show on two tracks, and they 0:23:31.516 --> 0:23:35.556 did and it was beautiful. So I did sing with 0:23:35.596 --> 0:23:38.236 the Hollies after I left, and I was proud to 0:23:38.276 --> 0:23:43.036 do it, and that same magic was there. It's beautiful, 0:23:43.036 --> 0:23:45.276 and it's beautiful that there's a recording that exists that 0:23:45.356 --> 0:23:50.116 people can experience it beautiful. Was your relationship with Janie 0:23:50.276 --> 0:23:55.156 at all in the consideration of your deciding to leave 0:23:55.196 --> 0:24:01.036 England or was it purely the band? Well, you know, 0:24:01.236 --> 0:24:03.636 in the big picture, it was purely the band. But 0:24:03.716 --> 0:24:07.036 in the small picture, you know, the addition of Joni 0:24:07.116 --> 0:24:11.756 Mitchell to the to the equation was fantastic. Yeah, because 0:24:11.756 --> 0:24:14.476 I imagine if you're at the age that you're at, 0:24:15.476 --> 0:24:19.436 you're starting a relationship with someone that you feel strongly about. 0:24:19.636 --> 0:24:24.156 I could see that having a strong gravitational forces. Absolutely, 0:24:24.796 --> 0:24:27.116 we have known each other a long time. Rickon, you 0:24:27.156 --> 0:24:29.596 know that I've always said that my life has been 0:24:30.076 --> 0:24:34.036 a magic story from beginning to end, and quite frankly, 0:24:34.316 --> 0:24:37.836 with the release of my new record, it's still going on, 0:24:37.996 --> 0:24:43.756 you know, sixty years later. Incredible and speaking to that magic. 0:24:43.876 --> 0:24:48.316 My first memory of I don't even know if we met, 0:24:48.396 --> 0:24:51.676 but of seeing you was I was on the beach 0:24:51.676 --> 0:24:54.756 in Kauai. I don't know, thirty years ago, maybe one 0:24:54.756 --> 0:24:56.396 of the first times I was in Kauhai. Might have 0:24:56.436 --> 0:24:58.756 been the first time I was in Kawai and I 0:24:58.836 --> 0:25:01.836 was on Hanale Beach and I was laying on the 0:25:01.836 --> 0:25:07.876 beach and it was Christmas, and I know Santa Claus 0:25:07.876 --> 0:25:10.716 in full garb coming down the beach giving everyone on 0:25:10.756 --> 0:25:15.156 the beach candy canes, and that was you. Yeah, that's right. 0:25:15.876 --> 0:25:19.236 I'd lived on the island for a great many years 0:25:19.356 --> 0:25:23.156 and it was an annual trip that me and my 0:25:23.236 --> 0:25:26.796 family did. We would go and dress up and put 0:25:26.916 --> 0:25:29.116 funny hats on and all that kind of stuff and 0:25:29.156 --> 0:25:32.276 hand out candy canes to everybody that wanted one. So 0:25:32.316 --> 0:25:35.836 that that was the first time you saw me. Yeah, funny, Yeah, 0:25:35.836 --> 0:25:37.356 I didn't. I didn't meet you at that time, but 0:25:37.396 --> 0:25:43.396 someone's like, oh, that's Graham Nash. Yeah, coming to California 0:25:43.636 --> 0:25:46.436 from the experience you had in England, What was the 0:25:46.476 --> 0:25:49.476 world of California like in those days? How was it 0:25:49.516 --> 0:25:52.076 different than even the music scene that you came from 0:25:52.076 --> 0:25:57.116 in England? How did it feel different? It felt different 0:25:58.196 --> 0:26:01.716 from the point of view of freedom. When we were 0:26:01.716 --> 0:26:04.716 in England, if you didn't know John and Paul and 0:26:04.756 --> 0:26:09.036 George and Ringo, you and nobody. You couldn't touch the ball. 0:26:09.876 --> 0:26:13.036 You couldn't add the base if you wanted to. You 0:26:13.076 --> 0:26:16.076 had to talk to your producer, who talked to the engineer, 0:26:16.076 --> 0:26:19.756 who would then, you know, in his white smart turned 0:26:19.796 --> 0:26:24.116 the bass up, you know, making records then? What was 0:26:24.116 --> 0:26:28.756 was wonderful? I mean there we were making actual records. Fantastic. 0:26:29.316 --> 0:26:32.076 It was a different world in the freedom. When I 0:26:32.116 --> 0:26:35.156 came here, people wanted to know my opinion. People said, 0:26:35.436 --> 0:26:36.916 you know, what do you think of this? How do 0:26:36.916 --> 0:26:39.516 you think we should do this? What would you do here? 0:26:40.436 --> 0:26:43.956 And it was it was freedom. I mean Laurel Canyon 0:26:43.996 --> 0:26:47.236 in those days was was unbelievable. It was sunshine. It 0:26:47.316 --> 0:26:50.516 was full of music, It was full of pretty ladies. 0:26:51.076 --> 0:26:55.436 It was in a way, a small rock and roll paradise, 0:26:56.076 --> 0:26:58.996 and it was very, very different from the way that 0:26:59.756 --> 0:27:03.796 we had been recording in England. When I said that 0:27:03.876 --> 0:27:06.676 we had to talk to our producer and then he 0:27:06.716 --> 0:27:08.876 would talk to the engineer to turn the base up. 0:27:09.516 --> 0:27:12.516 Once she started to sell a lot of records, you 0:27:12.556 --> 0:27:15.396 could do what you want, and we did. And it 0:27:15.516 --> 0:27:19.516 was a thing that even David and I recognized and 0:27:19.556 --> 0:27:23.116 we admitted to each other that we can't be a 0:27:23.156 --> 0:27:26.636 product of this music industry that gets forgotten. We have 0:27:26.756 --> 0:27:31.076 to maintain our hold on the tools of our trade, 0:27:31.436 --> 0:27:34.156 meaning we need to be in a place where we 0:27:34.196 --> 0:27:37.516 can call up a studio book, the time book, the 0:27:37.556 --> 0:27:40.636 tape book, the musicians and do it. And it was 0:27:40.756 --> 0:27:43.516 very different from the way that I was recording in England. 0:27:44.356 --> 0:27:46.076 So in England you felt like you were at the 0:27:46.156 --> 0:27:49.276 mercy of the powers that be about when you could 0:27:49.276 --> 0:27:52.516 record and all parts of it, whereas in America you 0:27:52.516 --> 0:27:54.796 had it more of a sense of freedom. Absolutely. I 0:27:54.796 --> 0:27:57.836 mean in even an abbey road where it was we 0:27:57.836 --> 0:28:01.596 were recording, we had to stop recording at ten thirty 0:28:01.996 --> 0:28:05.956 because that's what Ron Richards, our producers said, And it 0:28:05.996 --> 0:28:08.996 wasn't until years later we realized that ten thirty was 0:28:09.236 --> 0:28:12.476 time when the pubs were shutting and they wanted to 0:28:12.596 --> 0:28:16.116 drink after the day, so they would shut everything down 0:28:16.196 --> 0:28:20.116 at ten thirty. Now, then, obviously when we started to 0:28:20.116 --> 0:28:23.676 sell millions of records and it all changed, then we 0:28:23.676 --> 0:28:27.756 went past ten thirty, that's for sure. Technically, you've you've 0:28:27.796 --> 0:28:30.436 seen a lot of changes technically in the recording business 0:28:30.516 --> 0:28:33.356 from when you started till now. Describe some of what 0:28:33.476 --> 0:28:36.836 you think have been some of the biggest changes along 0:28:36.876 --> 0:28:39.476 the way from the earliest days of the Hollies to 0:28:39.596 --> 0:28:43.036 now in terms of what you can create and how 0:28:43.076 --> 0:28:46.396 you can create it. The first time we were recording 0:28:46.476 --> 0:28:49.916 it was on two track and that was it. And 0:28:49.996 --> 0:28:53.556 now you have a thousand tracks on your iPhone. Yeah, 0:28:53.636 --> 0:28:56.876 it's very, very different. But you know something, as you 0:28:56.916 --> 0:28:59.836 well know, no amount of technology you can make a 0:28:59.836 --> 0:29:02.516