Graham Nash is unquestionably a music legend. In the United Kingdom, he was heavily influenced by the rising popularity of skiffle music in the 1950s and identified heavily with the harmony of the Everly Brothers.

Together with boyhood friend Allan Clarke, they formed The Hollies in 1962, and with the addition of guitarist Tony Hicks the following year, they perfected their three-part harmony and became one of the most popular bands in England.

They broke through to the U.S. market in 1965 with “Look Through Any Window,” then cracking the Top 10 with “Bus Stop” in 1966.

With hits like “Carrie Anne,” “On A Carousel”, and “Stop, Stop, Stop,” the band got into a comfortable niche. But over time Nash’s songwriting matured. He wrote “Teach Your Children” and “Marakesh Express” while still a member of The Hollies, but the band was not particularly receptive to them.

They landed gigs and TV appearances on the West Coast in Los Angeles. While there, Nash was introduced to many gifted songwriters who had a profound impact on him. Many musicians there also led a hip lifestyle.

After being introduced to David Crosby (ex-Byrds) and then Stephen Stills, who later on introduced him to Neil Young. Stills and Young were ex-members of the Buffalo Springfield. The harmony that was created when Crosby, Stills and Nash first met and sang together was life-altering for Nash. He had a musical epiphany. There was no turning back. He abruptly left the group and his long-time friend and bandmate Allan Clarke at the time they had achieved great success.

Nash, who performs at the State Theatre in Ithaca on March 7, spoke with Warren Linhart recently. Here are the highlights from their conversation.

W.L.: Let’s focus for a moment on recent years, you’ve been prolific and on many fronts. You released a well-received, deeply personal album, “This Path Tonight.” Your book, “Wild Tales,” an eye-opening, no-holds-barred account of your musical and personal journey through nearly 60 years as a musician was published. Wow, that was certainly an interesting read!

G.N.: I’ve had a wild life!

W.L. You’ve also been busy combing through the archived tapes to compile the box sets for Stephen Stills, David Crosby, CSNY ’74 (those tapes were culled from the mammoth tour Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young did in 1974), as well as your own box sets. With all of the material you guys recorded over the years, that had to be a herculean task going through all those tapes. How did you in effect become the taskmaster for the CSN archives?

G.N.: I try to make everything the best as possible. For example, there were plenty of bootlegs out there that I had heard of the (September 1974) Wembley Stadium show we did ... I knew that we were a much better band than the bootlegs would lead you to believe. That’s why I wanted to spend all that time and energy doing the CSNY ’74 box set because I want people to know that CSNY was a really decent rock and roll band.

[Neil Young is also heavily involved with his own archives. In the late 1980s, he began in earnest to review his unreleased archive material and re-master his music catalog. He is keenly aware of the lack of sound quality with most digital music download formats that many people use. Through his website, neilyoungarchives.com he offers a higher quality remedy, via subscription.]

W.L.: Sadly, you’ve said that as far as you’re concerned, Crosby, Stills and Nash (CSN) and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (CSNY) are done .. it’s over.

(It has been widely reported that the destruction of whatever relationship there was left between CSNY was destroyed in 2014, stemming initially from critical comments made by David Crosby to Neil Young about his relationship with actress Daryl Hannah. Evidently, Crosby also made some caustic remarks that infuriated Nash. In online videos, Nash said that he and Crosby are still not speaking with each other, that Crosby has “torn out the heart of CSN and CSNY.”)

Now with this weighing on your mind along with a significant positive change in your personal life (Nash fell in love with artist Amy Grantham), it's no wonder that the events in life that had pulled you one way or another led you to decide that you needed time to go forward and concentrate on time for you.

G.N.: In terms of CSN and CSNY, yeah, I think it’s all done. I’m moving on into the future, which is concentrating on what you said, is on me.

Crosby, Stills and Nash performing in Rochester on Oct. 24, 1984. Photo by Warren Linhart.

W.L.: Regarding the music, I’m sure you realize that you have legions of fans that will be wondering in light of this sad (band) situation, how much vaulted archival music is left.

If there is any, would any of that music in the vaults eventually see the light of day? You'd be the one to know.

G.N.: There are many shows of CNY and CSNY that have never been put out there. I’m working right now on a 50th anniversary issue of the “Deja Vu” album. I was listening yesterday to tapes of our set from the Fillmore East shows in 1970 ... so there are archival things going on.

W.L: Speaking of archives, New York Times printed a report last year on the damage caused by the 2008 Universal Music Archives fire in L.A.

Many recording artists’ master tapes stored at this facility were destroyed. Did that fire destroy any of your material?

G.N.: There were a couple of Crosby-Nash tapes that were lost in that fire. I’m glad that they finally admitted to the extent of that fire and of course you know when the truth came out it was pretty horrendous how many incredible masters had been lost. For instance Buddy Holly’s masters (The Hollies named themselves as a salute to Buddy Holly) were among those destroyed, but the tapes of Crosby and I that were lost were only copies of a release that we have the master tapes for so we didn’t suffer any loss in that particular fire.

W.L.: There’s no question that music can be powerfully influential, moving people in ways that many other things can’t.

G.N.: Yes!

Graham Nash performing at Darien Lake on Aug. 24, 1984. Photo by Warren Linhart.

W.L.: I think most people find it interesting to learn about how songs come together. Can you talk a little bit about how you approach songwriting?

G.N.: Sure. The art of songwriting is a very mysterious thing, it’s even mysterious to me. What I have to do is basically ... is feel something. For example, when I read something in a newspaper, see something on the television or experience something in real life, I have to feel something. And once I feel something, then I have to start the process of what that is. I try to find the very essence of what I am trying to say, make it as simple as possible to let people know what I am feeling ... that’s what I do, I’m a writer.

I have to feel something, investigate to make sure I have my facts right and then I'm off running and writing songs.

W.L: Many of those influences in your songs stem from simple things, right?

G.N.: Absolutely .. from ordinary moments. For example, me taking Joni Mitchell to breakfast on a miserable day in L.A. in late winter. I know, California is a sunshine state but sometimes it can get pretty miserable and this was one of those days. We left the breakfast place and we passed an antique store and Joni saw a vase in the window that she wanted. It was cheap and beautiful, so she bought it. When we got back to her house, we went through the front door and I said, “Hey Joan, why don’t I light a fire and you put some flowers in that vase that you bought?”

W.L.: Sure, “Our House.” Everybody knows that song, just as they know “Teach Your Children.” Simple Things. Those songs span generations and made lasting impressions on a lot of people.

G.N.: I try to write songs that everyone can understand, you know? “Our House” ... I mean who hasn’t had that kind of situation in their lives? Newly in love with a partner and having a great time, establishing a home. And in terms of “Teach your Children,” I’ve always tried to teach my children to be the best they can be. That’s what I’m trying to be. I don’t make it 100 percent of course but I’m trying to be the best person, the best musician the best father, the best partner ... and like I said, I’ll never make it but I’m trying.

W.L: As I’ve followed your career over the years and especially now that I’ve read your book “Wild Tales,” it appears to me that you’ve remained true to your approach to situations and deal with things as honestly as possible.

G.N.: You know, I’m the same as you, I’m just a person trying to deal with my life. One of the things I do is write songs about what happens to me, that’s all I’m doing really, it’s very simple.

W.L.: You achieved great success early on with The Hollies and that success coincided with a time of great social and cultural change. You’ve consistently said that deep down, you’re a simple man and that life has taken you where it took you. I can’t help but think of one particularly pivotal moment in your career. Your life changed instantly and irreversibly after you met Cass Elliot.

[Living in the Laurel Canyon area of the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, considered an area where the countercultural movement gained a foothold during the mid to late 1960s, the late Cass Elliot (Mama Cass of The Mamas and the Papas) had a profound impact on the lives and careers of many 1960s musicians living and socializing there.]

G.N.: Yes, you know Cass is getting a star on the Hollywood Boulevard in about a month.

W.L.: Well that’s long overdue. So very sad that she passed at 33 years-old in 1974 ... so young.

G.N.: Yes, she was very instrumental in my life. As you mentioned, she was the one who introduced me to Crosby, who introduced me to Stephen and Neil, and my life since then has never been the same and that’s why on every album that I’ve been involved in since she died, I’ve credited Cass because, quite frankly, if it hadn’t been for Cass, you and I would not be talking right now.

W.L.: In a way it seems ironic, your friend Cass who was outwardly gregarious and had a wide circle of friends was the one who introduced you to your future bandmates who were extremely competitive and talented but who were also anything but simple!

G.N.: Yeah, but you know I’m English. We made it through WWI and WWII, both times against the same enemy within a short span of years. English people are very quick to realize how grateful we are to be alive! I was born in 1942 but I remember turning out the lights and closing the blackout curtains so the enemy couldn’t see the houses down below, and the sirens ... so yeah ... crazy, eh? Once you’ve overcome that, if you have a problem, make sure it’s a real problem and not just that your coffee is cold!

W.L: How awful that must have been. Fast-forward, look at what was “breaking news” in years past. There were certainly key news events but not like the present where it seems as if there is breaking news about almost everything left and right, non-stop.

G.N.: What’s happening is that the internet has made the world a lot smaller. I know this world is a gigantic place, but with the internet you have the ability to talk to people all over the world. And they’re faceless, and you don’t know who they are ... and they’re talking. The world is changing at an enormous rate and yes, it seems like there is breaking news every 10 minutes. It used to be every night at 6 o’clock with Walter Cronkite. The truth now is that we must keep hope, we must keep laughter and keep communicating.

W.L.: You’ve done massive stadium tours over the years as well as perform in intimate venues. Last year, you performed a terrific sold-out show along with Shane Fontayne and Todd Caldwell at the Homer Center for the Arts. On March 7 you’ll be performing at Ithaca’s State Theater. How would you describe the ages of your audience these days?

G.N.: I see many folks at the shows bringing their kids. Normally the demographics to the shows is between ages 14 to 70. I keep close tab on that.

W.L.: In some online video clips, you have made subtle comments about the fact that you just passed your 78th birthday. You’re still writing and performing new songs ... what would you like people to think about your legacy?

G.N.: (long pause) On my tombstone, they should just write “I Tried My Best.”

Graham Nash in Ithaca

What: Graham Nash in Concert: “An intimate evening of songs and stories”

Where: Ithaca’s State Theater

When: Saturday, March 7 at 8 pm

Tickets: www.dspshows.com

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Warren Linhart is a concert photographer/journalist, and a retired production staff member of NewsChannel 9 in Syracuse.