“How could you not”: Why Graham Nash thought nobody could dislike The Rolling Stones
No band is bound to be everyone’s cup of tea. There are certainly places where tastes can overlap over time, but there are many bands that either have that one song that drives people up the wall or have a few asterisks next to their best moments that can turn off a casual listener. Even though Graham Nash seemed to perfect the art of harmony singing when he worked in Crosby, Stills, and Nash, he knew that some of his musical colleagues were universal in their appeal.
Then again, there aren’t many people who can claim to have seen it all in rock and roll like Nash. Even though he may have been known as one of the forebearers in folk-rock when he started off with his group, his first life with The Hollies put him there on the ground floor when the first British Invasion bands were working, eventually getting to rub elbows with bands like The Beatles on the touring circuit.
And it’s not hard to see their style rub off on Nash’s songwriting. The whole point of him leaving The Hollies was about wanting to chase something bigger than simple pop songs, and since the Fab Four were already starting new lives as studio lab rats once they left the road, ‘Marrakesh Express’ was already pointing Nash in the direction of David Crosby when he first started collaborating with The Byrds guitarist.
If The Beatles taught him to dream, then The Rolling Stones were responsible for teaching everyone what a true rock and roller looked like. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards may have been friendly with The Beatles, but looking at the way they behaved in the public eye, they represented everything filthy about rock and roll. Behind the scenes, though, Nash remembered them being extremely gracious to The Hollies on tour.
Despite their bad boy persona, Nash said that their initial tours with The Rolling Stones were a crash course in how to behave. Outside of the traditional rules of the road, like smashing hotel rooms and drinking until you couldn’t see straight, Nash was grateful to have someone like Brian Jones in his corner when on the road, especially when he got to witness them debuting their classic material live.
Even though Nash had other plans, he felt that there was no one who could put down The Stones for anything they did, saying, “The Rolling Stones were very encouraging to us in the beginning. We played several shows with them. They helped us out writing lyrics. Mick explained to me what ‘Satisfaction’ was about. I always loved their music. How the hell could you not like The Rolling Stones’ music?”
And despite their guttural bluesy tone never resonating with Nash’s style, it was easy to see him taking cues out of their playbook when making his own ballads. ‘The Glimmer Twins’ were always capable of having some lyrics rip your heart out, and hearing Nash make something as earnest as ‘Teach Your Children’ may as well have been his own take on ‘Wild Horses’.
Then again, anyone who’s trying to emulate The Stones should know that their signature swagger isn’t something that can be taught. Many people can study Jagger’s moves or Richards’s right hand, but the biggest lesson anyone can learn from them is that the music comes from inside you rather than copying someone else.
