Graham Nash picks the artist who influenced everyone: “A rock and roller at heart”
The most that any musician can ask for is to inspire the next generation. Even if people never buy the records they make at the time, there will always be some out there who understand how your heart beats. While Graham Nash had those revelatory moments working in every band that he’s been in, he knew that there were some legends that no one could hold a candle to.
Then again, the idea of influence isn’t something someone can quantify that easily. There might be the record sales that speak for themselves or the number of people that cover an artist’s songs, but looking at the major figures in rock history like The Beatles and Bob Dylan, what made them inspiring was how they were willing to go against the grain of what was allowed at the time.
There was no rulebook that said how someone was supposed to behave as a rockstar or what the next phase of someone’s life was supposed to be after they turned 25, but throughout the 1960s, the Fab Four were the ones responsible for pushing music in new directions, while Dylan took his pure poetry and managed to make it sound even heavier with the sounds of rock and roll behind it.
If both bands worked with both music and lyrics, Joni Mitchell was the complete package when she started strumming her acoustic guitar. Outside of her breathtaking lyrics, Mitchell has remained one of the few artists who knows what the hell she’s doing every time she writes a song, whether that means using different chords that aren’t commonplace for rock or adding different sonic colours with her various open tunings.
While Crosby, Stills, and Nash benefited from those open tunings, Mitchell was never going to get by strictly on her music. Her lyrics were always pure poetry, and looking at everything from Blue to The Hissing of Summer Lawns to Hejira, she was always willing to push herself to write something that could reach into someone’s psyche, whether that was painting a personal narrative or finding inspiration from the biggest names in history.
And despite Nash having a relationship with her that fell out, he still had to acknowledge that no one could ever match her influence, saying, “In 1966, I was introduced to a woman I fell madly in love with. Looking at her one-on-one and listening to at least 20 of the most fabulous songs I’ve ever heard. She’s a tough lady and she’s always been a rock and roller at heart. She has influenced everyone’s lives.”
But her way with words went beyond the pure anger felt in other lyricists. Whereas Dylan could be sharp and biting on many of his finest works, hearing Mitchell talk about the pleasures of her life and the raw beauty in the world in ‘The Circle Game’ while also finding time to open her heart on ‘My Old Man’ is the reason why so many of her songs appeal to people from all demographics.
Many rockstars build their careers out of anger and angst, but Mitchell has always known to put any emotion she feels in her music. Some might try to channel that anger whenever they play, but Mitchell’s music has always been a reflection of her before anything else.
