Credit: Far Out / Acroterion

The songwriter out of everybody’s league, according to Graham Nash: “In my humble opinion”

Mon 11 May 2026 15:19, UK

There are some names that stick out a mile when looking back at the cultural cornucopia of the 1960s and ’70s.

The plethora of wonderful musicians includes a crop of stars that have lasted decades longer than many predicted, with The Beatles, Neil Young and The Rolling Stones among some of the most well-trodden paths in the history of music. However, for the discerning ear, the bright and shining vocals of Graham Nash mean he deserves to be held in the same high regard.

A two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Nash is a name which often flies under the radar. A pivotal figure in rock and roll, the Blackpool native’s journey began at the very start of the rock explosion as he helped launch The Hollies into the pop music stratosphere. They became one of the most potent British invasion acts around and were topping the charts when Nash was still a comparative nipper.

The Hollies, unable to match their counterparts in The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, effectively disbanded, and as the decade turned towards the debauched 1970s, Nash was drifting from the group. He saddled up with some other rock renegades — Buffalo Springfield’s Stephen Stills and The Byrds’ David Crosby to become a significant trio. Later, that trio would become a quartet, then a trio, then a quartet, and so on. This means that Nash is best placed to have a viewpoint on who might be considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of the era.

In many interviews, Nash has shared his appreciation for acts like the Beatles and, of course, his one-time girlfriend Joni Mitchell. However, for the British singer-songwriter, there is one scribe who sticks out among the pack: Bob Dylan.

Graham Nash - 1960s - Musician — Credit: Far Out / Alamy

When discussing a collection of his favourite albums with LouderSound, Nash selected Dylan’s seminal album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan as one of his most cherished and noted: “And lastly, Bob. How fortunate I feel being alive at the same time as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Joni, James Taylor, Paul Simon… so many wonderful writers.”

With The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, the mercurial songwriter created one of the most iconic records of the 1960s, and its presence can still be felt to this day. The album is full of classic Dylan moments, and through his clever lyricism, it firmly sheds light on the singer’s growing songwriting ability. Dylan’s self-titled debut only included two original songs, and 11 of the 13 tracks on this record are Dylan’s own. It’s the moment he started to flex his muscles creatively and become the lyricist we now know him to be.

However, for Nash, it is simply no contest when matching them up against one another: “But no one comes close to Dylan in my humble opinion. ‘Blowing in the Wind’, ‘Masters of War’, ‘A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall’, ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right…’ what incredible pieces of poetry. I believe that he was well honoured by the Nobel Prize.”

It’s hard to argue with the assessment of such a profound songwriter in their own right. And when considering the sheer depth of the record at hand, it’s a wonder that, when asked the same question, anybody picks any other artist.

Part of what resonated so deeply with Nash was Dylan’s ability to elevate songwriting beyond conventional pop structures and into the realm of literature and social commentary. At a time when many artists were still primarily focused on romance and escapism, the icon was writing songs that confronted war, inequality and existential uncertainty with startling poetic weight.

For fellow songwriters like Nash, hearing tracks such as ‘A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall’ proved that popular music could carry the same emotional and intellectual gravity as great novels or poetry.

Dylan’s influence can also be heard throughout Nash’s own work, particularly in the introspective lyricism that defined Crosby, Stills & Nash. While Nash maintained a warmer and more melodic songwriting style than Dylan, the emphasis on honesty and observation clearly stemmed from the same tradition that Dylan helped pioneer in the early 1960s.

The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, therefore, represents more than just a favourite album for Nash; it symbolises the moment modern songwriting expanded into something far more ambitious, personal and culturally significant.