Post by erik on Oct 1, 2022 18:57:24 GMT -5
The trio of David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash are in this week's Pop Music Hits Spotlight with Nash's own exotic African train odyssey.
MARRAKESH EXPRESS (Crosby, Stills, and Nash; Atlantic; 1969)—The idea of what came to be known as “Supergroups” in popular music really came to being during the politically, socially, and musically turbulent years of the late 1960’s, with English groups like Cream and Blind Faith leading the way. But one such supergroup pairing happened in Los Angeles in late 1968 that would turn the concept totally upside down. This happened when David Crosby, who had been canned from The Byrds because of rampant drug-fueled egotism, hooked up with Graham Nash, who was dissatisfied with his position in the British group The Hollies, and Stephen Stills, formerly of the folk-country-rock outfit Buffalo Springfield. Hooking up with managers Elliot Roberts and David Geffen, both of whom would soon have outsized but important impacts on the Los Angeles music scene of the late 1960’s and 1970’s, the trio of Crosby, Stills, and Nash proceeded to record their self-titled debut at Wally Heider’s recording favcility in the heart of Hollywood during the late winter of 1969, fueled as they were by the vibes (and the copious smell of marijuana smole) emanating only a few miles away in Laurel Canyon. Although Stills was a fairly dominant force on the album, the English-born Nash got in a word or two, notably on a song called “Marrakesh Express”, which had been germinating in his mind for three years or so, about his impressions on a Moroccan train trip from Casablanca to Marrakesh. It certainly fit the trio’s acoustic folk-rock vibe, augmented by innovative keyboard riffs and close harmonies by the three of them. As an album, Crosby, Stills, and Nash did quite respectably upon its release in late May 1969, eventually reaching #6 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart, and staying in the chart for 105 straight weeks. “Marrakesh Express”, meanwhile, while not necessarily a gigantic hit, was nevertheless played enough on FM rock radio to reach a peak of #28 on the Hot 100 in September 1969; and it eventually led to the trio winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artists of 1969. Even before that, however, with their appearance at Woodstock in August 1969, the group had become a quartet with the addition of Stills’ former Buffalo Springfield band mate Neil Young, resulting in even larger success…not to mention larger egos and ever more copious drug use.
MARRAKESH EXPRESS (Crosby, Stills, and Nash; Atlantic; 1969)—The idea of what came to be known as “Supergroups” in popular music really came to being during the politically, socially, and musically turbulent years of the late 1960’s, with English groups like Cream and Blind Faith leading the way. But one such supergroup pairing happened in Los Angeles in late 1968 that would turn the concept totally upside down. This happened when David Crosby, who had been canned from The Byrds because of rampant drug-fueled egotism, hooked up with Graham Nash, who was dissatisfied with his position in the British group The Hollies, and Stephen Stills, formerly of the folk-country-rock outfit Buffalo Springfield. Hooking up with managers Elliot Roberts and David Geffen, both of whom would soon have outsized but important impacts on the Los Angeles music scene of the late 1960’s and 1970’s, the trio of Crosby, Stills, and Nash proceeded to record their self-titled debut at Wally Heider’s recording favcility in the heart of Hollywood during the late winter of 1969, fueled as they were by the vibes (and the copious smell of marijuana smole) emanating only a few miles away in Laurel Canyon. Although Stills was a fairly dominant force on the album, the English-born Nash got in a word or two, notably on a song called “Marrakesh Express”, which had been germinating in his mind for three years or so, about his impressions on a Moroccan train trip from Casablanca to Marrakesh. It certainly fit the trio’s acoustic folk-rock vibe, augmented by innovative keyboard riffs and close harmonies by the three of them. As an album, Crosby, Stills, and Nash did quite respectably upon its release in late May 1969, eventually reaching #6 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart, and staying in the chart for 105 straight weeks. “Marrakesh Express”, meanwhile, while not necessarily a gigantic hit, was nevertheless played enough on FM rock radio to reach a peak of #28 on the Hot 100 in September 1969; and it eventually led to the trio winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artists of 1969. Even before that, however, with their appearance at Woodstock in August 1969, the group had become a quartet with the addition of Stills’ former Buffalo Springfield band mate Neil Young, resulting in even larger success…not to mention larger egos and ever more copious drug use.