crosby stills nash and young suite judy blue eyes

He was a master at these ingenious middle parts, and the precise vocal blend needed to complement the other two voices. In CSN, except when singing lead, he’d invariably sing the middle part, which is the toughest part to sing, the glue that holds the top and bottom part together and completes the chord. David Crosby, who sang harmonies in the The Balladeers before The Byrds, was then and remains one of the greatest and most creative harmony singers of all time. And although Stephen Stills was on fire in terms of songwriting, writing remarkable songs of love for Judy Collins, he had no outlet for them: Buffalo Springfield had already imploded by 1968.Īll three were exceptional singers – each unique, and gifted vocally in different ways.

Yet Nash’s great “King Midas In Reverse” was deemed a little too strange for The Hollies, as was Crosby’s “Triad” for The Byrds. Stills’ “For What It’s Worth” was a giant hit, as was “Eight Miles High” for The Byrds, co-written by Crosby, and also many Hollies hits that Nash co-wrote, including “Carrie Anne,” “On A Carousel,” and “Stop Stop Stop.”īut all three had expanded as artistic songwriters, inspired and empowered by the expansive evolution of songwriting sparked by Dylan, The Beatles, and others. And all three were already serious songwriters. It became a hit, going to #21 on American pop charts, and #11 in Canada.ĬSN all came from big rock bands before getting together: David Crosby in The Byrds, Stephen Stills in Buffalo Springfield and Graham Nash in The Hollies. When it came time for a second single to be released in September 1969, Atlantic, their label, deemed it too long, and it was edited down to 4:35 in length. Stills started composing the various sections which became “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” before “Hey Jude” was released and before the trio formed. Of these, one of the fundamental ones was song length, a practical consideration as any song over three minutes was usually too long for radio. There in the bounty of amazing original songs from all three was undeniably inspired greatness, and also a delightfully flagrant breaking of once-conventional pop music strictures. Already it provided hope-even before we learned that the dream was over-that good music was still to come. The album was released in May 1969, months before the official break-up of The Beatles. Rich, soulful, heartfelt harmony.Īdd to that their expansively-inspired original songs, each empowered and inspired by the times, their friendship, and their liberation from their previous bands. Just three musicians making music, and singing harmony. Great musicians and songwriters united by great songs sung in harmony. CSN was a simple equation, not unlike that of The Band.

Crosby stills nash and young suite judy blue eyes