(Credits: Alamy)
Wed 19 November 2025 20:30, UK
Graham Nash always knew that he was part of something greater whenever he began working with Crosby, Stills, and Nash.
Although The Hollies had been fun, he now had multiple songwriters to work off of, each of whom sounded like absolute angels from the first time they sang together. But even outside his group, he was always a student of any great songwriter that he saw.
While Nash was certainly no slouch as a songwriter, he knew that his writing chops came from years of listening to the greats at work. He had already seen firsthand what the biggest names in the British invasion could sound like before they were even famous, but once he opened himself up to the world of folk music, he realised what he had been missing for all of those years playing rock and roll.
The singer-songwriter genre was first coming to prominence, and all of the greatest in that field knew how to make people feel something at the end of every single chorus. Whether that’s James Taylor or JD Souther or Laura Nyro, there was always someone out there willing to push the envelope when that lone spotlight hit them when they had their acoustic guitar in their hands.
But whether it was during the golden age of the singer-songwriter or the days when rock and roll was first finding its feet, Nash knew when he was dealing with a true original. There have been countless artists who have come and gone throughout rock history, but the right artists are the ones who almost have greatness thrust upon them when they come out with their first records.Â
Graham Nash picks the six best songwriters ever:
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