The Vinyl Dialogues Blog

Stories behind memorable albums of the 1970s as told by the artists

Tag: David Crosby

Rock royalty David Crosby humble and fun in New Jersey show

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On June 2, 2019

In The Vinyl Dialogues Book

David Crosby performed Saturday, June 1, at Cooper River Park in Pennsauken, N.J., to kick off the 2019 Camden County summer concert series. (Photo by Mike Morsch)

David Crosby performed Saturday, June 1, at Cooper River Park in Pennsauken, N.J., to kick off the 2019 Camden County summer concert series.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

David Crosby didn’t end his show Saturday night in Pennsauken, N.J., with a song he had written himself. He ended it with a Neil Young song written for Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

“This is serious now. I’m gonna ask you to please sing really loud,” said Crosby to the large crowd attending the free concert at Cooper River Park for the kickoff event of the 2019 Camden County summer concert series. “This song is really important right now in America. It’s needs to get sung a whole lot really loud. Some people down there in D.C. need to hear it.”

Crosby — politically active throughout his career — and his Sky Trails Band then offered a spirited version of CSN&Y’s “Ohio,” a protest song and counterculture anthem about the Kent State shootings May 4, 1970. Four unarmed students were killed by Ohio National Guard soldiers during a campus protest against the bombing of Cambodia by the U.S. 

Young saw photos of the incident in Life magazine and decided to write the lyrics to “Ohio.” CSN&Y recorded the song at Record Plant Studios on May 21, 1970. It was released as a single in June 1970, but was banned from some AM radio stations because of the challenge to the Nixon administration in the lyrics.

David Crosby and his son, keyboardist James Raymond. (Photo by Mike Morsch)

David Crosby and his son, keyboardist James Raymond.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

The crowd in Pennsauken — which included a fair amount of old hippies, although somewhat surprisingly I didn’t smell any weed — obliged Crosby and sang “Ohio” really loud, the culmination of a performance by Crosby and his band that showed that the 77-year-old rocker has still got it and can bring it on any given night.

A founding member of The Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash — both groups are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — Crosby co-wrote “Eight Miles High” for The Byrds as well as “Wooden Ships” for CS&N, both of which we heard Saturday night, among many of his other hits. 

He may look like an old hippie himself, with his long, white hair and his droopy drawers that would fall right off if it weren’t for suspenders, but Crosby’s voice is still strong. Our rock royalty heroes are getting old — we are, too, along with them — and some of them don’t have the vocal command they once had. 

Crosby isn’t one of those. He’s still got the pipes, has  surrounded himself with brilliant musicians, including his son James Raymond, and still puts emotion into the old songs as well as freshness into his new songs. 

David Crosby has been indicted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of two bands — The Byrds and Crosby, Still & Nash. (Photo by Mike Morsch)

David Crosby has been indicted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of two bands — The Byrds and Crosby, Still & Nash.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

He has admitted in the past to being brash, and he’s still got a touch of that, although he copped to being just “silly” these days to the New Jersey crowd. Reports are that Stills, Nash and Young don’t speak to him now, which might not seem all that unusual for a group that has had several internal dust-ups over the years. But Croz was humble on this evening and seemed to genuinely appreciate that the crowd had come out to see him.

As an aside, if you frequent Twitter, you can follow Crosby and maybe even have an exchange with him. He does engage his fans on that social platform, but be forewarned: He doesn’t suffer fools easily. If you ask him a legit question, you likely will get an answer, albeit short and sweet. Likewise, if you tweet something stupid, he’ll call you out. I’ve had a couple of music-related exchanges with him and have managed to stay out of his doghouse.

And kudos to Camden County for kicking off its summer concert series by bringing in a big name. You don’t often see a top tier artist like Crosby for free. Camden County must have shelled out a keg of gold for this show, but it appeared to be greatly appreciated by those in attendance. 

There are few things better than sitting out in a nice park, on a perfect summer evening, and watching one of our generation’s musical icons.

David Crosby has surrounded himself with brilliant musicians, including lead guitarist Jeff Pevar. (Photo by Mike Morsch)

David Crosby has surrounded himself with brilliant musicians, including lead guitarist Jeff Pevar.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

Channeling the ‘Friday Night at Joni Mitchell’s House’ vibe at the local level

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On September 10, 2017

In The Vinyl Dialogues Book

Lizanne Knott, with Tommy Geddes on the drums. (File photo by Mike Morsch)

Lizanne Knott, with Tommy Geddes on the drums.
(File photo by Mike Morsch)

It was like sitting around the Algonquin Round Table in New York City in the 1920s with the likes of great writers of the time – people like Dorothy Parker and George Kaufman.

Only the writers this time were musicians – like David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman – and it was the early 1970s.

And the venue wasn’t the historic Algonquin Hotel, in which the greatest writers, critics and actors of that earlier era gathered to exchange wordplay and witticisms. It was the living room of Joni Mitchell’s Laurel Canyon home in California.

There, on any given Friday night, some of the greatest singer-songwriters of their generation would pass around a guitar and play some of the songs they had been working on, songs that hadn’t yet been recorded. Songs that would someday be big hits.

“It was the early days of an incredible singer-songwriter movement in Los Angeles,” said Kaylan, who along with Volman were then members of the Turtles. “You were hearing the best songs that these guys had to offer. So if Graham was working on ‘Teach Your Children,’ that’s what he was playing for everybody.”

As the Friday night jam sessions continued, Kaylan thought that the competition among the artists to produce quality songs became more intense.

Nash didn’t see it that way.

“I never thought it was competitive, like ‘Look at what I wrote.’ Stephen and David and Jackson and Joni are incredibly good songwriters,” said Nash. “I didn’t feel competitive. I thought it was the joy of the discovery of a new song. We had a lot of music in our lives and that’s what we did.”

They were just being musicians, Nash recalls.

Skip Denenberg (File photo by Mike Morsch)

Skip Denenberg
(File photo by Mike Morsch)

“When we’d go anywhere, we’d take our guitars with us. That’s what people did. Everyone carried their guitars around,” said Nash. “And of course, those people – me and David and Stephen and Jackson and Joni – we were very creative. We always had new songs, and the first thing you did is play them for your friends.”

That story, about Friday nights at Joni Mitchell’s place, is excerpted from Volume I of the Vinyl Dialogues. And I was reminded of it when some local Philadelphia-area musicians got together Saturday night at a place called The Underground in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.

Lizanne Knott, Skip Denenberg and Michael Braunfeld – accompanied by the talented and always entertaining Tommy Geddes on drums – got together for an “in the round” show where each artist alternated telling stories and playing original songs in an intimate setting to an intimate audience.

It was not unlike sitting in Joni Mitchell’s living room listening to Crosby, Stills and Nash and Jackson Browne debut original material. If one were somehow lucky to be able to have done that.

This is not the first time that Lizanne has done a show like this. She and Skip partnered with another Pennsylvania singer-songwriter Craig Bickhardt for a similar show earlier in the summer.

There is a lot to like about a show like this for someone like me, a guy who asks artists about the back stories of songs and making records and then writes a series of books about that. As a writer, I like to hear about the inspiration and evolution of a song. And I particularly like it in a relaxing and intimate atmosphere, like we’re all just a bunch of friends sitting around the living room listening to music.

Which leads me to this point: Explore the local music scene in your area. If it’s anything like the Philadelphia area, there are some creative and talented artists who make some great music. Support those folks in their efforts, go to their shows and buy their CDs or downloads.

I’m probably never going to get to sit in Joni Mitchell’s living room and listen to David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Jackson Browne play guitars and sing their songs.

But that’s OK. I’ve got a some highly creative singer-songwriters right in my own neighborhood and I love their music just as much. Plus I get to sit right in the front row and listen to all those wonderful stories and songs.

Teach your children that.

Search for elusive vinyl ends with a deflating ‘Conrad’ moment

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On February 22, 2015

In The Vinyl Dialogues Book

The album "The Morning After," by Maureen McGovern, was released in 1973.

The album “The Morning After,” by Maureen McGovern, was released in 1973.

One of the enjoyable aspects of starting a vinyl collection well into adulthood is the thrill of the hunt. That is, as long as some jamoke named Conrad doesn’t mess up the experience.

I like to go to the various used records stores in my part of the world – suburban Philadelphia – and spend some time rummaging through the endless discount bins for certain albums. Usually, I’m looking for an album that I’m writing about, either one that appeared in The Vinyl Dialogues or one that’s going to be featured in The Vinyl Dialogues Volume II.

It’s a relaxing way to kill and hour or two on the weekend, if one has the patience – as well as a good back and legs – to stand there and sift through album after album looking for that buried treasure.

On my most recent excursion, I was searching for the 1973 album “The

This album used to belong to somebody named "Conrad," who felt it necessary more than 40 years ago to sign it.

This album used to belong to somebody named “Conrad,” who felt it necessary more than 40 years ago to sign it.

Morning After” by Maureen McGovern. I had interviewed Ms. McGovern for an upcoming show she was doing in New Hope, PA, and during that interview, I gathered enough of her recollections to make a chapter about the album for The Vinyl Dialogues Volume II.

So off I went to The Rock Shop in Plymouth Meeting, PA, which has a nice selection at reasonable prices. Another thing I like about going to used record stores is that – to nobody’s surprise – there’s usually a turntable playing records, which provides a soundtrack for the search. On this day, the classic album of choice was “Before the Flood,” by Bob Dylan and The Band, a live album recorded during a 1974 American tour.

That’s a really good choice for perusing vinyl.

I went through bins of records for an hour-and-a-half. Among those I pulled out was one that I hadn’t yet found from The Vinyl Dialogues, “Tarkio” by Brewer and Shipley from 1970; two from Hall & Oates, “Along the Red Ledge (1978) and “X-Static” (1979); two from America, “Heart” (1975) and “Hideaway” (1976); “Golden Bisquits” by Three Dog Night (1971); and “Whistling Down the Wire” by David Crosby and Graham Nash (1976).

Even though I found albums from just about every female singer-songwriter of the 1970s – Carole King, Carly Simon, Janis Ian, Phoebe Snow, Linda Ronstadt, to name a few – I didn’t find Maureen McGovern’s “The Morning After.
I was just about ready to call it a day, when in the last row of records I was searching, nearly at the back, there it was! “The Morning After” by Maureen McGovern.

It was indeed like finding a buried treasure, and I immediately broke into my happy dance, which resembles the Snoopy Happy Dance from the “Peanuts” cartoons, but with much less grace and rhythm. I am not opposed to doing that in front of other record store patrons when I find the elusive vinyl. If anyone were to ask what was wrong to me, I was prepared to tell them that I was just rocking out to Dylan and The Band.

Once that moment of finding the proverbial needle in the haystack elation subsides, though, then I usually take a closer look at the record and the album cover. Which is what I did this time as well.

This one looked good . . . but, wait. In the upper righthand corner, just above Ms. McGovern’s name, there was another name, this one written in ballpoint pen. It read “Conrad.”

Now it’s not unusual to find records with people’s names on them. There was a time – and I understand this – as kids where we put on name on our most valuable possessions. This album, likely more than 40 years ago, apparently was a prized possession for someone named Conrad.

There is no way for me to know if that is a first name or a last name, but my immediate reaction to finding Conrad’s name on the very album I had been searching for was to seek out the first person named Conrad I could find and punch him right in the nose.

WFT Conrad? Did you not know 40 years ago that someday I would find this record, with the hopes of having it signed by Maureen McGovern?

Of course, that is an unreasonable reaction. But it did take a bit of the steam out of the Snoopy Happy Dance once I came to my senses.

I bought the record anyway. One never knows how long the search would have continued to find the album again. This is one is in pretty decent shape, and will look cool once it’s signed by Ms. McGovern.

That will be the second autograph on the album. Thanks, Conrad.

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