Tag Archives: Hollies

Bob Dylan, Cover versions

February 2: Graham Nash was born 1942 , here singing Bob Dylan songs

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Graham Nash covers Bob Dylan with various partners: Happy Birthday, Graham Nash!

Graham William Nash, OBE (born 2 February 1942) is known for his light tenor voice and for his songwriting contributions with the British pop group The Hollies, and with the folk-rock super group Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. A dual citizen of the United Kingdom and United States, Nash became an American citizen on 14 August 1978.

He has covered Bob Dylan on a few occasions, here are the ones I managed to dig up.

Hollies – Blowing In The Wind (1968):

The Hollies originated as a duo formed by Allan Clarke and Graham Nash, who were best friends from primary school and began performing together during the skiffle craze of the late 1950s.[2] Eventually Clarke and Nash became a vocal and guitar duo modelled on the Everly Brothers under the names “Ricky and Dane Young.” Under this name, they teamed up with a local band, the Fourtones, consisting of Pete Bocking (guitar), John ‘Butch’ Mepham (bass), Keith Bates (drums), and Derek Quinn (guitar). When Quinn quit to join Freddie and the Dreamers in 1962, Clarke and Nash also quit and joined another Manchester band, the Deltas, consisting of Vic Steele on lead guitar, Eric Haydock on bass guitar, and Don Rathbone on drums, which had just lost two members (including Eric Stewart, who left to join a “professional” band, The Mindbenders).

The Deltas first called themselves “The Hollies” for a December 1962 gig at the Oasis Club in Manchester.
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Music Calendar

Feb 02: Graham Nash was born in 1942

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Graham William Nash,  (born 2 February 1942) is  known for his light tenor voice and for his songwriting contributions with the British pop group The Hollies, and with the super group Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Nash is also a photography collector and a published photographer. Nash was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Crosby, Stills & Nash in 1997 and as a member of The Hollies in 2010.

Happy Birthday!

Graham Nash Talks Music, great in-depth interview:

Feb 02: Graham Nash was born in 1942

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Country, Singer Songwriter, The Best Songs

Great song – Son of a Rotten Gambler by Chip Taylor

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This classic song is written by Chip Taylor (aka  James Wesley Voight) and there are several very good recordings. The version above is from Chip Taylor’s fantastic album, Hit Man released in 1996. An album were Taylor revisits many of his best songs. When you have written as many great songs as Taylor has, there are bound to be oversights and omissions, but you owe it to yourself to seek out this great record. Hit Man indeed!

“Son Of A Rotten Gambler” was written for his son, Kristian and it went to the top of the country charts. The song is particularly poignant as it speaks of his other great talent, gambling, that he was doing professionally during a break from his recording career in the early 80’s.

As a gambler, he was one of the foremost thoroughbred horse race handicappers on the East Coast. When Chip Taylor turned his sights on the gaming tables, he quickly gained notoriety with his black jack prowess; finishing third in the World Black Jack Championship in Las Vegas. He became one of the most feared card counters in theU.S and was banned from every casino in Atlantic City.  These stories are known throughout the gambling world and well documented by the I.R.S..

Anne Murray had a hit with the song in 1974, and it is probably the best known version.

Son Of A Rotten Gambler – Anne Murray:

One of my favorite recordings, “Son of a Rotten Gambler” was a huge, huge country record for Anne Murray. But it was the fifth single from her album release, and they quickly buried it because they wanted to release another album for Christmas. Even though they tried to bury it, it became a huge hit. I wrote it for my son. Emmylou Harris has recorded it as well, but Anne’s version gave me chills when I first heard it. It starts out with an organ that you hear in the distance, and it gets louder and louder and louder, and then she comes in and starts to sing. I think it’s one of the best recordings of any of my songs.

– Chip Taylor (to Engine 145)

The Hollies released their version in 1975. A nice interpretation but too much of a  “sing-a-long” anthem for my taste. I think the song loses some of its poignancy.

Son of a Rotten Gambler – The Hollies:

My favourite take of the song, together with Chip Taylors own,  is by Emmylou Harris. Released in 1981 on the wonderful album, Cimarron. This was her 9th album and is often rated lower than her previous records, don’t be fooled, it is better than most country albums.

Son of a Rotten Gambler – Emmylou Harris:

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Music Calendar

Today: Graham Nash is 71

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Graham William Nash,  (born 2 February 1942) is  known for his light tenor voice and for his songwriting contributions with the British pop group The Hollies, and with the super group Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Nash is also a photography collector and a published photographer. Nash was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Crosby, Stills & Nash in 1997 and as a member of The Hollies in 2010.

In the early 1960s he was co-founder with schoolfriend Allan Clarke of The Hollies. Nash was a leading ‘group figurehead’ member of The Hollies, one of the UK’s most successful pop and “British Invasion” groups.  Nash wrote or co-wrote many of the band’s original songs, most often early on in collaboration with Allan Clarke and also then together with Tony Hicks up to Nash’s departure from the band in December 1968.

Teach your Children:

Nash initially met both David Crosby and Stephen Stills in 1966 among a group of American musician friends during a Hollies USA tour. In 1968, after a further visit to the US during which he met David Crosby in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, California, Nash left The Hollies to form a new group with Crosby and Stephen Stills. A threesome at first, Crosby, Stills & Nash later became a foursome with Neil Young: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY). With them, Nash went on to even greater worldwide success.

Simple Man:

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young lasted long enough as a performing unit for one major national tour and a live follow-up album before the members went their separate ways. Nash emerged from the chaos of the quartet’s demise as a star in his own right and found a major audience for his music. There have been quite a few reunions.

The album of the day is his solo debut, Songs for beginners from 1971:

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Other 2 February:

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