Graham William Nash is a musician, singer, songwriter and photographer. He had his first musical success as a member of the UK band The Hollies before his move to America when he sang as part of Crosby, Stills and Nash. Graham was born in 1942 and grew up in Salford. He found his singing voice at the age of six when he realised that not only could he sing, but he had the ability to harmonise any melody. He is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. Over the years, Graham has written many hit songs for The Hollies and Crosby, Stills and Nash including Our House and Marrakesh Express. Alongside his critically acclaimed musical career, Graham is also a successful photographer. His photos have been on show in galleries and museums around the world. He lives in New York with his third wife. DISC ONE: Be-bop-a-Lula - Gene Vincent DISC TWO: Great Balls of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis DISC THREE: Maybe Baby - Buddy Holly and the Crickets DISC FOUR: Bye Bye Love - The Everly Brothers DISC FIVE: God Only Knows - The Beach Boys DISC SIX: Adagio for Strings, composed by Samuel Barber and performed by City of London Sinfonia conducted, by Richard Hickox DISC SEVEN: Don't Give Up - Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush DISC EIGHT: A Day In The Life - The Beatles BOOK CHOICE: The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto LUXURY ITEM: A sleeping bag CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: A Day In The Life - The Beatles Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor
Before this BBC podcast kicks off, I'd like to tell you about some others you might enjoy.
My name's Will Wilkin and I commission music podcasts for the BBC.
It's a really cool job.
Every day we get to tell the incredible stories behind songs, moments and movements.
Stories of struggle and success, rises and falls, the funny, the ridiculous.
And the BBC's position at the heart of british music means we can tell those stories like no one else.
We were, are, and always will be right there at the center of the narrative.
So whether you want an insightful take on music right now or a nostalgic deep dive into some of the most famous and infamous moments in music, check out the music podcasts on BBC sounds.
BBC Sounds music Radio podcasts hello, I'm Lauren La Verne and this is the Desert Island Discs podcast.
Every week I ask my guests to choose the eight tracks, book and luxury they'd want to take with them if they were cast away to a desert island.
And for rights reasons, the music is shorter than the original broadcast.
I hope you enjoy listening.
My castaway this week is the singer songwriter Graham Nash.
He was a Salford teenager when he formed the Hollies with a childhood friend.
They were spotted at the Cavern Club in January 1963, shortly after another Mersey beat combo had made the venue famous.
Their foot stomping sound took them to the top of the british charts, then to America, where his next adventure began.
In Los Angeles, he was introduced to David Crosby of the Birds and Stephen Stills from Buffalo Springfield.
In the course of one life changing, mind altering evening, they formed Crosby, Stills and Nash.
Their debut albums spent over 100 weeks on the us top 40, and their crystalline harmonies defined LA's Laurel Canyon sound in the late 1960s and early seventies.
Though many of their biggest hits, including our House and Marrakesh Express, were written by the lad from Lancashire, it was the start of a lifelong, shape shifting creative journey.