For the month of January, I’m selecting some of the most memorable and influential songs of the 60’s. While they all hail from the same decade, these are some of my favorite songs of any era. They remind me that the 60’s were so much more than just Woodstock and psychedelic rock. It was a flourishing period for blues, folk, progressive and straight-ahead rock. #31DaysOf60sSongs
Today I’m going with a song from another brilliant debut album. The self-titled record from Crosby, Stills & Nash is a thing of beauty. A case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Each member of the band brought different skills and sounds to the table, which led to an album that fused country, folk and even jazz into traditional rock. And then, of course, there are the harmonies. Gorgeous, sharp harmonies – perhaps epitomized in the classic song “Helplessly Hoping”.
The fact this track was a b-side to the first single is proof of the sheer depth and excellence on the album as a whole. “Helplessly Hoping” is timeless. The kind of song you want to pass down to your children – and hopefully they’ll want to do the same with their children. The song is a reminder that there’s light and beauty even in our darkest hour. Instrumentally it’s as minimalist as it gets, featuring a single acoustic guitar. This gives the harmonies their due time in the spotlight. David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash are not only in unison, they’re in unity.
“They are one person. They are two alone. They are three together. They are for each other.”