Robert Plant’s opinion on Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

The frontman of Led Zeppelin, one of the most successful and influential bands of all time, Robert Plant entered Rock history with the albums he helped create with the Hard Rock band in the late 60s and throughout the 70s. Music was evolving at a fast pace during that time, and many incredible artists were writing fantastic songs.

Among them were David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, and Neil Young. Robert Plant has spoken about them before and shared his opinion on Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

What is Robert Plant’s opinion on Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Robert Plant is a fan of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and even mentioned their song “Ohio”, as one of his favorites of all time. It was one of the tracks he would like to take to a desert island. “This is a song that was written at the time following an event at Kent State University, Ohio where four students were shot by the authorities. So this is the song that was written which will remind us forever how it can go nastily badly wrong,” Robert Plant told BBC Radio 4 in 2022 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).

As the musician said, “Ohio” is a protest song which was inspired by the Kent State shootings from May 4, 1970. The track was written by Neil Young after he saw photos of the incident in life Magazine. The track was released by the supergroup as a single in about a month later.

Robert Plant also likes Neil Young’s and David Crosby’s careers

The Led Zeppelin vocalist already praised Neil Young back in 1971, when he was asked in an interview, from “Led Zeppelin Australian Tour Bootleg“, which artists he was listening to. “The only solo artist concert I’ve been to recently was the Neil Young one. I really dug that because I like a plaintive voice. Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and people like that I really dig. But I’m not going to bother whether they take half an hour to tune up or not (during their shows), just as long as by the time they’re finished I’m full and I can say, well that’s an experience”.

But during the same conversation, the musician noted that when he saw them once they were not that good musically that day. “I’ve met so many people who’ve read things in the Beat Beat who’ve said ‘Well, what a load of bulldust’. They’re just not relating what they say. I’ve been to concerts like Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and things and they haven’t been particularly fine musically.”

He continued:

“(It was at the Royal Albert Hall) but the electric setting was a bit too crowded and things like that. But nevertheless, what they gave was the seed. That was the fire that people really had to have. It’s sort of like going away and going phhhh at the end of it. It’s an experience,” Robert Plant said.

During the past decades he also talked about the late David Crosby. Plant was asked by The Quietus in 2014 if his career could have survived baldness. He answered mentioning Crosby. “That’s a very good question. I don’t think I could survive it. I’ve never had a nightmare about losing my hair. But I did see a bit of our performance on Later… with Jools Holland and I thought, Fuck me! I really need to get it cut!”

“It’s a funny thing, hair. What to do with it? I always listened to David Crosby and I think he’s got the voice of an angel. It’s absolutely amazing despite all that freebasing but he persists with that hair of his. It’s like he sang on ‘Almost Cut My Hair’, ‘I feel like letting my freak flag fly’ so I’m going to hang on to mine,” Robert Plant said.

Plant almost had the chance to see CSNY rehearsing

According to author Barney Hoskyns in his book Hotel California (Via Lost Canyons LA), author Barney Hoskyn’s recalled Plant almost had the chance to see CNSY’s rehearsal if it wasn’t for a friend who drove him to the wrong place. Jan Retchin, who was a friend of the Monkees, told the author of that story. ‘Robert desperately wanted to meet Neil (Young). Peter Tork said that CSNY were rehearsing at the Greek Theatre and we could take Robert round there.”

“Unfortunately on the day itself I took mescaline. We were so stoned that we ended up driving Robert in my mother’s car all the way down to Watts. I’ll never forget Robert yelling out of the car, ‘Where is the Greek Theatre?!’ in this neighborhood where nobody had ever heard of it,” Jan Retchin said.

Plant had the chance to see them on other occasions, like when for example he was pictured in the crowd in 1974 when they were performing at Wembley Stadium in England.