April 5, 2024      —–     Chart #240

Hello Music Friends,

Hey folks, welcome to another edition of Chart of the Week. Let’s do 1969 today. This song is very fun to play and even more fun to sing. “Marrakesh Express” is a song written by Graham Nash and performed by the band Crosby, Stills and Nash (CSN). It was first released in May 1969 on the self-titled album, Crosby, Stills and Nash, and released on a 45-RPM single in July of the same year, with another CSN song, “Helplessly Hoping”, as its backing side. The single reached No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 23, 1969. It reached the same position on the Easy Listening chart. The song was best received in the UK and Canada, reaching No. 17 in both nations.

“Marrakesh Express” was written and composed by Graham Nash during his final years as a member of the English rock band the Hollies, of which he was a member from its formation in 1962 till 1968. The band rejected the song as not commercial enough, but it found a home with Nash’s new band Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Nash recalled his inspiration for the song occurring during a Moroccan vacation he took in 1966. On the trip, Nash traveled by train from Casablanca to Marrakesh. He began the journey in First Class, surrounded by people he found to be uninteresting—as he described it, they were all “ladies with blue hair.” He decided the compartment was “completely fucking boring,” so left his seat to explore the other train carriages, and was fascinated by what he saw.

The song mentions “ducks and pigs and chickens,” which he saw on the train, and recalled the ride by commenting: “It’s literally the song as it is—what happened to me.”

Check out this acoustic performance with only Graham Nash and David Crosby:  https://youtu.be/ghzS10hCLnM?si=9sL4WvxiNZW4R19c

The instrumentation of the song seeks to embody Nash’s lyrics through an Eastern vibe and a “buoyant” flow carried by Jim Gordon’s drumming, to resemble a train ride. Stephen Stills was responsible for much of the creative musicianship, adding a distinctive, unique sounding riff played on two overdubbed electric guitars. He also added Hammond B3 organ, piano and bass. The song was rounded out by Nash’s acoustic guitar, and the group’s trademark three-part vocal harmony on the choruses.

I love playing this song and hope you do too.

Keep Rockin’,

Stan Bradshaw