September 6, 2024 —– Chart #262
Hello Music Friends,
Hey folks, welcome to another edition of Chart of the Week. Today’s selection is somewhat of a “B-side” tune that, although not a chart topper, is a powerful message from the late 60’s. Written by the great David Crosby, this song appeared on the debut studio album by the folk-rock supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN), released in 1969 by Atlantic Records. It is the only release by the band prior to adding Neil Young to their lineup. The album spawned two Top 40 singles, “Marrakesh Express” and “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”, which peaked respectively at No. 28 during the week of August 23, 1969, and at No. 21 during the week of December 6, 1969, on the US Billboard Hot 100. The album itself peaked at No. 6 on the US Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. It has been certified four times platinum by the RIAA for sales of 4,000,000. Today’s song from that album, Long Time Gone, delivers a powerful political message from the late 60’s.
In 1967, tensions were high inside David Crosby’s band, The Byrds. It didn’t help either when Crosby joined Buffalo Springfield’s performance at the Monterey Pop Festival, instead of joining in the performance of his group; Crosby was dismissed afterward. Forming a friendship with Buffalo Springfield’s Stephen Stills, and later, with Graham Nash, the trio then created an iconic supergroup that would help mold the style of music in the era of the counterculture.
In 1968, Crosby, Stills & Nash was formed. At this point also, Robert Kennedy, JFK’s brother, was preparing to run for president to continue the legacy that his late brother had left in this world. CSN supported Kennedy’s campaign, as he was also a dear friend of his.
However, things went downhill when the younger Kennedy was mortally wounded when shot by a gun from an anti-supporter. 25 hours later, he was announced dead, and the world mourned once again after the death of another Kennedy. Later that night, Crosby penned the cathartic piece “Long Time Gone.”
“It was written the night Bobby Kennedy was killed,” Crosby explained from the liner notes of CSN’s 1991 box set. “I believed in him because he said he wanted to make some positive changes in America, and he hadn’t been bought and sold like Johnson and Nixon – cats who made their deals years ago with the special interests in this country in order to gain power.”
Check this out:
The song was synonymous with the unfolding of the 60s generation, the one where counterculture and protests became evident. Through Crosby’s powerful manipulation of his creative inspiration, he was able to create something worth defining a nation.
Download the chart and play this one. You will enjoy the power and emotion once you get the strumming rhythm of the song. Enjoy.
Keep Rockin’,
Stan Bradshaw