When Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young came to an end, the four members of the group broke apart and went on separate paths. Nonetheless, they frequently got back together in different forms, going on tour under their previous name, recording new albums as a trio without Neil Young, and even performing only with Graham Nash and David Crosby.
They mostly avoided each other because of the success of their professions and the broken relationships that often resulted from their union. Even so, when the four of them got together, they were an irresistible force. However, it had been decades since they could all come together in one room to record a new studio album, for a variety of reasons.
After becoming well-known performers in their own right, Crosby and Nash realized in 1971 that a combined effort would put them in a better position to travel. They had a joyous series of concerts, which unintentionally resulted in the recording of Graham Nash, and David Crosby, their debut album together.
With the release of the previously stated album, Crosby and Nash began an occasional collaboration that took place apart from their previous bands. Even though they didn’t often collaborate with Young and still frequently worked with Stephen Stills, they released four albums together, the last of which was titled Crosby & Nash and came out in 2004.
Because James Raymond, Crosby’s son, helped write five of the album’s compositions and bring them closer together, it has special meaning for him. Before Raymond was reunited with his father as an adult, he was adopted by a different family in 1962. He was a fellow musician who first joined the traveling group of Crosby and Nash and then helped write songs.
‘Lay Me Down’ was mentioned by Crosby as his favorite song from his career in an interview with American Songwriter, mostly for sentimental reasons. He said: “This is the moment where my son James and I are united musically.”
Crosby continued: “It’s a stunner. Graham and I were getting ready to make a record and James says, ‘I think I’ve got a song for the album,’ and sits down and plays this devil for us. It was mind-blowing, as if he was inside our heads when he wrote it.”
Music brought the couple closer than before after they had been apart for decades. Their lovely friendship didn’t begin until Crosby had a liver transplant in 1995 when they were reunited by Raymond’s adoptive parents.
Regretfully, Crosby and Nash’s 2004 partnership turned out to be the last known endeavor including any kind of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Though the trio never got back together in any form, this was a fitting way for Crosby to conclude his professional relationship with Nash. Even though their romance ended years later, fortunately, they were able to move on before Crosby passed away in 2023.
Below, listen to “Lay Me Down.”