Jump to content

Ohio (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected fromOhio (1970 song))
"Ohio"
SinglebyCrosby, Stills, Nash & Young
B-side"Find the Cost of Freedom"
ReleasedJune 1970
RecordedMay 21, 1970
StudioRecord Plant Recording Studios,Hollywood
GenreRock[1]
Length2:58
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)Neil Young
Producer(s)Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Youngsingles chronology
"Teach Your Children"
(1970) 		"Ohio"
(1970) 		"Our House"
(1970)
Audio sample

"Ohio"is aprotest songandcountercultureanthem written and composed byNeil Youngin reaction to theKent State shootingsof May 4, 1970, and performed byCrosby, Stills, Nash & Young.[2]It was released as a single, backed withStephen Stills's "Find the Cost of Freedom", peaking at number 14 on the USBillboardHot 100and number 16 in Canada.[3]Although live versions of "Ohio" and "Find the Cost of Freedom" were included on the group's 1971double album4 Way Street,the studio versions of both songs did not appear on anLPuntil the group's compilationSo Farwas released in 1974. The song also appeared on the Neil Young compilation albumsDecade,released in 1977, andGreatest Hits,released in 2004.

The song also appears on Neil Young'sLive at Massey Hallalbum, which he recorded in 1971 but remained unreleased until 2007.

Recording

[edit]

Young wrote the lyrics to "Ohio" after seeing thephotos of the incidentinLifeMagazine.[4]On the evening that the group enteredRecord Plant Studiosin Los Angeles, the song had already been rehearsed, and the quartet—with their new rhythm section ofCalvin SamuelsandJohnny Barbata—recorded it live in just a few takes. During the same session, they recorded the single's equally direct B-side,Stephen Stills's ode to the war's dead, "Find the Cost of Freedom".

The record wasmasteredwith the participation of the four principals, rush-released byAtlanticand heard on the radio with only a few weeks' delay (even though the group's hit song "Teach Your Children"was already on the charts at the time). In his liner notes for theDecaderetrospective, Young termed the Kent State incident as "probably the biggest lesson ever learned at an American place of learning" and reported that "David Crosbycried when we finished this take. "[5]In the fade, Crosby's voice—with a tone evocative ofkeening—can be heard with the words "Four!", "Why?" and "How many more?".[6]

According to the liner notes inGreatest Hits,the track was recorded byBill Halversonon May 21, 1970, atRecord PlantStudio 3 in Hollywood.[7]

Lyrics and reception

[edit]

An article inThe Guardianin 2010 describes the song as the "greatest protest record" and "the pinnacle of a very 1960s genre", while also saying "The revolution never came."[8]PresidentRichard Nixon,who is criticized in the song, won a landslide reelection in 1972, which included winning the1972 United States presidential election in Ohioby a margin of over 21%. The lyrics help evoke the turbulent mood of horror, outrage, and shock in the wake of the shootings, especially the line "four dead in Ohio", repeated throughout the song.

"Tin soldiers and Nixon coming" refers to theKent State shootings,whereOhio National Guardofficers shot and killed four students during a protest against theVietnam War.Crosby once stated that Young keeping Nixon's name in the lyrics was "the bravest thing I ever heard." The Americancounterculturetook the group as its own after this song, giving the four a status as leaders and spokesmen they would enjoy to a varying extent for the rest of the decade.[9]

At the time of the shooting the American public was highly critical of the protestors and blamed them for the violence. This is what the line "What if you knew her? / And found her dead on the ground" was about. Sociology professor David Karen said the importance of the song was that "it didn't let the moment die" and "underlined just how corrupt and awful the government was."[10]After the single's release, it was banned from someAMradio stations including in the state of Ohio, because of the challenge to the Nixon Administration[11]but received airplay on undergroundFMstations in larger cities and college towns. Today, the song receives regular airplay onclassic rockstations. The song was selected as the 395th Greatest Song of All Time byRolling Stonein 2010.[12]In 2009, the song was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame.[13]

Personnel

[edit]

Charts

[edit]

Weekly charts

[edit]
Chart (1970) Peak

position

AustraliaKMR[14] 44
CanadaRPMTop Singles[15] 16
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] 13
U.S.BillboardHot 100[17] 14
U.S.Cash BoxTop 100[18] 14
U.S.Record WorldTop 100[19] 13

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^Roberts, David (2015). "Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young -" Ohio ". In Dimery, Robert (ed.).1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die.New York:Universe.p. 272.
  2. ^Gamboa, Glenn."Neil Young's 'Ohio' captures gravity of event – News".Ohio.com.Archived fromthe originalon 2016-10-14.Retrieved2016-10-03.
  3. ^"RPMWeekly 100, August 22, 1970 ".Library and Archives Canada.17 July 2013.Archivedfrom the original on October 6, 2016.RetrievedMarch 31,2017.
  4. ^McDonough, Jimmy (2002).Shakey.New York: Anchor Books. p. 345.ISBN978-0-679-75096-3.
  5. ^Neil Young.Decade.(Reprise Records, 1977).
  6. ^"Ohio Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young".Archivedfrom the original on May 13, 2020.RetrievedJuly 25,2020.
  7. ^"Crosby, Stills & Nash 'Suite: Judy Blue Eyes' | Classic Tracks |".www.soundonsound.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-10-15.Retrieved2017-10-15.
  8. ^Lynskey, Dorian (2010-05-06)."Neil Young's Ohio – the greatest protest record".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Archivedfrom the original on 2024-05-10.Retrieved2017-10-15.
  9. ^"The History of 'Ohio': Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's Raw Reminder of the Kent State Massacre".Ultimate Classic Rock.4 May 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-11-30.Retrieved2017-10-15.
  10. ^"The Story Behind the Song: The tragedy of Neil Young track 'Ohio' - Far Out Magazine".4 May 2021.Archivedfrom the original on 25 February 2024.Retrieved25 February2024.
  11. ^Frank Mastropolou (4 May 2015)."50 Years Ago: Kent State Massacre Inspires CSNY's 'Ohio'".Archivedfrom the original on 29 October 2020.Retrieved24 October2020.
  12. ^"The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".Rolling Stone.2004-12-09.Archivedfrom the original on 2008-06-22.Retrieved2008-04-10.
  13. ^"GRAMMY Hall Of Fame".GRAMMY.org.Archivedfrom the original on 2015-06-26.Retrieved2016-10-03.
  14. ^Kent, David(1993).Australian Chart Book 1970–1992.St Ives,N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book.ISBN0-646-11917-6.
  15. ^"RPMWeekly 100, August 1, 1970 ".Library and Archives Canada.17 July 2013.Archivedfrom the original on February 2, 2022.RetrievedDecember 28,2020.
  16. ^"Jaaroverzichten – Single 1970"(in Dutch).Single Top 100.Hung Medien.Archivedfrom the original on July 4, 2014.RetrievedFebruary 25,2018.
  17. ^Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990–ISBN0-89820-089-X
  18. ^Cash Box Top 100 Singles, August 1, 1970ArchivedFebruary 17, 2020, at theWayback MachineRetrieved 1 April 2020.
  19. ^"RECORD WORLD MAGAZINE: 1942 to 1982".worldradiohistory.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-06-08.Retrieved2020-12-28.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ohio_(Crosby,_Stills,_Nash_%26_Young_song)&oldid=1230456130"