The editors of Classic Rock magazine have listed “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” as the best song in the extended Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young catalogue. Coming in second was Neil Young's “Ohio” — the group's immediate and very public answer to the carnage at Kent State on May 4th, 1970, with the Top Three being rounded out by the “Woodstock Nation” call to arms — the Stephen Stills–David Crosby–Paul Kantner co-write, “Wooden Ships.”
Apart from all of her amazing accomplishments, Judy Collins will never not be known and beloved as the muse for Stephen Stills' masterpiece, “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.” Collins revealed to us that the song remains truly a snapshot of her and Stills' relationship at that exact moment: “There are a lot of lines with what was going on in my life and his. And, y'know, in that sense, it's pretty (laughs). . . it has some reality in it that's unmistakable. I mean, he was on the West Coast — I was on the East Coast. He hated New York and therapy and I was in both — and you can hear it in the song. I was with a bunch of therapists that didn't believe in dating one person, so you hear — 'Tuesdays and Saturdays.' That's, that's from real life. That's not made up. But, I heard the song originally when he came to sing it to me to try to get me back (laughs).”
A while back, Graham Nash and David Crosby shed light on how the group made the decision to put social politics above their chart success: (Graham Nash): “We put out 'Ohio' in 12 days with a 45 (picture sleeve) cover of the Constitution with four bullet holes in it and we killed our own single. (David Crosby): We had 'Teach Your Children' halfway up the charts goin' for Number One and Nash pulled it. (Nash): Do you think out managers were happy? Do you think our record company was happy? I don't think so. But, y'know what? They let us do what we want. They realized we are a different kind of band. For me, bringing out the point of 'Ohio' and the slaughter of our students with their God given constitutional right to address grievances of their government. That was more important than me having a hit with my song.”
The Top 10 Best CSNY Songs – via Classic Rock magazine:
1. “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” (1969)
2. “Ohio” (1970)
3. “Wooden Ships” (1969)
4. “Carry On” (1970)
5. “Marrakesh Express” (1969)
6. “Our House” (1970)
7. “Helpless” (1970)
8. “Teach Your Children” (1970)
9. “Déjà Vu” (1970)
10.” Long Time Gone” (1969)
