In 1955, Graham Nash heard a tune that changed his life. Right after, he wanted to throw out all other music

Graham Nash said hearing Bill Haley’s ‘Rock Around the Clock’ as a teenager changed his life and made him want to pursue music. The song’s youthful energy showed him that rock ’n’ roll could speak to young people in a way the popular songs he knew did not.

Nash recalled hearing it at a funfair in Salford, with Teresa Brewer and Patti Page among his earlier musical reference points. He and his friend Allan Clarke went on to perform together, and Nash later joined The Hollies before leaving to pursue other work; the article connects that early inspiration with his later songwriting.