# The 1970 song Neil Young called CSNY at their best: “Greatest”

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-1970-song-neil-young-called-csny-at-their-best-greatest/
- Published: 2026-07-17T19:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-08-02T07:16:30+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-1970-song-neil-young-called-csny-at-their-best-greatest/
- Topics: Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- ‘Ohio’ was Neil Young’s defining CSNY song.
- It responded directly to the Kent State shootings.
- The 1970 single combined protest with urgency.

## Summary

The article identifies ‘Ohio’ as the 1970 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song Neil Young regarded as the group at its best. Written in response to the Kent State shootings, the track mattered because it turned a recent political tragedy into an urgent protest song and became one of CSNY’s defining recordings.

Young wrote ‘Ohio’ after seeing photographs of the National Guard’s killing of four students during an anti-war protest at Kent State University on 4 May 1970. CSNY recorded and released it rapidly as a non-album single, with Young’s forceful guitar and vocals alongside the group’s harmonies reflecting anger and grief; its direct reference to President Richard Nixon also made it unusually confrontational for a mainstream release.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.