Ohio chords by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

"Ohio" is a protest song and counterculture anthem written and composed by Neil Young in reaction to the Kent State shootings of May 4, 1970, and performed by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. It was released as a single, backed with Stephen Stills's "Find the Cost of Freedom", peaking at number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Although a live version of "Ohio" was included on the group's 1971 double album Four Way Street, the studio versions of both songs did not appear on an LP until the group's compilation So Far was released in 1974. The song also appeared on the Neil Young compilation albums Decade, released in 1977, and Greatest Hits, released in 2004. The song also appears on Neil Young's Live at Massey Hall album, which he recorded in 1971 but did not release until 2007. The record was mastered with the participation of the four principals, rush-released by Atlantic and heard on the radio with only a few weeks' delay. (This was despite the group already having their hit song "Teach Your Children" on the charts at the time.) In his liner notes for the song on the Decade retrospective, Young termed the Kent State incident as 'probably the biggest lesson ever learned at an American place of learning' and reported that "David Crosby cried when we finished this take." Indeed, Crosby can be heard keening "Four, why? Why did they die?" and "How many more?" in the fade. Notable covers of the song: 1971 – The song was recorded by the Isley Brothers on their album Givin' It Back. approx. 1971 – The song was recorded by Bay Area group The Two Things in One. That recording is included on the 2011 reissue, "Together Forever - The Music City Sessions." 1993 – Paul Weller recorded a cover during the sessions for Wild Wood, and it was released as a B-side to his single "The Weaver." 1998 – The song was included as a hidden track on the album Thirty Days Out by the Montrose Avenue. 2001 – Zegota, an American punk rock band, released a 9-minute-long cover of the song. 2002 – The song was covered by Devo on the album When Pigs Fly: Songs You Never Thought You'd Hear. The song was of particular significance to this group. Two of its founding members, Jerry Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh, were students at Kent State during the killings, Casale having witnessed the shooting and known two of the victims. Casale was not impressed by it at the time, seeing it as an opportunist song by "rich hippies...making money off of something horrible...that they didn't get." In the liner notes of Decade, Young reflected in 1976, "It's ironic that I capitalized on the death of those American students." 2003 – Tori Amos used the song in a bridge with her song Pancake while in tour supporting her album Scarlet's Walk in San Antonio, Texas 2003 – A live version of the song was included as a bonus track on a re-release of Mott the Hoople's self-titled first album. 2004 – The Dandy Warhols placed a version of the song on the B-sides and covers album Come on Feel the Dandy Warhols, available only through the band's website. 2007 – The song was covered by Dala on the Canadian Borrowed Tunes II: A Tribute to Neil Young tribute album. Their recording later appeared on the 2008 tribute album Cinnamon Girl – Women Artists Cover Neil Young. 2009 – The song was covered by Chris and Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes in the documentary feature film The People Speak. 2014 – The song was covered by French singer Nolwenn Leroy on her live album Ô Tour de L'Eau. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.