Neil Young

I

Introduction

Neil Young, born in 1945, Canadian singer, songwriter, and guitarist, who became one of the most distinctive and independent artists in rock music. He was an influential leader in developing the new styles of country rock and folk rock in the 1960s and 1970s. Young’s use of sounds from the punk-rock and hard-rock genres of the 1970s and 1980s make him a precursor of the 1990s grunge style, which combines folk melodies and harmonies with hard-rock instrumentation and the energy of punk rock.

Young was born in Toronto, Ontario. His parents divorced when he was 15 years old and he moved with his mother to Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he formed a variety of bands. He left school at the age of 18 to work as a professional musician.

II

Early Career

In 1964 Young became interested in folk music and met leading folksingers Joni Mitchell and Stephen Stills. In 1966 he followed Stills to Los Angeles, California, hoping to launch a recording career. The pair formed the band Buffalo Springfield, which pioneered the style called country rock and is best known for its 1967 hit song, “For What It's Worth (Stop, Hey, What's That Sound).” Despite their success, Young and Stills had disagreements that led to the breakup of Buffalo Springfield in 1968.

In 1969 Young signed a contract with Reprise Records and released his first solo album, Neil Young. During this period he began working with the rock band Crazy Horse, which thereafter provided most of his musical accompaniment. From 1969 to 1974 he again joined Stephen Stills, who was a member of the popular folk-rock group Crosby, Stills & Nash, prompting the group to be renamed Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSN&Y). Young would have an on-and-off relationship with CSN&Y in the ensuing decades.

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III

Success and Controversy

As Young's solo career continued through the 1970s he brought to his music a variety of influences, including hard rock, folk music, and the poetic style of American singer and songwriter Bob Dylan. Young’s voice, which could be weary and gruff or high and sweet, became one of the most distinctive in popular music. In 1970 he released After the Gold Rush, which would become a rock classic. Young’s commercial breakthrough came with the album Harvest (1972), which reached number one on the Billboard magazine pop album chart that year and made him a superstar. In 1975 he produced both Tonight's the Night and Zuma, which were critically praised although less successful commercially. At the end of the decade Young released a hit live album, Rust Never Sleeps (1979), which contained both electric and acoustic songs.

In 1983, after signing a large contract with Geffen Records, Young unexpectedly released a computer-music album, Trans. With his vocals electronically distorted and synthesizers and other unusual effects incorporated into the recording, the album bombed. Along with a subsequent release in the 1950s style of rockabilly (Everybody’s Rockin’, 1983), the experiment led Geffen Records to file an unprecedented lawsuit against Young. Geffen alleged that Young had violated his contract by recording uncharacteristic music with no chance of commercial success; the lawsuit was subsequently settled. For the remainder of his contract, Young reverted to more mainstream material.

In 1988 he re-signed with Reprise Records and made a commercial comeback with an album in the style of blues and R&B, This Note's for You, but additional controversy ensued. Lyrics on the album's title song criticized rock stars who endorsed commercial products, and the powerful Music Television (MTV) network refused to play the song's video. Young followed with a number of recordings for Reprise, including the hard-rock albums Freedom (1989) and Ragged Glory (1990); Harvest Moon (1992), a country-music successor to Harvest; and MTV Unplugged (1993), performed with acoustic instruments.

IV

Later Career

In the early and mid-1990s Young became interested in the aggressive sound of the younger generation of musicians, touring with rock bands Sonic Youth and Social Distortion. In 1994 he released an album, Sleeps with Angels, which dealt with the suicide of young rock artist Kurt Cobain. In 1995 Young recorded the album Mirror Ball, on which he collaborated with Pearl Jam, one of the most popular grunge bands of the time. The same year he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Young continued to tour and record into the 21st century. His more recent albums include Broken Arrow (with Crazy Horse, 1996), Year of the Horse (live album with Crazy Horse, 1997), Looking Forward (with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, 1999), Silver & Gold (2000), Road Rock (live, 2000), and Are You Passionate? (with Crazy Horse and Booker T. & the MGs, 2003). Young underwent treatment for a brain aneurysm in 2005 but returned to performing at the Canadian Live 8 event that July. His album Prairie Wind (2005) was gentle and introspective. In direct contrast he next released Living with War (2006), a collection of forceful protest songs aimed at the U.S. government. The album Chrome Dreams II (2007) marked a return to optimism.

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