Neil Young
Neil
Young was born to Edna and Scott Young in Toronto, Canada on
November 12, 1945. His musical inspirations began in 1958,
when his Father bought him a ukulele for Christmas. Not long
after that, his parents split up, and in 1960, Neil moved to
Winnipeg, Manitoba with his mother. He was not very good in
school, and soon dropped out. He spent his time playing the
guitar and banjo, and concentrating his attention on his band Neil
Young and the Squires. His Mother supported him in his endeavor, and
worked aggressively to book performances for his band. They
performed in clubs around the area between 1963-65. In the
summer of 1965, the group disbanded, and he spent the rest of the
year on the coffee house circuit as a solo artist, and with the band
Mynah Birds. (fronted by the "Super Freak" Rick James) After 1
album, the band broke up, and Bassist Bruce Palmer and Young left
for Los Angeles. It was there that they met up with Stills,
Furay, and Dewey Martin and went on to form the band Buffalo
Springfield. The band stayed together for 2 years and recorded
3 albums. They broke up in 1968.
Following the break up of the band, Young went on to pursue his solo career signing a deal with Reprise Records. His first release in 1969 wasn't well received, but his second, recorded in his own studio in California was a great success for him, going platinum. It was recorded with the backing band Crazy Horse, featuring lead guitarist Danny Whitten, bassist Billy Talbot, drummer Ralph Nolina, and pianist Jack Nitzsche.
Later
that year, with an agreement to come and go as he pleased, he joined
David Crosby, Steven Stills, and Graham Nash's smash group just in
time for Woodstock. Over a span of 20 years, he recorded 3
albums with the band as Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.
Young's solo career went to an all-time high in the 70's when 2 of his albums were best-sellers and considered to be instant classics. Harvest was probably the most successful album in his career.
In 1977, Young closed the 70's with a double album. It was a retrospective, and philosophical release which attested to Young's importance in Rock history. (Decade, and Rust never Sleeps)
For most of the 80's, Young experimented with several different genres. He started with a country sounding Hawks and Doves, moved to electric sounds with Trans, and went on to retro-rockabilly with Everybody's Rockin', as well as his continued work with Crazy Horse despite the drug related death of guitarist Danny Whitten.
In 1988, the album entitled This Note's for You achieved notoriety when MTV banned the title song. It showed a Michael Jackson look-a-like with his hair on fire and a Whitney Houston look-a-like extinguishing it with a Pepsi. He also released several more albums throughout the 90's including Unplugged which was recorded for MTV. He also recorded some movie soundtracks including Dead Man, and Broken Arrow. In 1997, he released Year Of The Horse, A live double album recorded on his summer of '96 tour.
Besides his music Young, with his
wife Peggy founded the Bridge School for Handicapped Children, near
San Francisco. His son attended this school as he has Cerebral
Palsy. Every year, Young puts together a star-studded
benefit for the school. Young has also founded a company that
makes devices and high tech toys for people with disabilities.
Neil Young does not lead the life of a highly seen musician. He declines most interviews, and refuses to do interviews with Rolling Stone because of the perfume ads in the magazine. "I don't like the way the magazine smells." Despite that, Neil Young is one of the most important rock composers of his time. He can play any type of music with incredible talent and creativity, and we as Canadians are proud to call him our own.
Click on the pic to purchase Neil Young Red Rocks
Live on DVD
 |
Neil Young Guitar Anthology Series Performed by Neil
Young. Edited by Aaron Stang. Guitar songbook (Guitar
tablature). 132 pages. Published by Warner Brothers.
(PG9558) See more info... |