Neil Young

Musical Guest:

9/30/89
12/5/92
5/6/00
12/17/05

Bio:

Canadian-born Neil Young is one of the most influential singer-songwriters in rock ‘n’ roll history. Born in 1945, Young spent his childhood in the small country town of Omemee – a place and time he often references in his work. As a teenager, he played in a number of local bands before heading out to Los Angeles to co-found Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young in 1966. With the breakup of CSNY two years later, Young embarked on a solo career, starting with the release of the self-titled “Neil Young.”

His second solo project, “Everybody Knows this is Nowhere,” recorded with the newly formed backing band Crazy Horse, was an instant hit and launched Young into the top ranks of popular music with songs like "Cinnamon Girl” and “Down By the River.”

“Harvest,” released in 1972, is probably Young’s most popular album, but its success was dampened by personal problems throughout the ‘70s, most tragically the death of Young’s friend and guitarist Danny Whitten from a drug overdose. However, professionally, Young remained a vital presence with albums like “Rust Never Sleeps,” and “Comes a Time.”

Young stretched out in the ‘80s with a number of experimental records that some critics say were a precursor to the grunge movement. In the ‘90s, Young returned to his country-folk-rock roots and stepped up his political activism.

Recently, Young faced his own mortality when he was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. Successful surgery put him back on his feet and he soon released “Prairie Wind” and the political protest album “Living With War” in rapid succession. Young performed two songs from “Prairie Wind” on Saturday Night Live in Season 31 while “Living With War” was memorably parodied by host Kevin Spacey in the same year.

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