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Neil Young

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Neil Young is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist, born in 1945 in Toronto. He grew up partly in Winnipeg and played in bands there as a teenager. In 1966 he moved to Los Angeles, where he co-founded Buffalo Springfield, a group that stood at the origin of folk rock and country rock.

Music and breakthrough

In 1969 his solo album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere was released, recorded with the band Crazy Horse. That same year he joined Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. As a solo artist he made After the Gold Rush (1970) and Harvest (1972), with Heart of Gold, his only number 1 hit. Young sings with a high tenor and alternates between two sides: restrained folk and country songs and loud rock with Crazy Horse, full of distorted electric guitar. That second side earned him the nickname Godfather of Grunge. Rust Never Sleeps (1979) and Ragged Glory (1990) inspired later alternative bands, and in 1995 he made Mirror Ball with Pearl Jam.

Influence

Young also wrote songs about social issues. In Southern Man and Alabama he criticised racism in the southern United States. Lynyrd Skynyrd answered in 1974 with Sweet Home Alabama, in which Young is mentioned by name; he himself said he was a fan of the band. Young was inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 1995 as a solo artist and in 1997 with Buffalo Springfield. He is a co-founder of Farm Aid, which supports American farming families.

Listening

Listening tip. In Southern Man (1970), listen to Young's electric guitar playing: sharp, raw solos between the verses. Notice the piano driving the rhythm and how the tension in the song keeps rising.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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Mentioned in other articles

See also

Categories: ArtistsSouthern rock