Neil Young
Birthday:
12 November 1945, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Birth Name:
Neil Percival Kenneth Robert Ragland Young
Height:
183 cm
Neil Young is one of the most respected and prolific rock/folk guitarists of the late 20th century. Raised in Canada, he first became well-known as a guitarist and occasional vocalist for the band Buffalo Springfield. After the band's breakup, Young became a solo performer. However, he also has spent more than 30 years performing with the supe...
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Neil Young is one of the most respected and prolific rock/folk guitarists of the late 20th century. Raised in Canada, he first became well-known as a guitarist and occasional vocalist for the band Buffalo Springfield. After the band's breakup, Young became a solo performer. However, he also has spent more than 30 years performing with the super-group Crosby Stills Nash & Young, as well as with the band Crazy Horse. He also recorded an album with the grunge band Pearl Jam in 1995. Besides his work as a musician, he has also been active in film. Young has produced and/or performed in such concert films as Rust Never Sleeps (1979), Year of the Horse (1997) and many more. He has also been involved with non-musical films, including Human Highway (1982) and Made in Heaven (1987). Show less «
Live music is better.
Live music is better.
It's better to burn out than to fade away.
It's better to burn out than to fade away.
Remember when you used to watch TV in the '60s and you'd see Perry Como in a cashmere sweater? That's what rock'n'roll is becoming. It's you...Show more »
Remember when you used to watch TV in the '60s and you'd see Perry Como in a cashmere sweater? That's what rock'n'roll is becoming. It's your parents' music. Show less «
My my, hey hey. Rock and roll is here to stay.
My my, hey hey. Rock and roll is here to stay.
All that stuff about heavy metal and hard rock, I don't subscribe to any of that. It's all just music. I mean, the heavy metal from the '70s...Show more »
All that stuff about heavy metal and hard rock, I don't subscribe to any of that. It's all just music. I mean, the heavy metal from the '70s sounds nothing like the stuff from the '80s, and that sounds nothing like the stuff from the '90s. Who's to say what is and isn't a certain type of music? Show less «
[when asked if punk rock influenced his 1979 album "Rust Never Sleeps] No, I wasn't really influenced by that scene. Most of the songs on th...Show more »
[when asked if punk rock influenced his 1979 album "Rust Never Sleeps] No, I wasn't really influenced by that scene. Most of the songs on that album had been written well before The Sex Pistols were ever heard of. "The Thrasher" was pretty much me writing about my experiences with Crosby Stills & Nash in the mid-'70s. Do you know Lynyrd Skynyrd almost ended up recording "Powderfinger" before my version came out? We sent them an early demo of it because they wanted to do one of my songs. Show less «
[on his 1974 tour] Oh, that was a fabulous tour, one of my best. Over in England, The Rainbow... Bristol was the best ever... the Festival H...Show more »
[on his 1974 tour] Oh, that was a fabulous tour, one of my best. Over in England, The Rainbow... Bristol was the best ever... the Festival Hall... those were magical gigs. I did an encore at the latter with nobody there but Ahmet Ertegun, who owns Atlantic Records. I said, "Ahmet, I played so good tonight I think I deserve my own private encore." So we went out and played "Tonight's the Night" for the fourth time that evening [bursts out laughing] with no one left in the theater. Show less «
[on Kurt Cobain, who quoted the Young song "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)" in his suicide note] The fact that he left the lyrics to my so...Show more »
[on Kurt Cobain, who quoted the Young song "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)" in his suicide note] The fact that he left the lyrics to my song right there with him when he killed himself left a profound feeling on me, but I don't think he was saying I have to kill myself because I don't want to fade away. I don't think he was interpreting the song in a negative way. It's a song about artistic survival, and I think he had a problem with the fact that he thought he was selling out, and he didn't know how to stop it. He was forced to do tours when he didn't want to, forced into all kinds of stuff. I was trying to get a hold of him - because I had heard some of the things he was doing to himself - just to tell him it's okay not to tour, it's okay not to do these things, just take control of your life and make your music. Or, hey, don't make music. But as soon as you feel like you're out there pretending, you're fucked. I think he knew that instinctively, but he was young and he didn't have a lot of self-control. And who knows what other personal things in his life were having a negative impression on him at the time? Show less «
(when asked who's the greatest musician of all time) Bob Dylan, I'll never be Bob Dylan. He's the master. If I'd like to be anyone, it's him...Show more »
(when asked who's the greatest musician of all time) Bob Dylan, I'll never be Bob Dylan. He's the master. If I'd like to be anyone, it's him. And he's a great writer, true to his music and done what he feels is the right thing to do for years and years and years. He's great. He's the one I look to. I'm always interested in what he's doing now, or did last, or did a long time ago that I didn't find out about. The guy has written some of the greatest poetry and put it to music in a way that it touched me, and other people have done that, but not so consistently or as intensely. Like me, he waits around and keeps going, and he knows that he doesn't have the muse all the time, but he knows that it'll come back and it'll visit him and he'll have his moment. Show less «
As soon as you start talking about mystique, you have none.
As soon as you start talking about mystique, you have none.
I never met John Lydon, but I like what he did to people.
I never met John Lydon, but I like what he did to people.
Somehow, by doing what I wanted to do, I manage to give people what they don't want to hear, and they still come back. I haven't been able t...Show more »
Somehow, by doing what I wanted to do, I manage to give people what they don't want to hear, and they still come back. I haven't been able to figure that you yet. Show less «
I'd rather play "Sweet Home Alabama" than "Southern Man" anytime. I first heard it and really liked the way they [Lynyrd Skynyrd] played the...Show more »
I'd rather play "Sweet Home Alabama" than "Southern Man" anytime. I first heard it and really liked the way they [Lynyrd Skynyrd] played their guitars. Then I heard my own name in it and thought, "Now this is pretty great.". Show less «
[on sharing an award nomination with Justin Bieber] Of course, I'm in the same category. I'm not in the same time zone.
[on sharing an award nomination with Justin Bieber] Of course, I'm in the same category. I'm not in the same time zone.
The fact is that I can be really irritable when I'm unhappy about stuff. I can be a nit-picker about details that seem to be over the top. B...Show more »
The fact is that I can be really irritable when I'm unhappy about stuff. I can be a nit-picker about details that seem to be over the top. But then again I'm into what I'm into, so a lot of people forgive me because of that. Show less «
Every car is full of stories. Who rode in 'em, where they went, where they ended up, how they got here.
Every car is full of stories. Who rode in 'em, where they went, where they ended up, how they got here.
[on how well different things he's done in his life were received - or not] I didn't care and still don't. I experimented, I tried things, I...Show more »
[on how well different things he's done in his life were received - or not] I didn't care and still don't. I experimented, I tried things, I learned things, I know more about all of that than I did before. Show less «
I work for the muse... I'm not here to sell things. That's what other people do, I'm creating them. If it doesn't work out, I'm sorry; I'm j...Show more »
I work for the muse... I'm not here to sell things. That's what other people do, I'm creating them. If it doesn't work out, I'm sorry; I'm just doing what I do. You hired me to do what I do, not what you do. As long as people don't tell me what to do, there will be no problem. Show less «
The songs the [Crazy] Horse likes to consume are always heartfelt and do not need to have anything fancy associated with them. The Horse is ...Show more »
The songs the [Crazy] Horse likes to consume are always heartfelt and do not need to have anything fancy associated with them. The Horse is very suspicious of tricks. Show less «
At 65, it seems that I may not be at the peak of my rock 'n' roll powers. But that is not for sure.
At 65, it seems that I may not be at the peak of my rock 'n' roll powers. But that is not for sure.
[operating his train set] I am the Wizard of Oz in here. I can make anything happen because I know how it all works. Music is math.
[operating his train set] I am the Wizard of Oz in here. I can make anything happen because I know how it all works. Music is math.
Writing is very convenient, has a low expense and is a great way to pass the time. I highly recommend it to any old rocker who is out of cas...Show more »
Writing is very convenient, has a low expense and is a great way to pass the time. I highly recommend it to any old rocker who is out of cash and doesn't know what to do next. Show less «
The straighter I am, the more alert I am, the less I know myself and the harder it is to recognize myself. I need a little grounding in some...Show more »
The straighter I am, the more alert I am, the less I know myself and the harder it is to recognize myself. I need a little grounding in something and I am looking for it everywhere. Show less «
I did [marijuana] for 40 years. Now I want to see what it's like to not do it. It's just a different perspective.
I did [marijuana] for 40 years. Now I want to see what it's like to not do it. It's just a different perspective.
[In a telegram to Stephen Stills after quitting a tour]: Funny how some things that start spontaneously end that way. Eat a peach; Neil.
[In a telegram to Stephen Stills after quitting a tour]: Funny how some things that start spontaneously end that way. Eat a peach; Neil.
For whatever you're doing, for your creative juices, your geography's got a hell of a lot to do with it. You really have to be in a good pla...Show more »
For whatever you're doing, for your creative juices, your geography's got a hell of a lot to do with it. You really have to be in a good place, and then you have to be either on your way there or on your way from there. Show less «
I like people, I just don't have to see them all the time.
I like people, I just don't have to see them all the time.
I don't think I'm going to be able to continue to mainly be a musician forever, because physically I think it's going to take its toll on me...Show more »
I don't think I'm going to be able to continue to mainly be a musician forever, because physically I think it's going to take its toll on me - it's already starting to show up here and there. Show less «
I still remember "the mighty Cros" [David Crosby] visiting the ranch in his van. That van was a rolling laboratory that made Jack Casady's b...Show more »
I still remember "the mighty Cros" [David Crosby] visiting the ranch in his van. That van was a rolling laboratory that made Jack Casady's briefcase look like chicken feed. Forget I said that! Was my mike on? Show less «
Sometimes, a smooth process heralds the approach of atrophy or death.
Sometimes, a smooth process heralds the approach of atrophy or death.
Sometimes, it's better not to blow up at someone. I can save that anger and emotion for my guitar playing.
Sometimes, it's better not to blow up at someone. I can save that anger and emotion for my guitar playing.
I tell Ben [Young, his quadriplegic, cerebral-palsy son] everything, and he listens. He knows everything, but who is he going to tell?
I tell Ben [Young, his quadriplegic, cerebral-palsy son] everything, and he listens. He knows everything, but who is he going to tell?
[on Kurt Cobain quoting a Young lyric in his suicide note] I wrote it for the rock and roll star, meaning that if you go while you are burni...Show more »
[on Kurt Cobain quoting a Young lyric in his suicide note] I wrote it for the rock and roll star, meaning that if you go while you are burning hottest, then that is how you are remembered - at the peak of your powers forever. That is rock and roll. Show less «
[on composing some of his best songs while stoned, in bed] I had a guitar case near the bed - probably too near the bed in the opinion of mo...Show more »
[on composing some of his best songs while stoned, in bed] I had a guitar case near the bed - probably too near the bed in the opinion of most of the women I had relationships with. Show less «
I vow to speak up and to do what I can to protect "Earth".
I vow to speak up and to do what I can to protect "Earth".
observation, 2016] I hear seagulls, I hear ocean waves - I hear all kinds of things in the sound of applause. It sounds like a natural thing...Show more »
observation, 2016] I hear seagulls, I hear ocean waves - I hear all kinds of things in the sound of applause. It sounds like a natural thing, like a flock of geese flying by. It's the same thing: a bunch of us making noise because we like something, like feeding time at the barnyard. Show less «
Neil Young's Photos
