Young, Neil (1945-…), is a Canadian rock singer, songwriter, and musician known for his high, mournful singing voice and expressive guitar playing. The lyrics to his songs often deal with political issues. Young gained fame beginning in the late 1960’s as a member of the folk-rock groups Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. He is also a solo performer. Young has recorded more than 30 studio albums.
Neil Percival Young was born on Nov. 12, 1945, in Toronto and grew up in Omemee, Ontario. He moved with his mother to Winnipeg, Manitoba, as an adolescent. Young played guitar in a number of local groups before moving to California in 1966 with the Canadian bassist Bruce Palmer. There, they formed Buffalo Springfield with the American guitarists and singers Stephen Stills and Richie Furay and the Canadian drummer Dewey Martin. The group recorded three highly praised albums before breaking up in 1968. In 1969, Young’s first solo album, Neil Young, appeared.
In 1969, Young joined Stills, the American singer and guitarist David Crosby, and the British singer and guitarist Graham Nash of the group Crosby, Stills, and Nash. The group then became Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. One of the group’s biggest hits was “Ohio” (1970), written by Young. The song was Young’s response to a 1970 incident at Kent State University in Ohio in which National Guardsmen fired into a crowd of demonstrators protesting the Vietnam War (1957-1975). Four students were killed in the incident, and nine others were wounded.
In 1969, Young’s second solo album, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, was released, featuring the band Crazy Horse. The album’s most popular songs were “Cinnamon Girl” and “Down by the River.” In 1970, Young’s third solo album, After the Gold Rush, was released. It featured the hits “Only Love Can Break Your Heart,” “After the Gold Rush,” and “When You Dance I Can Really Love.” It also included “Southern Man,” a bitter song about racism against Black people in the American South. Young’s fourth solo album, Harvest, with the hits “Heart of Gold” and “Old Man,” became the best-selling album of 1972.
Young’s other notable songs include “Like a Hurricane” (1977), “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)” (1979), “This Note’s For You” (1988), and “Rockin’ in the Free World” (1989). His album Living with War (2006) consisted of protest songs against the Iraq War (2003-2011). Young continues to perform from time to time with Crazy Horse. He has also appeared on the recordings of many other performers, including the American singers Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Linda Ronstadt, and Warren Zevon.
Young is a strong supporter of environmental conservation and the welfare of farmers. He was one of the cofounders of the 1985 benefit concert Farm Aid, which sought to raise money for impoverished farmers in the United States.
Young was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 1995 and as a member of Buffalo Springfield in 1997. In 2009, he was appointed to the Order of Canada, one of the nation’s highest civilian honors. Young wrote a memoir, Waging Heavy Peace (2012).
