Neil Young was born November 12, 1945 in Toronto, Ontario to Rassy and Scott Young. As a youth, he survived diabetes, polio, epilepsy and the divorce of his parents. His father was a highly respected sportswriter for The Toronto Sun and has authored several books, including Neil & Me, a 1984 title covering his relationship with his musician son.

At a club in Fort William, Ontario in ’65, The Squires crossed paths with an American folk-rock band called The Company, which featured a singer/guitarist named Stephen Stills. Young and Stills became fast friends but soon lost track of one another as The Squires disbanded in the summer of ’65.

Neil Young recorded an acoustic demo for Elektra Records in New York in 1965 featuring early versions of “Sugar Mountain” and “Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing,” but he was not offered a contract by the label. Returning to Toronto, Young played the same Yorkville district coffeehouse circuit as fellow Canadian Joni Mitchell before he joined The Mynah Birds, a Toronto-based band led by singer Ricky James Matthews (later to be known as Rick James and singer of such dance hits as “Super Freak”). The Mynah Birds recorded several songs for Motown Records in Detroit that were never released. During one of these recording sessions, James was arrested and charged with deserting the U.S. Navy. The Mynah Birds flew apart when James was forced to complete his tour of duty.

In search of fresh opportunities, Young and ex-Mynah Birds bassist Bruce Palmer packed most of their worldly possessions into Young’s car (a black hearse!) and drove from Toronto to Los Angeles. On Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, the hearse was spotted in traffic by Stills and singer/guitarist Richie Furay who previously met Young in New York and had come West a short time earlier. The four musicians huddled in a supermarket parking lot and immediately talked of forming a band. With the addition of drummer Dewey Martin, the Buffalo Springfield was born. Fusing folk and rock with dashes of country and R&B, the Springfield gained immediate raves sharing bills with The Byrds at The Whisky on the Sunset Strip. Live, Young unleashed his stinging lead guitar and high vocal cries. On the band’s subsequent three albums, Young’s songwriting excellence was evident on such songs as “Mr. Soul,” “Broken Arrow,” “Expecting to Fly” and “I Am a Child.”

Though enjoying success as a solo artist, Young agreed to join forces with Crosby, Stills & Nash in the summer of ’69. He added dark grain to CSN’s front porch harmony. Following an appearance at Woodstock, the riotously-received “Carry On Tour” and the early 1970 release of the album Deja Vu, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young were often referred to as “The American Beatles.” This level of fame, however, did not deter Young from his commitment to pursuing his solo career.

Neil Young recorded After the Gold Rush with contributions from Crazy Horse, Stephen Stills and several other musicians. The 1970 album included poetic acoustic songs like “Tell Me Why” and “Birds” and unbridled rockers such as “Southern Man” and “When You Dance I Can Really Love.” After the Gold Rush exhibited the full range of Young’s formidable musical talents during this phase of his career. In addition to working with Crazy Horse, Neil Young also formed the short-lived Stills-Young Band with Stephen Stills, resulting in one album, Long May You Run, and one aborted tour – both in 1976. Later that year Young was one of the all-star performers at The Band’s last “Last Waltz” concert at Winterland in San Francisco.

Neil Young’s bio is from: Wikipedia

delete reply starfishred wrote on May 15, ’09 Now there was a survivor and what a talent and voice etc.

delete reply welshdoug wrote on May 15, ’09 Broken Arrow is an awesome song, and NY still performs Mr Soul regularly. I love Neil Young. Rose and I have very different musical preference, but the closest thing we have to an “Our Song” is Harvest Moon. Great songwriter. End of story.Top NY Albums Harvest Chrome Dreams ll After The Goldrush Comes A Time Harvest Moon Top NY songs Harvest Moon Broken Arrow (Buffalo Springfield) The Needle And The Damage Done Ordinary People After The Goldrush (discuss……)

delete reply welshdoug wrote on May 15, ’09 OK, so who are you blogging about next…?

delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on May 16, ’09 oh…………….SIGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ………………what a nice voice this man has, ‘AfterThe Goldrush’ has to be up there in the all time best top ten albums.

delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on May 16, ’09 welshdoug said “Our Song” is Harvest Moon. great choice………………..Harvest Moon………has to be .perfection

delete reply terryridgway wrote on May 18, ’09 My favourite NY song was always”Like a hurricane”… great guitar,great song…

delete reply welshdoug wrote on May 18, ’09 He did a great version of Like A Hurricane on MTV Unplugged. Just him and a church organ. Awesome.

delete reply terryridgway wrote on May 19, ’09 Yeah, i have the CD ….