Left to right: Neil Young, David Crosby, Graham Nash, and Stephen Stills.
Just thought it would be nice to start off your Saturday with this gorgeous song written by Graham Nash and performed to perfection by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. It was released in 1970, off their brilliant album 'Déja Vu'.
Wes Carr is still keeping my infatuation with Aussie Singer/Songwriters strong with his amazing cover of Neil Young's Heart of Gold. The song, off the 1972 Harvest album, is just one of so very many great songs written by Young through the years. Wes recorded this cover on his computer, and put it on YouTube, where I just ate it up.
To find out more about Wes Carr, visit his official website here. While I can't seem to purchase his latest single, Been A Long Time, I can buy the music video on iTunes here. On Amazon, I can buy the delightful song in karaoke form, "in the style of Wes Carr." I am hoping for a new album, and hope it is easier to get than this other album, which I imported from Australia, and it took far too long to get to me. And I still am keeping my fingers crossed I might get to hear him playing live at some point...
Well, I went to a soccer game yesterday, featuring the Smyrna High School team against the hometown team of Woodbridge High. Although I was there taking picture of the game and my nephew playing, I was of course easily distracted - as I am wont to be. And while I was observing the Combine working it's magic on the field across the street, I could hear Neil Young's Harvest Moon as I was taking pictures. So give a listen while you check the pictures out. Woodbridge is the school district made up of the small towns of Greenwood and Bridgeville, Delaware. Both are located about 40 miles south of Clayton, in what used to be known as lower, slower Delaware.
So indeed, I live in a rural area, with plenty of farms, and a small-town-America feel. When I lived in New York City or Rhode Island, it was easy to forget what it was like to live in an agrarian community. While I don't need a reminder now, I thought perhaps others might like one...
The scene reminded me of Tuesday night, when I sent to see Justin and Smyrna play Lake Forest High School, just south of Felton, Delaware. While there was no harvesting going on, I did see a couple of flocks of geese taking to the sky. Also, Lake Forest had the cheerleaders out for the game, unlike Smyrna, who does not utilize a pep squad for soccer. I remember thinking at the time "how incredibly American..."
Nicolette Larson is an interesting artist for me, as I can remember her appearing with some of my favorite acts, from Neil Young to Emmylou Harris to Linda Ronstadt to The Doobie Brothers. She sang background vocals and duets with some of the top musicians of the time, from Country to Rock. Her voice a distinctive rough edge, a light smokey edge that gave her sound some depth. After being a support act for several years, she released a solo album in the fall of 1978, while I was starting my Freshman year of college. Her first single, Lotta Love, had the position of making it to #8 on the Billboard Pop chart, #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and maintaining the interest of the rock world, as the song was written by Neil Young. I remember loving the song, and going out to buy the album. While it was her first album, her name was familiar to me in so many liner notes from so many other artists.
After getting everyone all excited, Larson had some trouble following up that success. The first single off her second album, Let Me Go, Love, was a duet with Michael McDonald. It made it to #35 on the Pop chart, and #9 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The reviews were less forgiving, crediting McDonald with giving a strong performance that overshadowed Larson's.
After struggling to maintain a Pop/Rock career, Larson chose to return to her roots, which was Country music. In the early 80s, Larson made the transition, first touring with a show based in the Country & Western tradition, Pump Boys & Dinettes, which garnered much attention. Her second album out of Nashville sparked the #9 song on the Country chart, That's How You Know Love's Right, a duet with Country star Steve Wariner.
However, despite great reviews, Larson's Country career didn't take off, either. In 1988, she took a step back from the industry. She married legendary drummer Russ Kunkel in 1990. The couple had a daughter, Elsie May Larson-Kunkel. She passed away suddenly in 1997, leaving her husband with a young daughter. For more about the singer, you can check out a website set up in her memory here.
Sometimes I wish I had a rhyme or reason for some of the things I do. I love me some Neil Young, but have no idea what moved me to do this tonight. Yes, these songs in particular are like a soundtrack to my time in high school and college, as they were in the 70s, and myself, Candy, Jay, Verne and Ed were listening to this music while at Smyrna High School, and I brought it with me to college.
But Neil Young was born in Canada in 1945, and by the time he was 15, he was performing solo material. In 1966, he made the move to California to be a part of Buffalo Springfield, and by 1970 had joined Crosby, Stills and Nash to make a quartet, adding Young to the title. As part of the agreement, he also was able to make solo music during that period. In 1970, Young released his third solo album, After The Gold Rush, and scored his first hit on the charts with Only Love Can Break Your Heart. He made it to #33 on the Billboard chart with the achingly heartfelt song.
As a song on the 1970 Déja Vu album for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Helpless wasn't released, although Young enjoyed performing iit. He played it with The Band for their last concert, The Last Waltz, which was also a fantastic movie released in 1978, the year I graduated from Smyrna High. I went with my friends to see it when it came out, before we all went out separate ways. If you pay attention to the video, you see the outrageously talented Joni Mitchell singing backup.
His 1972 solo release Harvest was a seminal album for Young. Although not released as a single, one of my favorite songs was The Needle And The Damage Done. In it, Young discusses the toll drug abuse, and heroin in particular, has on the culture of the time.
The first single off Harvest was Heart of Gold, and it also marked Young's first and only solo trip to @1 on the Billboard US Chart. On the original track, the background vocals were sung by James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt. In 2005, CBC Radio named it the #3 greatest Canadian song of all time.
The 1979 album Rust Never Sleeps was another strong one for Young. The song Hey Hey My My had two versions, with the first, the rock one, subtitled (Into the Black) and the final cut on the album was the acoustic version subtitled (Into the Blue). The song spoke to Young's own career seemingly becoming somewhat irrelevant but the song, especially the rock version, introduced him to a new generation of fans, and revitalized him. Here he performed it at the 1985 Farm Aid concert, which he helped to organize.
While Young has not officially retired, he is certainly seen performing in public less frequently than he once had, although he did perform at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. For more about Young, you can check out his official website here.
Left to right: Stephen Stills, Dewey Martin, Bruce Palmer, Richie Furay, Neil Young
This is another group who made their mark and quickly left the scene. In April of 1966, Richie Furay, Dewey Martin, Stephen Stills, Neil Young and Bruce Palmer came together to form Buffalo Springfield. At that point, they were all pretty much unknowns in the US. But that was soon to change. Rather quickly, they started recording, and spent the summer laying down the tracks for their eponymous debut. It was released in December of '66, making it up to #80 on the Billboard Hot Album chart. The first two singles, Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing and Burned, went nowhere on the charts. By this time Stills had written another song inspired by some demonstrations he had seen in Los Angeles, and while it didn't make it on the first pressing of the album, it became the third single and was the lead cut on subsequent editions. The song, For What It's Worth, made it to #7 on the Hot 100 Singles chart, and cemented the band's place in rock history.
Left to right: Dewey Martin, Bruce Palmer, Neil Young, Richie Furay, Stephen Stills
Lore has it the song got it's name when Stills went to play it for record executives, and introduced it by saying, 'Here's the new song, for what it's worth.' Stills has repeated the story in interviews, explaining why the title never appears in the lyrics of the song.
In October of 1967, the band released their sophomore effort, Buffalo Springfield Again. Bassist Bruce Palmer was busted for possession of controlled substances, and deported to Canada for a period of time. He did return, only to have the same issue happen again. Songwriters Young, Stills and Furay all stepped up with their own songs, creating an air of antagonism. But once released, the critics and fans loved it, and it made it to #42 on the album chart. The first single, Bluebird, made it to #58 on the charts, and third single Expecting To Fly barely registered, hitting #98. The top-selling single was the second, Rock And Roll Woman, which made it to #44.
Soon they started to work on the third album. The recording of the album was said to be fraught with tension, as Young was often not available, and Palmer had another run in with the law, and was again deported. Bassist Jim Messina was brought in to replace him. Despite the difficulties, they completed Last Time Around for an July 1968 release. While the album did well, hitting #42 on the album chart, no single released manage to make it on the charts. Soon after they finished recording, Young, Furay, Messina and guitarist Eric Clapton had their own run in with the law, increasing the tensions. The group disbanded in May, playing their last show together in Long Beach, California. In 1997, the band was inducted into the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame.
