Neil Young Biography and Timeline

Birth of Neil Percival Young

Birth of Neil Percival Young, later singer songwriter, guitarist and major Canadian rock figure.

Winnipeg

Moves through Winnipeg's early music scene, where his first serious bands begin to develop.

Squires, The

Fronts The Squires, a Winnipeg instrumental and garage rock group from his early career.

Role range: 1963-1965

The Sultan

Records The Sultan with The Squires, one of his earliest commercial releases.

Role range: 1963-1965

Sugar Mountain

Writes Sugar Mountain, later one of his most enduring early autobiographical songs.

Buffalo Springfield

Co-founds Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin.

Role range: 1966-1968

Mynah Birds, The

Joins The Mynah Birds shortly before moving to Los Angeles and forming Buffalo Springfield.

Role range: 1966-1966

Broken Arrow

Records Broken Arrow, showing his early interest in fragmented arrangements and studio experimentation.

Role range: 1966-1968

Buffalo Springfield

Records the debut Buffalo Springfield album, introducing his songwriting to the Los Angeles folk rock scene.

Role range: 1966-1968

Mr Soul

Writes and records Mr Soul, one of his defining Buffalo Springfield songs.

Role range: 1966-1968

Neil Young

Releases his self-titled debut solo album after leaving Buffalo Springfield.

Role range: 1968-

Last Time Around

Appears on Last Time Around as Buffalo Springfield dissolves after a short but influential run.

Role range: 1966-1968

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

Releases Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere with Crazy Horse, establishing his electric guitar style.

Role range: 1969-

Cinnamon Girl

Writes Cinnamon Girl, one of the key songs from Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.

Role range: 1969-

Down by the River

Records Down by the River, built around long electric guitar passages with Crazy Horse.

Role range: 1969-

Deja Vu

Releases Deja Vu with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young during the supergroup's peak period.

Role range: 1969-1970

After the Gold Rush

Releases After the Gold Rush, combining acoustic songs, electric rock and environmental imagery.

Role range: 1968-

Ohio

Writes Ohio after the Kent State shootings, turning protest into one of CSNY's defining singles.

Role range: 1970-1970

Journey Through the Past Solo Tour

Performs solo acoustic concerts that later feed important archival releases from the early 1970s.

Harvest

Releases Harvest, his biggest commercial album and the home of Heart of Gold.

Role range: 1968-

Heart of Gold

Releases Heart of Gold, his only United States number one single.

Role range: 1968-

The Needle and the Damage Done

Releases The Needle and the Damage Done, a stark song about addiction and loss.

Role range: 1968-

Time Fades Away

Releases Time Fades Away, a live album documenting a difficult post-Harvest tour.

Role range: 1968-

On the Beach

Releases On the Beach, a bleak and influential album from his mid-1970s period.

Role range: 1968-

Tonight's the Night

Releases Tonight's the Night, shaped by grief over the deaths of Danny Whitten and Bruce Berry.

Role range: 1968-

Zuma

Releases Zuma with Crazy Horse, introducing Cortez the Killer.

Role range: 1969-

Long May You Run

Releases Long May You Run with Stephen Stills as the Stills-Young Band.

Role range: 1976-1976

American Stars n Bars

Releases American Stars n Bars, including Like a Hurricane.

Role range: 1968-

Comes a Time

Releases Comes a Time, returning to a polished country folk sound.

Role range: 1968-

Rust Never Sleeps

Releases Rust Never Sleeps, moving between acoustic songs and fierce electric performances.

Role range: 1969-

Hey Hey My My

Releases Hey Hey My My, linking rock survival with the phrase rust never sleeps.

Role range: 1969-

Trans

Releases Trans, using electronic textures and vocoder effects during his Geffen period.

Role range: 1968-

Farm Aid

Co-founds Farm Aid with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp to support family farmers.

Role range: 1985-

This Note's for You

Releases This Note's for You, criticising commercial sponsorship and advertising in music.

Role range: 1968-

Freedom

Releases Freedom, restoring his commercial and critical momentum at the end of the 1980s.

Role range: 1968-

Rockin in the Free World

Releases Rockin in the Free World, one of his best-known political rock songs.

Role range: 1968-

Ragged Glory

Releases Ragged Glory with Crazy Horse, renewing his reputation for loud electric guitar rock.

Role range: 1969-

Weld

Releases Weld, a live album capturing his noisy early-1990s tour with Crazy Horse.

Role range: 1969-

Harvest Moon

Releases Harvest Moon, a warm acoustic sequel in spirit to Harvest.

Role range: 1968-

Philadelphia

Writes Philadelphia for Jonathan Demme's film, earning major award recognition.