"Hey Hey, My My (Out of the Blue)" ( Rust Never Sleeps, 1979) If Neil knew this one was going to be his radio juggernaut, he certainly didn't sing it that way "Heart of Gold" is crooned with the same meditative self-effacement and lack of pretense that characterizes most of his acoustic material, demonstrating that for Young, integrity was never up for negotiation. As the pedal steel lilts and Young's lonely harmonica moans, pals Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor provide backup vocals stronger than a California redwood. It's not hard to see why: an irresistible alchemy of early 20th century Appalachia and the California folk boom, few songs are as immediately melodic as this soft, bittersweet country-folk lament. 1 "Heart of Gold" made the reedy-voiced, lanky Canadian one of the decade's unlikeliest stars. While Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and his breakthrough After the Gold Rush album established Young as a major talent at the top of the '70s, his Billboard 200 topper Harvest and its Hot 100 No. "The Needle and the Damage Done" ( Harvest, 1972) Here are our 25 favorite examples of ol' Neil putting it down.Ģ5. It's far too grand and wide a catalog to capture the scope of in one best-of list, but we here at Billboard wanted to pay tribute to one of the all-time greats with our list of the best Neil Young songs (not counting his work in groups like Buffalo Springfield and CSNY). It's all resulted in Young's truly incalculable influence on multiple generations of future musicians, as well as a handful of the most acclaimed albums of the entire rock era, and even a No. Dating from 1969's self-titled set and classic breakthrough Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere all the way up to 2019's Colorado, Young's catalog has provided popular music with some of its most searing protest anthems, its most swooning love songs, its most righteous rockers and its most leveling ballads. However, Young is still best-remembered for his lead work - as a solo artist, and as frontman of backing groups as renowned as Crazy Horse, Promise of the Real and fellow RNRHOFers Pearl Jam. Going back to his days as a core member of '60s psych-folk outfit Buffalo Springfield, and a late add to vocal powerhouse quartet Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young at the turn of the '70s, Young has endured as one of rock's most recognizable voices - both in terms of his emotive, piercing countertenor, his gorgeously messy guitar work, and his singularly purposeful and uncompromising writing. It's not shocking that Young's work would carry such a hefty price tag, considering that he's served as one of North America's preeminent singer-songwriters for well over half a century now. Coming hot on the heels of similar deals reached by Hipgnosis with Bob Dylan and Lindsey Buckingham, the terms of the agreement were not shared, but the cost of such a share in Young's 1,180-song catalog has been estimated to be worth tens and potentially even hundreds of millions. The first week of 2021 saw Neil Young become the latest rock legend to go into business with ever-expanding publishing behemoth Hipgnosis Songs, with the song management accompany acquiring a 50% stake in the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's back catalog.