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Neil Young is known for his honest lyrics, polished guitar work and ragged tenor singing voice that has put him at the forefront of folk acoustic rock, which eventually earned him the title "the godfather of grunge," while also earning the No.2 spot on the "Greatest Living Songwriters" list in Paste Magazine, directly after Bob Dylan.
Young grew up in Canada, and began his musical career at the age of 12 when his parents divorced. He formed his first band, the Jades, after some time with Ken Kobluns Squires band. Young eventually dropped out of high school and in 1965 he traveled Canada as a soloist, compositing music for advertisements on the side.
Young dabbled in Motown, joining the Rick James outfit Mynah Birds. After relocating to Los Angeles, he formed Buffalo Springfield, most notably including Stephen Stills. The bands self-titled album was a hit, due in part to the hit single "For What Its Worth." The band eventually split, but not before three of Youngs solo songs were included on "Buffalo Springfield Again" in 1967.
Young went solo for a time after the demise of Buffalo Springfield, but eventually came together with Stills, David Crosby and Graham Nash to form Cosby, Stills, Nash and Young. The group was very socially aware, recording songs such as "Teach Your Children" and "Ohio."
Young continued to release solo albums while with the quartet - in 1970, his first commercial breakthrough was "After the Goldrush." The album included the hit "Southern Man" and "Alabama." After CSNY broke up, he loosely gathered The Stray Gators and released "Harvest" in 1972, including the hit single "Heart of Gold" and "The Needle and the Damage Done."
Drug abuse affected the newly-formed band, and Young felt responsible for the overdose of one of its members - "Time Fades Away" was his next release, and the first in the "Ditch Trilogy," which took him far from the easy-rock road he had been traveling down with the likes of The Eagles or James Taylor. It was a more morose series of collections, reflecting his place in life.
The 80s proved to be an experimental time for Young, as he tried his luck with a number of failed bands and recorded a number of songs with highly synthesized sounds and electronic effects. In the 90s, Young made his way back to country-rock, releasing "Freedom" in 1989. That same year, "The Bridge: A Tribute to Neil Young" was released. The album included covers of Youngs songs performed by up-and-coming alternative and grunge artists, including Sonic Youth, The Pixies and Soul Asylum. It was the beginning of the grunge revolution; the rise of names like Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder, and Youngs personal lyrics and musical mastery was inadvertently leading the charge.
Young continued to record and perform and still does, although he has also clearly has an interest in directing - under the pseudonym Bernard Shakey, he was involved with "Journey Through the Past" in 1973, "Rust Never Sleep" in 1979, "Human Highway" in 1982 and "Greendale" in 2003.
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