Behind the Rocky Relationship Between Neil Young and Jack Nitzsche 

If you’ve heard of Neil Young, you’ve also probably heard of Jack Nitzsche. The latter was a talented multi-instrumentalist and producer who first came to public attention in the 1960s for his work with Phil Spector. That fame led him to plenty of opportunities to work with other big names in rock and folk music, as well as film scores for movies like One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.

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One of the most important partnerships Nitzsche had was with folk icon Neil Young. Nitzsche first started working with Young during the Buffalo Springfield days in the mid-to-late 1960s. He produced and even arranged the orchestra bit for “Expecting To Fly”. He would then work with the band on “On The Way Home” a year later.

From there, Nitzsche would co-produce Young’s first solo effort. The two musicians quickly became creative partners, with Nitzsche eventually playing the piano in Crazy Horse. Sadly, that particular gig is where things went sour in 1970.

Nitzsche clashed with Crazy Horse bandmates Ralph Molina and Billy Talbot. Young would later fire the lot of them, namely because of guitar player Danny Whitten’s struggle with heroin. Crazy Horse would briefly attempt a solo-band effort that would fail before Young would reform and hire them later.

Nitzsche was still on good terms with Young, and would later join his new backing band called The Stray Gators. Nitzsche is a bit of an unsung hero of Young’s career, as he contributed to Young’s most well-loved works Harvest and Time Fades Away. Unfortunately, Nitzsche had substance abuse and mental health issues of his own that would only get worse throughout the 1970s.

The Moment Jack Nitzsche and Neil Young’s Relationship Fell Apart

Neil Young’s friend and collaborator mentioned earlier, Danny Whitten, died from his substance addiction. This led to even darker, sadder material from Young, and Nitzsche would continue to escalate his drug abuse in turn.

Following a band dispute that led to Young distributing his salary to other members, there was even more resentment between Young and Nitzsche. Nitzsche’s behavior was getting concerning, and the band would cease following one last tour in the mid-1970s. Despite having a successful career after the fact, Nitzsche would become controlled by his growing drug and alcohol abuse, and would slander his old friend Young in an interview in 1974.

Naturally, the friendship more or less ended there. It’s a real shame. Young went on to continue with his legendary folk career. Nitzsche would be arrested for assaulting his girlfriend in 1979, and his reputation would never heal completely. Young and Nitzsche would reconcile in the late 1980s, and Young would later say that arrangers like Nitzsche were unsung heroes in music.

“Guys like Jack Nitzsche and people like that are geniuses,” Young said.

Sometimes, old wounds really can heal.

Photo by Joel Bernstein

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