Neil Young is a quintessential songwriter whose work has made a significant impact on the American songbook. Young was part of two of the most influential groups of all time—Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young —and that’s not even taking into consideration his world-renowned solo career. The Ontario, Canada, native has received almost every award imaginable, including two Grammy Awards, and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice as a solo artist and member of Buffalo Springfield.
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Though he was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019, Young has yet to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in the U.S. With contemporaries like Paul McCartney, David Crosby, Carole King, and Willie Nelson, alongside legends that came before him like Johnny Marks, Max Steiner, Scott Joplin, and many others as members of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, it’s a head-scratcher as to why Young has yet to be inducted.
“Songs are like animals and you really have to be careful with them and sneak up on ’em and don’t scare them,” he explained in his Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame acceptance speech. “They’re like rabbits; if it’s coming out of a hole, you’re not gonna stand there with a gun. The rabbit will see you and go back down the hole. So you put the gun down, go and sit over there behind a rock, and wait for this song rabbit to come out of the hole. Start sniffing around. And you start sniffing around too, try to be like the rabbit. Be cool. Songs are like that.”
Below, we look at how Young’s legacy provides ample reason for him to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Lasting Legacy
Young first rose to national attention as part of the legendary folk group, Buffalo Springfield, in the 1960s. Young is the sole songwriter behind the band’s hit debut single, “Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing,” which is not only one of the band’s timeless songs but a staple in Young’s songwriting catalog. He also wrote several deep cuts on Buffalo Springfield’s self-titled debut album, in addition to pouring his disdain for fame into the self-penned “Mr. Soul” and “Broken Arrow.”
After Buffalo Springfield disbanded, the prolific singer-songwriter lent his talents to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The folk supergroup of Young, David Crosby, Graham Nash, and Young’s Buffalo Springfield bandmate Stephen Stills made an immeasurable impact on folk music, with Young penning defining tracks including “Helpless” on the band’s epic 1970 album, Déjà Vu. He reunited with the group in 1988 and wrote several songs for the American Dream album.
Among his career-defining songs as a solo artist are “Heart of Gold,” “Old Man,” “The Needle and the Damage Done,” “Harvest Moon,” “Downtown,” and “Cowgirl in the Sand,” among several others. Having influenced everyone from Nirvana to Pearl Jam, Young’s words have shaped the generations of artists who’ve followed after him. What makes Young so influential is the vulnerability and power of his storytelling, which he particularly demonstrates in “The Needle and the Damage Done” which was inspired by heroin addiction that tore through the music industry and claimed the life of his friend and bandmate, Danny Whitten. Though it’s only a few short stanzas, “The Needle” paints a bleak picture of drug addiction as he sings, I hit the city and I lost my band / I watched the needle take another man / Gone, gone, the damage done.
The world of songwriting would sound very different without him, a tell-tale sign of someone who’s established a lasting legacy. If there’s any name that deserves to be added to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, it’s Young’s.
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