Welcome back to Top Ten Tuesdays, my weekly series where I rank personal favorites across music, film, books, and more. This week, I’m focusing on the music of Neil Young, a songwriter who’s been with me through it all.
How I Found Neil Young
It was hard to listen to FM radio in the ’70s without hearing Neil Young. Stations like KMET had him in constant rotation, but I didn’t connect until a friend named Lester Middleton played Rust Never Sleeps for me one night. We sang along as best we could. One listen turned into two, then three, and then we kept going all night.
Those were good times: surfing, music, and, strangely enough, my church youth group, all wrapped up in this album and Neil’s wider catalog.
After high school, I joined the USAF. I couldn’t take music with me to basic training, but once I was able, I bought the album and played it so much I wore it out. From that point on, Neil Young was with me. Not literally, of course, but spiritually. He’s become one of those artists I sing along to while driving. His catalog is deep, beautiful, and very much alive in my daily soundtrack.
My Top 10 Neil Young Songs
- My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue) – This is the song I associate with leaving home at 18 and heading off to serve. It carried me through basic and tech school. Hearing it now takes me straight back to hot days, endless cornfields, and my USAF comrades.
- Cortez the Killer – Lester and I knew each other from church. This was our surfing jam. It still takes me back.
- Heart of Gold – A throwback to my uncle Danny. We sang this together on the drive home from racquetball. I’ll never forget that moment.
- Old Man – This one changes with age. I used to love its sound. Then its melody. Now, as an old man myself, I love its message.
- Welfare Mothers – My secret mood-breaker. If I’m in a funk (which isn’t often), I throw this on and let the weird, joyful noise do its thing.
- Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black) – I bought a cheap stereo just to play Rust Never Sleeps. This song got me through lonely USAF nights.
- The Needle and the Damage Done – I didn’t understand it at 16. By 19, after losing friends to overdoses, it made heartbreaking sense. It still gives me chills.
- Powderfinger – My youth pastor once told me this song was inspired by Satan. I disagreed. My love of music is one of the reasons I’m now an atheist.
- After the Gold Rush – An older girl in high school made me sit and really listen to this. I forget her name, but I still remember every lyric.
- Cinnamon Girl – Arguably Neil’s most iconic track, and for me, a reminder that I found my dream woman 45 years ago, and never let go.
Closing Thoughts
I’m listening to this playlist while I write. The house is quiet. Heart of Gold fills every room.
I’m a joyously happy man in this moment, which is fairly normal when the music’s playing and I’m doing something I love.
I’ve lost track of the people I used to share this music with. My uncle Danny passed. Lester drifted away. These days, not many folks I know still care about Neil Young. But I do. And I don’t think I’ll ever stop.
Bonus Track: “Big Crime” – A late-career protest song with teeth.
Listen on Spotify: Top 10 Neil Young Songs
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