Neil Young “Old Man” released

Old Man Neil Young

Writer(s): Neil Young (see lyrics here) Released: April 17, 1972 First Charted: April 28, 1972 Peak: 31 BB, 26 CB, 27 GR, 33 HR, 4 CL, 4 CN, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 101.08 video, 137.68 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Rock singer/songwriter Neil Young was born in 1945 in Toronto. He rose to fame as a member of Buffalo Springfield and also worked with Crosby, Stills & Nash on their 1970 classic Déjà Vu before releasing his own critical and commercial peak with Harvest, his fourth solo album. Most of the attention was focused on “Heart of Gold,” Young’s only #1 song. It was considered a significant song in the singer/songwriter movement of the 1970s and a prime example of folk rock at its best. However, the album also featured gems such as “The Needle and the Damage Done” and “Old Man.” The latter was written about an old caretaker Louis Avila on Young’s Broken Arrow Ranch in California. Young said, “Louis took me for a ride in this blue Jeep. He gets me up there on the top side of the place, and there’s this lake up there that fed all the pastures, and he says, ‘Well, tell me, how does a young man like yourself have enough money to buy a place like this?’ And I said, ‘Well, just lucky, Louis, just really lucky.’ And he said, ‘Well, that’s the darndedest thing I ever heard.’ And I wrote this song for him.” WK The song compared an old man and young man’s life, showing how the older man used to be like the younger one and that they largely have the same needs. Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor both sang on the song; Taylor also played a six-string banjo tuned like a guitar. WK They also sang on “Heart of Gold.” Ronstadt said, “I thought they were such beautiful songs. I loved them…I don’t think we started until midnight and it was dawn when we came out out…It was really exciting. I just thought I’ve been part of something really wonderful.” SF The song has been used and performed in many settings. One of the most notable was a cover of the song by Beck in 2022 to promote a football game between the Tampa Bay Buccanneers and Kansas City Chiefs. It was a nod to 45-year-old quarterback Tom Brady, the oldest player in the league, vs. the young QB phenom Patrick Mahomes. Both won Super Bowls at 24 years old, making for a perfect reference to the line in the song “24 and there’s so much more.” WK It was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Performance. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Neil Young SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 2/14/2024; last updated 4/26/2024.