Neil Young

Neil Young first gained prominence as a member of Buffalo Springfield, the Los Angeles folk-rock band he co-founded with Stephen Stills in 1966. He later joined Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in 1969 while simultaneously launching a solo career backed by his frequent collaborators Crazy Horse.

"Heart of Gold," from the 1972 album "Harvest," is Neil Young's only number one single as a solo artist. Other iconic songs include "Rockin' in the Free World" (1989), "Cinnamon Girl" (1969), "Old Man" (1972), and "After the Gold Rush" (1970).

Neil Young earned the nickname "Godfather of Grunge" because his heavy, distorted guitar work with Crazy Horse, particularly on albums like "Rust Never Sleeps" (1979), profoundly influenced 1990s grunge musicians. Kurt Cobain of Nirvana quoted Young's lyric "it's better to burn out than to fade away" in his suicide note.

In January 2022, Neil Young removed his catalog from Spotify in protest of the platform's exclusive hosting of Joe Rogan's podcast, which Young accused of spreading COVID-19 vaccine misinformation. Other artists, including Joni Mitchell and Nils Lofgren, followed his departure, sparking a broader public debate about streaming platform accountability.