Neil Young on why The Byrds were “deeply cool”
Legendary singer-songwriter Neil Young endured a rollercoaster ride before establishing himself as a solo star who helped define the 1970s. Even though he became a folk hero who existed in a unique mould, Young had heroes of his own who were responsible for finding his true voice.
Young was 14 when he first started playing music, and it quickly became a pursuit that he wanted to spend the rest of his life chasing. In the beginning, Young started with a plastic ukulele, which taught him the ropes. He later advanced his skill set by getting a banjo before finally investing in an electric guitar and starting to play in local bands.
Even as a teenager, Young was prolific with the pen and wrote countless songs, which undoubtedly helped him master his craft. His first band of note was The Mynah Birds, led by Rick James, who, unbeknown to Young, had entered Canada because he’d gone AWOL from the US Army, and they were signed to Motown Records.
Young had yet to dabble in folk at this stage, but it had already become a significant interest to him. Once James was caught and his game was up, Young, along with bandmate Bruce Palmer, moved to Los Angeles, where they met old friend Stephen Stills, leading to the formation of Buffalo Springfield.
Young was finally making the brand of music he desired, and the fortunes of Buffalo Springfield transformed relatively quickly. Furthermore, in 1966, they earned the opportunity to tour with The Byrds, who were a vital reason why he became a folk musician in the first place.
During an interview with Mojo, Young revealed it wasn’t Stills who converted him to folk, and his fascination had already been ongoing for many years. “Yeah, that’s pretty accurate, but I’d been into Dylan since ’63 when I heard his very first album; that left a big impression on me. And later, The Byrds were great. What they did was deeply ‘cool’. They really impressed me,” he explained.
Considering the vast influence of The Byrds on his career, it’s fitting that Young later formed a musical partnership with David Crosby, who co-founded the group. Together with Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, the quartet proved to be a force to be reckoned with as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
While his relationship with Crosby was frosty at times, following the singer-songwriter’s death in 2023, Young spoke with great admiration for his late collaborator and the body of work he left behind. “David is gone, but his music lives on. The soul of CSNY, David’s voice and energy were at the heart of our band. His great songs stood for what we believed in, and it was always always fun and exciting when we got to play together,” he wrote.
The many line-up changes of The Byrds meant their stay at the top was relatively short-lived. However, the group’s original incarnation was revolutionary, helping usher folk further into the mainstream and convincing artists such as Young that it was the correct path.