Fred Neil: The folk legend who gave up music to rescue dolphins
If you’d written some of the greatest songs of all time, and yet you weren’t ever celebrated for them, you’d probably be miffed to say the least. Taking things a step further, I’d say it might register as something of a crushing disappointment. The thing is, while many folk songs are passed between artists, with the most famous versions being covers where the latest performer is the fortunate one to get all of the praise, there’s often an unsung hero behind it all, and that’s why so many great names get overlooked and forgotten about.
In the case of Ohio-born songwriter Fred Neil, he could easily have been on the same level as the likes of Scott Walker, Tim Buckley or Harry Nilsson as an outsider with a catalogue to die for, but we rarely ever talk about him in the same breath. Nilsson famously covered his work, Buckley was significantly influenced by him, and his delivery was on par with Walker, but because his story didn’t last several decades, nor was it surrounded by tragedy, Neil’s name is largely dismissed.
The thing is, before he left music behind and quit pursuing a career that he could easily have reached the top with, he wrote songs such as ‘Everybody’s Talkin’’, which Nilsson made into a hit when he performed a cover of it for the soundtrack to Midnight Cowboy, as well as giving away tracks like ‘Candyman’ to Roy Orbison and ‘Come Back Baby’ to Buddy Holly. If you’re capable of writing songs of this calibre, then surely some credit ought to come your way, but Neil would rather have retreated from music altogether.
With a gorgeous baritone vocal and a style that focused on delivering intriguing melodies over understated compositions, there was something unique about what Neil had to offer, and over the course of three studio albums in the 1960s, he proved that there was plenty of raw talent there to be digested. While they’ve gone on to achieve some cult fandom in the years since, they were barely noticed at the time, and that’s even despite the likes of Stephen Stills and Bob Dylan praising him for his mentorship and influence during their ascent in the Greenwich Village scene.
He continued to record music throughout the 1970s, but large amounts of this was never released to the public, and still remains unfinished and hidden to this day. In addition to this, he would also only play gigs every once in a blue moon throughout the decade, before deciding to retire from music entirely in 1981. The passion and desire to pursue his craft had been all but lost through a dissatisfaction or mistrust of the music industry, and instead, he spent the latter half of his life pursuing a different love of his entirely.
Another of Neil’s most famous songs is the opening track of his self-titled second album, ‘The Dolphins’, and it was inspired by his love of the aquatic mammal. While the song has been covered by the likes of Linda Ronstadt, Billy Bragg and Richie Havens, it doesn’t hold anywhere near the same significance to other artists who touch the song, because Neil would end up dedicating himself to the preservation and protection of the animal for over 30 years.
Initially inspired by his visits to the Miami Seaquarium, he decided in 1970 to establish the Dolphin Research Project with activist Ric O’Barry, which focused on preventing the capture, trafficking and exploitation of dolphins around the world, and his increased involvement with this was one of the critical factors in his decreased focus on music. While he could have used one as a means of funding or platforming the other, he chose his marine life passions over his skill, and did so until his death in 2001.
There aren’t many more influential guitarists and songwriters than Fred Neil, and there aren’t many more who get this sort of praise while remaining relatively unknown around the world. None of that seemed to bother him either, and while there must have been frustrations that arose from his craft not being recognised, he ended his life doing something that he loved even more, and his decision to let the allure of music fall by the wayside is perhaps one of the most respectable instances of an early retirement.
