How Neil Young wrote a hit song following a throat operation
It rarely bodes well when a singer loses their voice. Often, it happens because they have over-exerted themselves and have to rest for a while before exercising their vocal cords again. Other times, it’s due to something we all suffer from, like the flu or the common cold. For Neil Young, undergoing surgery on his throat wasn’t going to stop him from dredging up hit melodies.
During the early 1970s, Young was in a relationship with the actor Carrie Snodgress, but finding out about her affair drew things between them to an abrupt close. As a result, Zuma turned into a sort of breakup album, filled with Young’s grappling with loss and his acceptance of moving on. In 1975, Young described the new material as “a soul-form that switches from history scene to history scene trying to find itself in this maze”.
Many of the songs explore Young’s experience of love and how futile it can be. For example, in the song ‘Pardon My Heart’, the singer delivers a tragic account of his relationship with Snodgress and how it became an exchange where “one isn’t giving and one pretends to receive”. It’s no wonder, therefore, that he once introduced it by saying, “It’s one of the saddest love songs I’ve ever heard”.
While writing some of its tracks, Young had surgery performed on his throat, which left him unable to speak for quite a long time. Despite the obvious discomfort this likely yielded, he felt eager to plough on and communicated new melodies he thought of by whistling to the rest of the band. As rhythm guitarist Frank Sampedro recalled to Uncut, this was how ‘Lookin’ for a Love’ was conceived.
“At one point, between leaving Zuma beach and going to the Ranch, he had an operation on his throat and he couldn’t speak for a long time,” the guitarist explained. “I bought him a bunch of those Etch-A-Sketch toys so he could write. We went to bars like that. Once, he came to us and wrote, ‘I have a new song.’ At that point, he could just about blow out the wind between his teeth, so he taught us the melody.”
Clearly, the temporary removal of one of his most potent instruments wouldn’t stall a master at work. When he finally got better, he recorded the vocals, with supporting harmonies delivered by Crazy Horse’s Ralph Molina and Billy Talbot. Listening to the track, any indication that Young had only just regained his voice completely disappears, and his performance exudes the same raw emotion and distinctive timbre that has defined his career.
Not only this, but the song displays the musician’s newfound appreciation for the power of moving on and the excitement that can bring, even if it’s uncertain. “I’ve been looking for a lover, but I haven’t met her yet,” he sings, claiming that, when he finally does meet her, “I will discover another reason why I want to live and make the best of what I see.”
