The hit song that Neil Young gave away
The one thing to remember about Neil Young is that when it comes to making music, he does whatever he wants. Whether working with or without Crazy Horse, Young never followed anyone’s tune but his own, looking to make the craziest music that he can depending on how he’s feeling. That might make for a diverse solo catalogue, but that also means giving away songs that could be hits.
Then again, Young was never looking for hits, anyway. Throughout his first turn in Buffalo Springfield, Young was the nastier version of what the hippie dream was supposed to be, warning rock fans about the dangers in the world on tracks like ‘For What It’s Worth’. As the band started carving its path, though, Young became more enamoured with what he could do independently, starting with his debut in the late 1960s.
While tracks on following albums like Everyone Knows This Is Nowhere weren’t exactly radio friendly, Young knew how to write a handful of perfect pop songs, bringing grit into his melodies on tracks like ‘Cinnamon Girl’. That would only be the beginning of Young’s penchant for hooks, though.
Across the 1970s, Young would turn in the biggest hits of his career, chalking up massive works in folk-rock like ‘Heart of Gold’ and ‘After the Gold Rush’. Once he had his fill of mellow material, though, albums like Rust Never Sleeps featured Young showcasing the most feral sounds he could muster out of Crazy Horse, showcasing two versions of ‘Hey Hey My My’ with a healthy amount of distortion.
After the heaviness dissipated, Young returned to the sounds of country music, making a reverent take on roots music on Comes a Time. While the album didn’t have as much staying power as his early work, the song ‘Lotta Love’ would become one of his most successful singles…only without his vocals.
While Young was making the album, Nicolette Larson was also looking for various songs to use when she came across ‘Lotta Love’. Looking to remake the song in her style, Young gave the song away to Larson to be released on her album Nicolette.
Despite the soft ballad being a tough sell for Neil Young fans, it would become a smash for Larson, reaching number eight on the Billboard charts and catapulting her to a new level of fame. While Young could have made a new living behind the scenes, he hadn’t exhausted his need to make music.
Throughout the next decade, Young would make different strides to transform his sound, oftentimes with mixed results on albums like Landing on Water and Trans. Although Young was more than happy riding the waves of success, the end of the decade would see him regain his footing again, being adopted as one of the godfathers of grunge music when artists like Pearl Jam would cite him as a primary influence.
Since then, Young has lived outside the confines of the radio format, looking to get his music out as fully-formed projects like Harvest Moon. While ‘Lotta Love’ had the potential to be a hit for Young, he was looking to serve himself before any radio station.
