The longest lasting musical ride in Neil Young's career has been his association with Crazy Horse, his steadiest backup band since 1969. Crazy Horse's roots reach back to Los Angeles in the early 1960s, when Ralph Molina and Billy Talbot sang in a vocal group with Danny Whitten called Danny & the Memories. "We were one of the slickest acts around," says Talbot, "really into arranging the harmonie
s, the whole trip." Eventually, Molina took up the drums (having previously played them in a high school marching band), Whitten began concentrating on guitar, and Talbot learned bass and piano; this preceded the group's evolution into a rhythm and rock outfit called The Rockets (also including guitarists George and Leon Whitsell and electric violinist Bobby Notkoff). clubs in '67 and '68, the band attracted a following and recorded one self-titled album which sold "about 5,000 copies," Talbot recalls. "We first met Neil and jammed with him a little in Laurel Canyon when he was in the Buffalo Springfield and The Rockets were just coming together," says Talbot. "Later, Neil heard our album, really liked it, and he sat in with us at The Whisky. Then he wanted to record this song, 'Cinnamon Girl,' with Danny, Ralph and me. So we went up to Neil's studio in Topanga Canyon to work on that one song." So, Crazy Horse first turned up on Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Young’s second album, which contained the lengthy, jam-filled “Down by the River” and “Cowgirl in the Sand” and one of Young’s most memorable songs, “Cinnamon Girl.”
The original Crazy Horse included guitarist Danny Whitten, bass player Billy Talbot and drummer Ralph Molina. Whitten died of a heroin overdose in 1972, and his loss inspired much of the material on Young’s tempestuous and biographical Tonight’s the Night. Its release was delayed until 1975 out of fear it was too raw for the market Young had courted so successfully with Harvest (1972) and its #1 hit, “Heart of Gold.” Frank Sampedro joined Crazy Horse on guitar in 1975, making his debut on Young’s Zuma album. The group provided a solid, rocking base for Young’s songs and solos, and they’ve played with him on albums ranging from Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and After the Gold Rush (1970) to Ragged Glory (1990) and Broken Arrow (1996). Alternating periods of acoustic introspection and exploration of other musical styles, the one entity that Neil Young has come back to again and again, however, is Crazy Horse. Young has termed his association with Crazy Horse “the essence of my musical life. This is the core, the smoldering thing I come back to over and over again....If I had never done anything else, the Crazy Horse stuff would just stand on its own.”
