"Old Man"is a song written and performed by Canadianrocksinger-songwriter and guitaristNeil Youngfrom his 1972 albumHarvest."Old Man" was released as asingleonReprise Recordsin the spring of 1972, reaching number 4 in Canada,[3]and number 31 on theBillboardHot 100singles chart for the week ending June 3.
| "Old Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| SinglebyNeil Young | ||||
| from the albumHarvest | ||||
| B-side | "The Needle and the Damage Done" | |||
| Released | April 17, 1972 | |||
| Recorded | February 6, 1971 | |||
| Studio | Quadraphonic Sound Studio, Nashville | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:24 | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Neil Young | |||
| Producer(s) | Neil Young Elliot Mazer[2] | |||
| Neil Youngsingles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
editThe song was written for the caretaker of theNorthern CaliforniaBroken Arrow Ranch, which Young purchased for US$350,000 in 1970 (equivalent to US$2,746,015 in 2023). The song compares a young man's life to an old man's and shows that the young man has, to some extent, the same needs as the old one.James Taylorplayed six-stringbanjo(tuned like a guitar) and sang on the song, andLinda Ronstadtalso contributed vocals.[4]
In the filmHeart of Gold,Young introduces the song as follows:
About that time when I wrote ( "Heart of Gold"), and I was touring, I had also—just, you know, being a rich hippie for the first time—I had purchased a ranch, and I still live there today. And there was a couple living on it that were the caretakers, an old gentleman named Louis Avila and his wife Clara. And there was this old blue Jeep there, and Louis took me for a ride in this blue Jeep. He gets me up there on the top side of the place, and there's this lake up there that fed all the pastures, and he says," Well, tell me, how does a young man like yourself have enough money to buy a place like this? "And I said," Well, just lucky, Louis, just real lucky. "And he said," Well, that's the darnedest thing I ever heard. "And I wrote this song for him.
He tells a similar story when introducing the song at a February 23, 1971 performance broadcast by theBBC(in which he says that he purchased the ranch from "two lawyers" ).
Uses in popular culture and covers
edit- In 2005,Lizz Wrightcovered it on her live albumDreaming Wide Awake,recorded at Allaire, Shokan, New York the year before. It also appears in the filmLords of Dogtown.
- In 2008, during the memorial service forHeath Ledger,the song was chosen to be played with a slideshow of pictures from Ledger's life.[5]
- Liam Finn (Neil Finn'sson) & EJ Barnes (Jimmy Barnes'sdaughter) covered the song on the TV showRocKwiz.
- In 2011, Dallas Green, ofCity and Colourand Alexisonfire, covered the song atThe 2011 Juno Awards,and post-grunge bandPuddle of Muddcovered it on their covers albumRe:(disc)overed.That same yearRedlight Kingsampled "Old Man" on the albumSomething for the Pain.It was the first time Young had sanctioned a sample of this song.[6]
- In 2015, Young appeared onThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallonand performed the song withFallonas his Neil Young character.[7]
- In 2022,BeckcoveredOld Manto promote aSunday Night Footballmatch between theTampa Bay Buccaneersand theKansas City Chiefs.The song is a nod to quarterbackTom Brady,the oldest active player in the NFL (in 2022) at 45 years old.[8]The line “24 and there’s so much more” refers to Brady and Kansas City quarterbackPatrick Mahomeswinning Super Bowls when they were 24 years old.[9]After the commercial was released Neil Young posted a still image from the video for his 1988 anti-commercialization songThis Note's for Youin apparent protest of Beck's cover ofOld Manbeing used in a commercial.[10][11]Beck's cover was nominated forBest Rock Performancefor the 65thGrammy Awardslater that year.[12]
Charts
edit| Chart (1972) | Peak
position |
|---|---|
| Canada Top Singles(RPM)[13] | 4 |
| USBillboardHot 100 | 31 |
| USCashboxTop 100 Singles[14] | 26 |
| USRecord WorldTop 100 Singles[15] | 33 |
Personnel
edit- Neil Young— guitars, lead vocals
- Ben Keith—pedal steel guitar
- James McMahon — piano
- James Taylor—banjo guitar,backing vocals
- Linda Ronstadt— backing vocals
- Tim Drummond— bass
- Kenny Buttrey— drums
References
edit- ^abSimon, Scott (September 17, 2005)."Neil Young Returns with 'Prairie Wind'".NPR.RetrievedOctober 3,2024.
- ^"Harvest".Discogs. February 1972.Retrieved2015-07-21.
- ^"RPM Top 100 Singles - June 24, 1972"(PDF).
- ^Jimmy McDonough.Shakey: Neil Young's Biography.New York: Anchor, 2003, p. 364.
- ^Leigh Creighton and wires (February 4, 2008).Heath Ledger's star-studded Hollywood memorial.Daily Telegraph.Accessed February 3, 2008.
- ^"Official Redlight King website".Redlight King.Archived fromthe originalon 2011-06-12.Retrieved2011-06-19.
- ^"Jimmy Fallon Sings With Neil Young As Another Neil Young".Huffington Post.February 4, 2015.
- ^"Tom Brady is back and once again the oldest NFL player. Who is right behind him?".USA Today.March 15, 2022.
- ^"Beck Covers Neil Young's" Old Man "for Sunday Night Football Promotion: Listen".Pitchfork.September 26, 2022.
- ^"Neil Young Takes A Shot At Beck's" Old Man "Cover Appearing In An NFL Commercial".Stereogum.September 27, 2022.
- ^"Neil Young Appears to Rebuke Beck's NFL-Sponsored" Old Man "Cover".Pitchfork.September 27, 2022.
- ^Gordon, Bob (December 14, 2022)."Beck Gives a New Shine to Old Man".Rolling Stone Australia.RetrievedFebruary 16,2023.
- ^"RPM100 Singles"(PDF).RPM.8 April 1972.Retrieved12 April2020.
- ^"CASH BOX MAGAZINE: Music and coin machine magazine 1942 to 1996".worldradiohistory.com.Retrieved2021-04-03.
- ^"RECORD WORLD MAGAZINE: 1942 to 1982".worldradiohistory.com.Retrieved2021-04-03.