Danny Ray Whitten (May 8, 1943 – November 18, 1972) was an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with Neil Young's backing band Crazy Horse, and for the song "I Don't Want to Talk About It", a hit for Rod Stewart and Everything but the Girl.

[1] Whitten joined Billy Talbot and Ralph Molina and Benjamin Rocco in the doo-wop group, Danny and the Memories.

After recording an obscure single, "Can't Help Loving That Girl of Mine", core members of the group moved to San Francisco where they morphed into a folk-psychedelic rock act called The Psyrcle.

By 1967, the group took on brothers George and Leon Whitsell on additional guitars and vocals, as well as violinist Bobby Notkoff, the sextet calling themselves The Rockets.

They signed with independent label White Whale Records, working with producer Barry Goldberg for the group's self-titled album in mid-1968.

Songwriter Neil Young, fresh from departing Buffalo Springfield, with one album of his own, began jamming with the Rockets and expressed interest in recording with Whitten, Molina and Talbot.

These tracks would influence the grunge movement of the 1990s,[citation needed] and all three songs remain part of Young's performance repertoire.

He was also brought in at the end of the sessions to provide harmony vocals on "Tell Me Why", "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", "Cripple Creek Ferry", "Southern Man" and "Till the Morning Comes".

Young wrote "The Needle and the Damage Done" during this time, with direct references to Whitten's addiction and its role in the destruction of his talent.

The debut album included five songs by Whitten, with two standout tracks being a song co-written by Young that would show up later on a Young album, "(Come On Baby Let's Go) Downtown", and Whitten's most famous composition, "I Don't Want to Talk About It", a heartfelt ballad that would receive many cover versions and offer the promise of unfulfilled talent.

Later that night Whitten died from ingesting a combination of diazepam, which he was taking for severe knee arthritis, and alcohol, which he was using to try to get over his heroin addiction.