[10] Young directed (or co-directed) films using the pseudonym "Bernard Shakey", including Journey Through the Past (1973), Rust Never Sleeps (1979), Human Highway (1982), Greendale (2003), CSNY/Déjà Vu (2008), and Harvest Time (2022).

[43] After the Mynah Birds disbanded, Young and the bass player Bruce Palmer decided to pawn the group's musical equipment and buy a Pontiac hearse, which they used to relocate to Los Angeles.

[51] After the breakup of Buffalo Springfield, Young signed a solo deal with Reprise Records, home of his colleague and friend Joni Mitchell, with whom he shared a manager, Elliot Roberts.

"The Needle and the Damage Done", a somber lament on the pain caused by heroin addiction, had been inspired in part by Crazy Horse member Danny Whitten, who eventually died while battling his drug problems.

[61][62] While in Nashville for the Cash taping, Young accepted the invitation of Quadrafonic Sound Studios owner Elliot Mazer to record tracks there with a group of country-music session musicians who were pulled together at the last minute.

In the Decade (1977) compilation, Young chose to include his greatest hits from the period, but his handwritten liner notes famously described "Heart of Gold" as the song that "put me in the middle of the road.

Though Homegrown was reportedly entirely complete, Young decided, not for the first or last time in his career, to drop it and release something else instead, in this case, Tonight's the Night, at the suggestion of Band bassist Rick Danko.

Comes a Time (October 2, 1978), Young's first entirely new solo recording since the mid-1970s, marked a return to the commercially accessible, Nashville-inspired sound of Harvest while also featuring contributions from Larson and Crazy Horse.

[84] The Village Voice named Rust Never Sleeps as the year's second best album in the Pazz & Jop Poll,[85] a survey of nationwide critics, and honored Young as the Artist of the Decade.

Accompanied by a video that parodied corporate rock, the pretensions of advertising, and Michael Jackson, the song was initially unofficially banned by MTV for mentioning the brand names of some of their sponsors.

[98] Young reunited with Crosby, Stills, and Nash to record the 1988 album American Dream and play two benefit concerts late in the year, but the group did not embark upon a full tour.

The album's lyrics were often overtly political; "Rockin' in the Free World" deals with homelessness, terrorism, and environmental degradation, implicitly criticizing the government policies of President George H. W.

The rising stars of the subgenre, including Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, frequently cited Young as a major influence, contributing to his popular revival.

Young also contributed to lifelong friend Randy Bachman's nostalgic 1992 tune "Prairie Town", and garnered a 1993 Academy Award nomination for his song "Philadelphia", from the soundtrack of the Jonathan Demme movie of the same name.

[107] Young and Pearl Jam performed "Act of Love" at an abortion rights benefit along with Crazy Horse, and were present at a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame dinner, sparking interest in a collaboration between the two.

The death of long-time mentor, friend, and producer David Briggs in late 1995 prompted Young to reconnect with Crazy Horse the following year for the album and tour Broken Arrow.

Following the Red Hot Chili Peppers, he played an acoustic set to a crowd who had paid a minimum of $2,000 a seat to attend the benefit in the famous Paramour Mansion overlooking downtown Los Angeles.

[146][147] In October 2016, Young performed at Desert Trip in Indio, California,[148][149] and announced his thirty-seventh studio album, Peace Trail, recorded with drummer Jim Keltner and bass guitarist Paul Bushnell,[150] which was released that December.

[164] In April 2020, Young announced that he was working on a new archival album, Road of Plenty, comprising music made with Crazy Horse in 1986 and rehearsals for his 1989 Saturday Night Live appearance.

The band consists of Promise of the Real members Micah Nelson (guitar), Corey McCormick (bass) and Anthony Logerfo (drums), alongside organist Spooner Oldham.

When discussing the environmental impact on the oilsands of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Young asserted that the area now resembles the Japanese city of Hiroshima in the aftermath of the atomic bomb attack of World War II.

[191] In an effort to become more involved, Young has worked directly with the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation to draw attention to this issue, performing benefit concerts and speaking publicly on the subject.

[193] In 2015, he and Willie Nelson held a festival in Neligh, Nebraska, called Harvest the Hope, raising awareness of the impact of oilsands and oil pipelines on Native Americans and family farmers.

[191] In addition to directly criticizing members of the oil industry, Young has also focused blame on the actions of the Canadian government for ignoring the environmental impacts of climate change.

[195] In 2023, Young and Daryl Hannah travelled by train to Victoria on short notice to offer their support to 1,200 Old Growth activists who had been arrested unlawfully at the Fairy Creek old-growth logging protests.

Young played a short set to draw attention to the issue, and hearten the activists, some of whom had been pepper sprayed and assaulted by RCMP officers, trying to protect the last at-risk intact watershed of Old Growth in southern BC.

[233] Young has long held that the digital audio formats in which most people download music are deeply flawed, and do not provide the rich, warm sound of analog recordings.

[246] Young has been cited as an influence by alternative rock acts such as Sonic Youth,[247] Dinosaur Jr.,[248] Johnny Marr,[249] Meat Puppets,[250] Nada Surf frontman Matthew Caws,[251] and the Feeder singer Grant Nicholas.

For one weekend each October, in Mountain View, California, Young and his ex-wife hosted the Bridge School Concerts, which drew international talent and sell-out crowds for nearly two decades.

He was also nominated for two Grammy Awards: Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for "Fork in the Road" and Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package for Neil Young Archives Vol.