Before Micah Nelson, before Nils Lofgren, and before Frank “Poncho” Sampedro, there was Danny Whitten . The original Crazy Horse guitarist died over 50 years ago, but the mark he made on Neil Young and the band persists to this day. Just watch this clip from the recent, now-suspended tour , where Nelson sings backup on “Cinnamon Girl.
” Those harmonies — simultaneously honeyed and gravelly, providing just enough support without overshadowing, yet so powerful and full of potential — echoes Whitten. He’s the spirit of Crazy Horse that never really went away. “Every musician has one guy on the planet that he can play with better than anyone else,” Young once said.
“You only get one guy. My guy was Danny Whitten.” Whitten died of an overdose of alcohol and valium in November 1972.
This was so long ago that it occurred just a year after Jim Morrison, and, remarkably, before Nick Drake and Gram Parsons. Like those artists, we usually associate Whitten with his death. His tragically short life is forever embedded in songs like “The Needle and the Damage Done,” “Don’t Be Denied,” and, most famously, Tonight’s the Night , where Young mourned the loss of Whitten and roadie Bruce Berry.
But Early Daze , Young’s latest archival release, is a celebration of Whitten’s life — before his untimely demise. Early Daze , a new Neil Young archival release, is a brief record — just 10 tracks clocking in at 38 minutes — and contains no new songs, so casual.
