Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse with Neil Young, left to right: Danny Whitten, Neil Young, Ralph Molina, Billy Talbot, Jack Nitzsche. c. 1970
Background information
Also known as	Danny & the Memories The Rockets
Origin	Columbus, Georgia
Genre(s)	Rock Hard Rock
Years active	1969 — Present
Label(s)	Reprise Epic Rhino
Associated acts	Neil Young
Members
Billy Talbot Ralph Molina Frank "Poncho" Sampedro
Former members
Danny Whitten Jack Nitzsche Nils Lofgren George Whitsell Greg LeRoy John Blanton Rick Curtis Michael Curtis Sonny Mone Matt Piucci

Crazy Horse is a rock band best known for its long association with Canadian singer/songwriter Neil Young, despite having released five albums of its own over a 19-year span. It has been co-credited with Young as Neil Young and Crazy Horse on 13 albums, from Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969) to Live at the Fillmore East (2006), and has made contributions to an additional 10 albums by the singer, including his three compilations. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Columbus is a city in Muscogee County, Georgia, United States. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Rock music (disambiguation). ... “Hard Rock” redirects here. ... // Perhaps the most famous musical events of 1969 are two legendary concerts. ... The present is the time that is perceived directly, not as a recollection or a speculation. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Reprise Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group, operated through Warner Bros. ... Epic Records is an American record label, owned and operated by Sony BMG. // Epic was launched originally as a jazz and classical music label in 1953 by CBS. Its bright-yellow, black and blue logo became a familiar trademark for many jazz and classical releases. ... Rhino Entertainment is a specialty record label originally known for releasing retrospectives of famous comedy performers, including Stan Freberg, Tom Lehrer, and Spike Jones. ... Neil Percival Young[1] OM (born November 12, 1945, Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and film director from Winnipeg, Manitoba. ... Billy Talbot is a singer-songwriter, best known as the bassist for Crazy Horse. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Frank Sampedro, Billy Talbot and Neil Young (l-r) play at Willie Nelsons 30th anniversary July Fourth picnic in Texas Frank Sampedro is an American musician and member of the rock and roll band Crazy Horse, known mainly for its longtime collaboration with legendary singer-songwriter Neil Young. ... Danny Ray Whitten (1943-1972) was born in Columbus, Georgia on May 8, 1943. ... Bernard Alfred (Jack) Nitzsche (Chicago, April 22, 1937 – Hollywood, August 25, 2000) was an integral presence in the history of popular music in the 20th century. ... Nils Lofgren is an American rock music singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. ... The name Crazy Horse has several meanings. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Neil Percival Young[1] OM (born November 12, 1945, Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and film director from Winnipeg, Manitoba. ... Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969) is Neil Youngs second solo album and his first with backing band Crazy Horse. ... Live at the Fillmore East is a live album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse with guitarist Danny Whitten. ...

History

The band began in 1962 as the doo wop group Danny & the Memories, with Danny being guitarist Danny Whitten, and counting future Crazy Horse stalwarts Billy Talbot and Ralph Molina as members, the latter two are the only individuals present in every incarnation of the band. The group evolved through nascent San Francisco folk-psychedelia, eventually ending up in Los Angeles and becoming The Rockets by 1966 with Whitten on guitar, Talbot on bass, and Molina on drums, along with Bobby Notkoff on violin and guitarist brothers Leon Whitsell and George Whitsell, who played on the Rockets' only album, a self-titled set in 1968. For the Lauryn Hill single, see Doo Wop (That Thing). ... Danny Ray Whitten (1943-1972) was born in Columbus, Georgia on May 8, 1943. ... Billy Talbot is a singer-songwriter, best known as the bassist for Crazy Horse. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Los Angeles and L.A. redirect here. ... Bobby Notkoff is a violinist who played with The Rockets in the 1960s and Family Lotus in the 1970s. ...

During that year, Whitten had encountered Young, recently departed for good from Buffalo Springfield, playing gigs at the famed sixties Whisky a Go Go club in L.A. Young jammed with the Rockets on several occasions, and asked Whitten, Talbot and Molina to back him up for his second solo album Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, which included "Cinnamon Girl," "Down by the River," and "Cowgirl in the Sand", all distinctive guitar work-outs that would be vastly influential on alternative and grunge bands in the 1980s and 1990s, and remain staples of Young's concert sets to this day. The trio broke up the Rockets and formed Crazy Horse in 1969 as a permanent unit, touring with Young in early 1970. This tour would be featured on the 2006 album Live at the Fillmore East. Buffalo Springfield was a short-lived but influential folk rock group that served as a springboard for the careers of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Jim Messina and is most famous for the song For What Its Worth. ... The Whisky A Go-Go is a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. ... Cinnamon Girl is a song by Neil Young. ... Down by the River is a song composed by Neil Young. ... Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969) is Neil Youngs second solo album and his first with backing band Crazy Horse. ... Alternative rock (also called alternative music or simply alternative; known primarily in the UK as indie) is a genre of rock music that emerged in the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s. ... Grunge music (sometimes also referred to as the Seattle Sound) is an independent-rooted music genre that became a commercially successful offshoot of hardcore punk, thrash metal, and alternative rock in the late 1980s and early 1990s. ... Live at the Fillmore East is a live album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse with guitarist Danny Whitten. ...

Young accepted an invitation to join Crosby, Stills & Nash, but used Crazy Horse on his third solo album After the Gold Rush, the band riding the coattails of Young's high visibility as a result of his recent projects. Most of the band (except Molina) were dismissed early in the album sessions, and ended up playing on only three tracks. Crosby, Stills & Nash, also Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young when including occasional fourth member Neil Young, are a folk rock/rock supergroup. ... After the Gold Rush is the third album by Neil Young, and one of four high-profile albums released by each partner of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in the wake of their chart-topping Déjà Vu album of 1970. ...

With Young experiencing health problems and committed to other projects from late 1970 through most of 1971, Crazy Horse capitalized on its new-found fame and signed its own recording contract, releasing two albums on Young's label, Reprise Records. Adding producer/keyboardist Jack Nitzsche and guitarist Nils Lofgren as semi-permanent members, whom the band met while recording After the Gold Rush, this quintet recorded its eponymous debut album, which arrived in stores in early 1971. The album contained many strong compositions, the highlight being a song by Whitten that received several cover versions, "I Don't Want to Talk About It," most prominently that by Rod Stewart on his Atlantic Crossing album of 1975. Also in 1971, the core band with Young recorded in a support capacity for Buffy Sainte Marie, appearing on her She Used to Wanna Be A Ballerina album. Reprise Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group, operated through Warner Bros. ... Bernard Alfred (Jack) Nitzsche (Chicago, April 22, 1937 – Hollywood, August 25, 2000) was an integral presence in the history of popular music in the 20th century. ... Nils Lofgren is an American rock music singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. ... Crazy Horse is the eponymous debut album by the rock band famous for their long-time collaboration with Neil Young. ... I Dont Want to Talk About It is the name of a song written by Danny Whitten. ... Roderick David Stewart, CBE (born January 10, 1945), is an English singer and songwriter born and raised in London. ... Atlantic Crossing is Lindsay Hartleys sixth album, released in 2005. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Buffy Sainte-Marie Buffy Sainte-Marie (born February 20, 1941) is an Academy Award-winning Canadian First Nations musician, composer, visual artist, educator and social activist. ...

Lofgren departed to continue his own career, and Nitzsche moved on to work on Young's Harvest album, leaving Whitten as the remaining creative force. Unfortunately, Whitten's promise as both guitarist and songwriter was cut short, as he developed a serious drug habit, becoming problematic and a liability in meeting commitments. Talbot and Molina drafted several musicians to replace Whitten, bringing back George Whitsell and several others for the pair of Crazy Horse albums from 1972, but by mid-year Whitten had begun to unravel. During the fall of 1972, Whitten was placed on retainer by Young, purportedly to join Young's band for a tour, recordings from which would become the Time Fades Away album. After failing to pass audition with the group who had backed Young on Harvest, a depressed Whitten returned to Los Angeles, dying days later alone of a heroin overdose on November 18.^[1] Given the fact that these musicians, dubbed The Stray Gators, consisted of a group of highly talented and seasoned Nashville session professionals, it seems inevitable that such an audition would be flunked by a Whitten operating at far less than peak capacity. After Whitten's death, Crazy Horse would not release an album of their own for almost six years, and by then their recording career had fizzled out. Harvest is an album by Neil Young, which was the best-selling album of 1972. ... Neil Youngs 1973 Time Fades Away is one of the most remarkable live albums ever recorded. ... The Stray Gators were the musicians Jack Nitzsche (piano), Ben Keith (steel guitar), Tim Drummond (bass) and Kenny Buttrey (drums). ... For other cities named Nashville, see Nashville (disambiguation). ...

In early 1973, Young re-assembled the 1971-era Crazy Horse with Talbot, Molina, Lofgren, and Nitzsche, with Young sideman Ben Keith on board to tour and play Young's new songs. Because of its dark themes and uncommercial sound, the album documenting the songs auditioned on these concerts, Tonight's the Night was initially rejected by Reprise, its release delayed two years until 1975. That same year, Crazy Horse, down again to Talbot and Molina, announced Frank "Poncho" Sampredo as their new guitarist, his recording debut with the band being Young's Zuma album of 1975. With the exception of a brief hiatus in the late 1980s, Sampedro has remained a member of the line-up since. Image File history File links Crazyhorse. ... Jim Jarmusch Jim Jarmusch (born January 22, 1953 in Akron, Ohio) is a noted American independent film director. ... The greatest live concert movie ever ... Omar owns all ... This article is about the 1975 Neil Young album. ... Frank Poncho Sampedro is an American musician and member of the rock and roll band Crazy Horse, known mainly for its longtime collaboration with legendary singer-songwriter Neil Young. ... Zuma is a rock album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse released in 1975. ...

In 1978, the band released its fourth album Crazy Moon before rejoining Young for his classic albums Rust Never Sleeps and Live Rust, both appearing in 1979. The groups's oft-criticized sloppy garage-band approach fit in well in the post-punk rock and roll world of the late seventies, with Young and the Horse running through songs old and new with fire and abandon. Hailed as two of the best in Young's career, the exuberant drive of the Rust albums owed greatly to the presence of Crazy Horse. Rust Never Sleeps is a 1979 live album by Neil Young And Crazy Horse. ... Live Rust was a Neil Young live album released in 1979. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... Post punk generally refers to the particularly fertile and creative period following the initial punk rock explosion. During the first wave of punk, roughly spanning 1976-1983, bands such as The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones and The Damned began to challenge the current styles and conventions of rock...

While sessions with Young had led to appearances by the band on each of his albums during the seventies with the exceptions of Harvest, Time Fades Away, and the Journey Through the Past soundtrack, Young spent the eighties experimenting with genres that were mostly outside the band's idiom. They backed Young sporadically during that decade, playing only on Re·ac·tor, Life, and a few tracks on Trans and Hawks and Doves, although the sessions for the latter had taken place years earlier. The entire band had initially folded into Young's Blue Notes outfit for This Note's for You, but after the trials of making Life and its poor reception, Young fell out with the band, dismissing them during the sessions.^[2] While Sampedro remained in various band permutations with Young over the next two years, in early 1988 Molina and Talbot recruited two new Crazy Horse members, Sonny Mone and Matt Piucci (former singer, guitar player and songwriter of The Rain Parade), to record the spitefully-titled album Left for Dead in 1989. To date, it is the band's last album of new material. This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Re-ac-tor is an album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse, released in 1981. ... Life is a 1987 album by Neil Young. ... Trans is a Latin noun or prefix, meaning across, beyond or on the opposite side [of] . It is the opposite of cis, which means on the same side [of]. In chemistry, a double bond (or ring) not subject to free rotation in which the greater radical on both ends is... Track Listing 1. ... This notes for you is an album by Neil Young, released in 1988 (see 1988 in music). ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... A less than stellar record, LFD, does have its moments. ...

The split was short-lived, as Young and Crazy Horse reunited in 1990 for the acclaimed album Ragged Glory and its subsequent tour and live album Arc-Weld in 1991. They continue to be Young's "on call" band, backing the singer on his albums Sleeps with Angels, Broken Arrow, Year of the Horse and Greendale. Sampredo did not appear on the Greendale CD, but he did rejoin the band on the subsequent tour, playing keyboards for the Greendale material and guitar for the encores. Ragged Glory is a 1990 album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse. ... Weld is a live album and concert video by Neil Young & Crazy Horse released in 1991, comprising performances recorded on the tour to promote the Ragged Glory album. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... Sleeps with Angels is a 1994 album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse released on the Warner Bros. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The greatest live concert movie ever ...

In the Neil Young biography Shakey, it was mentioned that Crazy Horse was working on a new album in 1995 and 1996, interrupted by Young's recall of the band for Broken Arrow. The album remains unfinished and unreleased. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

In 2005, Rhino Records' Handmade division released a two-disc set, Scratchy: The Complete Reprise Recordings, in a limited edition of 2500 copies. It included the entirety of their first two albums on one disc, with a second containing nine rarities and outtakes, including both sides of a single by Danny and the Memories. It is currently out of print. That same year, the Australian reissue label Raven Records put out a twenty-track retrospective of four of the band's five albums, Gone Dead Train: The Best of Crazy Horse 1971-1989, omitting any tracks from Loose. Rhino Entertainment is a specialty record label originally known for releasing retrospectives of famous comedy performers, including Stan Freberg, Tom Lehrer, and Spike Jones. ... Raven Records is an Australian record label that specializes in retrospectives and reissues from American, British and Australian artists. ...

Line-up

Current

• Billy Talbot, bass, vocals
• Ralph Molina, drums, vocals
• Frank "Poncho" Sampedro, guitar, keyboards, vocals (1975–present)

Billy Talbot is a singer-songwriter, best known as the bassist for Crazy Horse. ... The electric bass guitar (or electric bass) is a bass string instrument played with the fingers by plucking, slapping,popping or using a pick. ... Harry Belafonte singing, photograph by C. van Vechten Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, which is often contrasted with speech. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ... Frank Sampedro, Billy Talbot and Neil Young (l-r) play at Willie Nelsons 30th anniversary July Fourth picnic in Texas Frank Sampedro is an American musician and member of the rock and roll band Crazy Horse, known mainly for its longtime collaboration with legendary singer-songwriter Neil Young. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... Piano, a well-known instance of keyboard instruments A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. ...

Past Members

• Danny Whitten, guitars, vocals
• George Whitsell, guitars, vocals
• Leon Whitsell, guitars
• Bobby Notkoff, violin
• Nils Lofgren, guitars, keyboards, vocals
• Jack Nitzsche, keyboards, vocals
• Greg Leroy, guitars, vocals
• John Blanton, keyboards
• Rick Curtis, guitars, vocals
• Michael Curtis, keyboards
• Sonny Mone, guitars, vocals
• Matt Piucci, guitars

Danny Ray Whitten (1943-1972) was born in Columbus, Georgia on May 8, 1943. ... Bobby Notkoff is a violinist who played with The Rockets in the 1960s and Family Lotus in the 1970s. ... The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. ... Nils Lofgren is an American rock music singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. ... Bernard Alfred (Jack) Nitzsche (Chicago, April 22, 1937 – Hollywood, August 25, 2000) was an integral presence in the history of popular music in the 20th century. ...

Discography

The Rockets

• The Rockets (1968)

The Rockets is the sole release by the group of the same name, produced by Barry Goldberg and issued on White Whale Records in 1968. ...

Crazy Horse

• Crazy Horse, Reprise 1971
• Loose, Reprise 1972
• At Crooked Lake, Epic 1972
• Crazy Moon, Capitol 1978
• Left for Dead, Capitol 1989
• Gone Dead Train: The Best of Crazy Horse 1971-1989, Raven 2005
• Scratchy: The Complete Reprise Recordings, Rhino Handmade 2005

Crazy Horse is the eponymous debut album by the rock band famous for their long-time collaboration with Neil Young. ... A less than stellar record, LFD, does have its moments. ...

Neil Young and Crazy Horse

• Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969)
• Zuma (1975)
• Rust Never Sleeps (1979)
• Live Rust (live, 1979)
• Re·ac·tor (1981)
• Life (1987)
• Ragged Glory (1990)
• Arc-Weld (live, 1991)
• Sleeps with Angels (1994)
• Broken Arrow (1996)
• Year of the Horse (live, 1997)
• Greendale (2003)
• Live at the Fillmore East (2006)

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969) is Neil Youngs second solo album and his first with backing band Crazy Horse. ... Zuma is a rock album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse released in 1975. ... Rust Never Sleeps is a 1979 live album by Neil Young And Crazy Horse. ... Live Rust was a Neil Young live album released in 1979. ... Re-ac-tor is an album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse, released in 1981. ... Life is a 1987 album by Neil Young. ... Ragged Glory is a 1990 album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse. ... Weld is a live album and concert video by Neil Young & Crazy Horse released in 1991, comprising performances recorded on the tour to promote the Ragged Glory album. ... Sleeps with Angels is a 1994 album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse released on the Warner Bros. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The greatest live concert movie ever ... Greendale is the name of an album and a movie, both made in 2003, by Neil Young. ... Live at the Fillmore East is a live album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse with guitarist Danny Whitten. ...

Other collaborations

• She Used to Wanna Be A Ballerina, Buffy Ste. Marie, Vanguard 1971
• Head like a Rock (with Ian McNabb, 1995)

Vanguard Records was a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. ... Robert Ian McNabb (born 3 November 1962) is known both for his work as leader and songwriter-in-chief of the Icicle Works in the 1980s, and his critically-acclaimed solo career throughout from the early 1990s to date. ...

Billy Talbot solo

• Alive In The Spirit World (2004)

Footnotes