Danny Ray Whitten (1943-1972) was born in Columbus, Georgia on May 8, 1943. Not much is known of his early life, but soon after reaching majority he joined with Billy Talbot and Ralph Molina among others in the doo-wop group Danny and the Memories. After recording an obscure single, "Can't Help Loving That Girl of Mine", which failed to light up the charts, the core members of the group moved to San Francisco. There they morphed into a psychedelic rock act with Whitten taking up the guitar, Molina the drums and Talbot bass and piano. 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ... Columbus is a city located in Muscogee County, Georgia. ... May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (129th in leap years). ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... Billy Talbot is a singer-songwriter, best known as the bassist for Crazy Horse. ... Doo-wop is a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music popular in the mid-1950s to the early 1960s in America. ... City nickname: The City by the Bay Location Location of the City and County of San Francisco, California Government County San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom Physical characteristics Area      Land      Water 600. ... Psychedelic music draws its inspiration from the experience of mind-altering drugs such as cannabis, psilocybin, mescaline, ecstasy and especially LSD. Characteristic features of the style include modal melodies, lengthy instrumental solos, esoteric lyrics and trippy special effects such as reversed, distorted, delayed and/or phased sounds. ...

By 1967, the group expanded to include brothers George and Leon Whitsell, on additional guitars and vocals as well as violinist Bobby Notkoff, and the sextet were calling themselves The Rockets. Noted independent label White Whale signed the group and paired them with producer Barry Goldberg, releasing the group's self-titled album in mid-1968. Selling poorly (only about 5,000 copies left the shelves) the album seemed destined for obscurity. The group, though, had one significant fan, Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young. Bobby Notkoff is a violinist who played with the Rockets in the 1960s and Family Lotus in the 1970s. ... White Whale Records is probably most know as the label of The Turtles. ... Biography Barry Goldberg was a regular fixture in the White blues firmament of the middle 60s that seemed to stretch from Chicago to New York. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Neil Young with guitar (from the 1991 Weld tour) Neil Percival Kenneth Robert Ragland Young, better known as Neil Young (born November 12, 1945), is a Canadian singer-songwriter who has become one of the most respected and influential musicians of his generation. ...

Young, whom had left his group Buffalo Springfield and issued his own self-titled release was eager to record with Whitten, Molina and Talbot. The trio agreed, so long as they were allowed to simultaneously continue on with The Rockets. Young agreed to their request, but imposed a rehearsal schedule that made it impossible. At first dubbed "War Babies" by Young, they soon became known as Crazy Horse. Buffalo Springfield album cover Buffalo Springfield was an influential folk-rock group instrumental in igniting the careers of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Jim Messina. ... Neil Young is the solo debut album by Canadian musician Neil Young. ... Crazy Horse is the name of a band that often plays with Neil Young. ...

Released in early 1971, Crazy Horse's self-titled album could be best described as a Neil Young record which did not feature him. Mostly written by either Whitten or Nitzsche, it highlighted by Whitten's ultra-personal "I Don't Want To Talk About It". 1971 (MCMLXXI) is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ...

Over the next year Whitten drifted, encompassed almost totally by drugs. In October of 1972, after receiving a call from Young to play rhythm guitar on the upcoming tour behind Young's Harvest album, Whitten showed up for rehearsals at Young's home outside San Francisco. While the rest of the group hammered out arrangements, Whitten lagged behind, figuring out the rhythm parts, though never in sync with the rest of the group. Young, who had more at stake after the success of Harvest, could not handle Whitten's behaviour, and fired him on November 18, 1972. Young gave Whitten a plane ticket to Los Angeles and fifty dollars to get himself some help. Once in Los Angeles, Whitten spent the $50 on heroin and overdosed a final time, he died that night at the age of 29. There has been some dispute since his death, whether it was indeed heroin, or a mixture of Valium and alcohol that actually killed him. Harvest is an album by Neil Young, which was the best-selling album of 1972. ... November 18 is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years), with 43 remaining. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ... The City of Los Angeles (from Spanish; Los Ángeles, ) also known simply as L.A., is the second-largest city in the United States in terms of population, as well as one of the worlds most important economic, cultural, and entertainment centers. ... Heroin or diacetylmorphine (INN) is an semi-synthetic opioid. ... Diazepam, brand names: Valium, Seduxen, in Europe Apozepam, is a 1,4-benzodiazepine derivative, which possesses anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, sedative and skeletal muscle relaxant properties. ... In general usage, alcohol (from Arabic al-ghawl الغول) refers almost always to ethanol, also known as grain alcohol, and often to any beverage that contains ethanol (see alcoholic beverage). ...

Whitten was the subject of one of the most memorable songs on the Harvest album, "The Needle and the Damage Done" was written by Young about Whitten's heroin addiction and subsequent death; he was also later the subject of Young's Tonight's The Night album in 1975. The Needle and the Damage Done is a song by Neil Young that chronicles his Crazy Horse bandmate Danny Whittens descent into heroin addiction. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ...

Whitten's best-known song, "I Don't Want To Talk About It", has been covered by numerous artists since his death, including Rod Stewart. Rod Stewart Roderick David Stewart (born January 10, 1945 in Highgate, London) is an English born singer and songwriter of Scottish descent, most known for his uniquely raspy, gravelly voice and personable singing style, as exemplified in his signature song Maggie May. In a career now entering its fifth decade...