Fred Neil
Cover of compilation album
Background information
Born	March 16, 1936 Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Died	July 7, 2001 (aged 65) Summerland Key, Florida, United States
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar

Fred Neil (March 16, 1936 – July 7, 2001) was an important American blues and folk singer and songwriter in the 1960s and early 1970s. He is best remembered for writing the top 40 hits "Candy Man" by Roy Orbison and "Everybody's Talkin'" by Harry Nilsson. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... March 16 is the 75th day of the year (76th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Official language(s) None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Largest metro area Cleveland Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq mi (116,096 km²)  - Width 220 miles (355 km)  - Length 220 miles (355 km)  - % water 8. ... is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Summerland Key is an island in the lower Florida Keys approximately 20 miles east of Key West. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami metropolitan area Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 361 miles (582 km)  - Length 447 miles (721 km)  - % water 17. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... March 16 is the 75th day of the year (76th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on the use of the blue notes and a repetitive pattern that most often follows a twelve-bar structure. ... Folk music can have a number of different meanings, including: Traditional music: The original meaning of the term folk music was synonymous with the term Traditional music, also often including World Music and Roots music; the term Traditional music was given its more specific meaning to distinguish it from the... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988), nicknamed The Big O, was an influential American singer-songwriter, guitarist and a pioneer of rock and roll whose recording career spanned more than four decades. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida, Neil was one of the songwriters who for a time worked out of New York City's famous Brill Building. He has often been called a pioneer of the Folk Rock & Singer-songwriter musical genres; his most frequently cited disciples are Tim Buckley, Harry Nilsson, and Jefferson Airplane, but his most prominent descendants have been Stephen Stills, James Taylor, Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell. In concert appearances, as well as the liner notes for his 2003 album, Meet Me In Margaritaville, Jimmy Buffett called Neil "one of my heroes." Some of Neil's early compositions were recorded by Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison; he played as a session guitarist on hits by Bobby Darin and Paul Anka. In 1968, Nilsson recorded a cover version of Neil's song "Everybody's Talkin'," which became a huge hit a year later when it was featured in the film Midnight Cowboy. Nickname: Motto: Progress & Prosperity Location in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA Coordinates: , Country State County Cuyahoga Founded 1796 Incorporated 1814 (village)   1836 (city) Government  - Mayor Frank G. Jackson (D) Area [1]  - City  82. ... For other uses, see St. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... The Brill Building (1930- ) in the United States is located at 1619 Broadway, in New York City, New York, just north of Times Square. ... Bob Dylans folk-rock album, Blonde on Blonde Folk-rock is a musical genre, combining elements of folk music and rock music. ... The term singer-songwriter refers to performers who both write and sing their own material. ... Musical genres are categories which contain music which share a certain style or which have certain elements in common. ... Timothy Charles Buckley III (February 14, 1947 – June 29, 1975) was an experimental vocalist and performer who incorporated jazz, psychedelia, funk, soul, and avant-garde rock in a short career spanning the late 1960s and early 1970s. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Jefferson Airplane is an American rock band from San Francisco, a pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement. ... Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash (and Young). ... James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, born in Belmont, Massachusetts. ... Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, half of the folk-singing duo Simon and Garfunkel who continues a successful solo career. ... Joni Mitchell, CC (born Roberta Joan Anderson on November 7, 1943) is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and painter. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959),[1] better known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and a pioneer of rock and roll. ... Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988), nicknamed The Big O, was an influential American singer-songwriter, guitarist and a pioneer of rock and roll whose recording career spanned more than four decades. ... Bobby Darin (May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) (born Walden Robert Cassotto) was one of the most popular American big band performers and rock and roll teen idols of the late 1950s. ... Paul Albert Anka, OC (born July 30, 1941, in Ottawa, Ontario) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and actor. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the 1969 film. ...

According to Anthony DeCurtis' Rolling Stone obit on Fred, "...So why is Neil a hero to David Crosby? Because back when Crosby was an aspiring folkie who just arrived in New York, Neil bothered to take an interest in him, just as he did for the young Bob Dylan, who backed Neil on harmonica at the Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village. "He taught me that everything was music," Crosby says...." Cafe Wha? at the corner of MacDougal and Minetta streets. ...

Richie Havens, in his memoir, recounts Fred Neil and then-partner Vince Martin's ability to get the audience up and clapping with an entry through the audience, sans microphones, relying only on their harmonious vocals. Havens also added that he was glad to report that Fred had been able to kick heroin and stay clean for his later years in Florida.

Neil was an accomplished professional musician atypically inclined to a very modest frugality. "Candy Man", his first of two Top-40-hit compositions, substantially introduced him to a sufficient income stream for life in his early 20s; he became increasingly disinclined to work if he did not feel like it. Consequently his two fully realized albums (see next paragraph) are remarkable for their singularly unpretentious authenticity. His combination of baritone vocal and 12-string guitar remains unusual, and his combo recordings provide his shimmering melodies with muscular grooves; but his exemplarity is that of resolving the apparent opposition between aesthetic integrity and commercial value almost entirely in favor of aesthetic integrity, which gives all of his recordings a unique historical resonance. The Top Forty or Top 40 is a music industry shorthand for the currently most-popular songs in a particular genre. ...

He had debts to previous singer-songwriters such as Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, Chuck Berry and Hank Williams; but his approach to melody was more in the manner of Cole Porter and to rhythm very much in the school of Ray Charles. His popularly acclaimed albums are Bleecker & MacDougal (also known as A Little Bit of Rain) without drums (1965) and Fred Neil (also known as Everybody's Talkin') in (1966), made during his residences in the Greenwich Village section of lower Manhattan in New York City and in Coconut Grove, Florida, respectively. Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (July 14, 1912–October 3, 1967) was a prolific American songwriter and folk musician. ... For other persons named Robert Johnson, see Robert Johnson (disambiguation). ... Charles Edward Anderson Chuck Berry (born October 18, 1926 in St. ... This article is about Hank Williams, Sr. ... Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter from Indiana. ... Ray Charles was the stage name of Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004), a pioneering American pianist and soul musician who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues. ... Bleecker & MacDougal is the debut album from Fred Neil, a pioneer Folk Rock musician. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... Fred Neil is the 2nd album from Fred Neil, a pioneer Folk Rock musician. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ... The Washington Square Arch Greenwich Village (IPA pronunciation: ), also called simply the Village, is a largely residential area on the west side of downtown (southern) Manhattan in New York City named after Greenwich, London. ... Manhattan is a borough of New York City, New York, USA, coterminous with New York County. ... Alternate spelling: see Cocoanut Grove (disambiguation). ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami metropolitan area Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 361 miles (582 km)  - Length 447 miles (721 km)  - % water 17. ...

The Rick O'Barry interview at the dedicated website (fredneil.com) claims that a third fully realized album, Neil's "Stuff sessions" of 1978, was never released by Columbia. The unrelased "Walk on the Water" album was recorded at Bayshore studios in Coconut Grove, with a second set of sessions taking place in NJ with the group Stuff. Look up stuff in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ...

After the mid 1970s he ceased to maintain a residence in Woodstock, New York, and spent his remaining decades enjoying life on the shores of southern Florida. One of his last public performances was in 1981 at an outdoor concert at the Old Grove Pub in Coconut Grove, Florida, where he joined Buzzy Linhart onstage for one song and ended up staying up there for the rest of the show. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... Woodstock, New York The name Woodstock is associated with two locales in New York. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami metropolitan area Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 361 miles (582 km)  - Length 447 miles (721 km)  - % water 17. ...

Fred Neil died of natural causes in 2001.

Selected list of Fred Neil songs and artists that covered them

• Candy Man - Roy Orbison (1961), Dion (1965)
• Everybody's Talkin' - Harry Nilsson (1969), Rubber Rodeo (1986), The Beautiful South (1992), Stephen Stills (1991), Jimmy Buffett (2003), and Madeleine Peyroux (2006)
• Ba-di-da - Mark Lanegan (1999)
• Little Bit Of Rain - Karen Dalton (1969), Sandy Denny (1973), Arto Lindsay & The Ambitious Lovers (1990), Eric Andersen (2004)
• Tear Down the Walls - Vince Martin and Fred Neil (1964)
• The Dolphins - Linda Ronstadt (1969), The Youngbloods (1971), Tim Buckley (1973), Richie Havens live version included on Resume (1993), It's a Beautiful Day (1970), Eddi Reader (1989), Billy Bragg (1991), The The (1993), Beth Orton (1997), Jerry Jeff Walker (1998)
• Green Rocky Road - Blue Orchids (2005)
• The Other Side of This Life - The Lovin' Spoonful (1965), The Youngbloods (1967), Jefferson Airplane (1969), The Animals (1966)
• Country Boy & Bleecker Street - H. P. Lovecraft (band) (1967)
• That's the Bag I'm In - H. P. Lovecraft (band) (1967)
• Blues on the Ceiling - Karen Dalton (1969), Tim Hardin (1974)

Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988), nicknamed The Big O, was an influential American singer-songwriter, guitarist and a pioneer of rock and roll whose recording career spanned more than four decades. ... Dion DiMucci, better known as Dion, is an American singer-songwriter born July 18, 1939, in the Bronx borough of New York City. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Rubber Rodeo was a Boston-based band active in the 1980s. ... The Beautiful South were an English pop group formed at the end of the 1980s by former members of Hull group The Housemartins - Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway. ... Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash (and Young). ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Madeleine Peyroux (b. ... Mark Lanegan (born November 25, 1964 in Ellensburg, Washington) is a singer and songwriter. ... Karen Dalton on Koch Records KOC-CD-7918 Karen Dalton (1938 – 1993) was an American folk singer and banjo player associated with the early 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene, particularly with Fred Neil and the Holy Modal Rounders as well as Bob Dylan. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... Arto Lindsay (born May 28, 1953) is an American guitarist and singer. ... Eric Andersen (singer/songwriter; born on February 14, 1943, Pittsburgh, PA, USA) belonged in the early sixties together with Phil Ochs en Bob Dylan to the Greenwich Village folkscene in New York. ... Cover of If the Jasmine . ... Linda Marie Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946 in Tucson, Arizona) is a popular vocalist with multiple Grammy Awards, numerous multi-platinum albums, an Emmy Award, a Tony Award nomination who has recorded over 30 studio albums. ... The Youngbloods was an American folk rock band consisting of Jesse Colin Young (vocals, bass), Jerry Corbitt(lead guitar)www. ... Timothy Charles Buckley III (February 14, 1947 – June 29, 1975) was an experimental vocalist and performer who incorporated jazz, psychedelia, funk, soul, and avant-garde rock in a short career spanning the late 1960s and early 1970s. ... Richie Havens (born January 21, 1941 in Brooklyn, New York) is an African American folk singer and guitarist. ... Eddi Reader is a Scottish singer, known both for her work with Fairground Attraction and for her solo career. ... Stephen William Bragg (born December 20, 1957), known as Billy Bragg, is an English musician renowned for his blend of folk, punk-rock, and protest music, and his poetic lyrics dealing with political as well as romantic themes. ... The The is an English musical and multimedia group that has been around since 1979 in various forms, with Matt Johnson being the only constant band member. ... Elizabeth Caroline Orton,[1] commonly known as Beth Orton, (born December 14, 1970), is a Brit Award–winning English singer-songwriter. ... Jerry Jeff Walker, 2002 Jerry Jeff Walker (born March 16, 1942) is a country music singer. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... The Youngbloods was an American folk rock band consisting of Jesse Colin Young (vocals, bass), Jerry Corbitt(lead guitar)www. ... Jefferson Airplane is an American rock band from San Francisco, a pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement. ... The US edition of The Animals self-titled debut album. ... Cover of first album H.P. Lovecraft was an American psychedelic rock group of the 1960s and 1970s named for the famous horror writer. ... Cover of first album H.P. Lovecraft was an American psychedelic rock group of the 1960s and 1970s named for the famous horror writer. ... Karen Dalton on Koch Records KOC-CD-7918 Karen Dalton (1938 – 1993) was an American folk singer and banjo player associated with the early 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene, particularly with Fred Neil and the Holy Modal Rounders as well as Bob Dylan. ... Tim Hardin (December 23, 1941 – December 29, 1980) was a United States folk musician and composer who was a part of the 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene and performer at the Woodstock Festival. ...

External links

• Illustrated Fred Neil discography