How Neil Young Poached Some Musicians and Ended up With His Greatest Collaborators: “We Didn’t Climb as We Thought We Would”

Neil Young has been a part of many legendary bands over the years. But perhaps the greatest collaborators in his career have been Crazy Horse, his semi/sometimes backup band. Like the E Street Band or The Heartbreakers, Crazy Horse are icons in and of themselves, though their association with Young certainly helped. Learn more about how Young and Crazy Horse connected and the poaching that went on for them to get there.

How Neil Young Stole Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse was the amalgamation of many bands. They got acquainted with Young while performing as The Rockets. Leon Whitsell, George Whitsell, Bobby Notkoff, Danny Whitten, Billy Talbot, and Ralph Molina were in the lineup when Young saw them perform.

“They had a residency somewhere and would play the Whisky once in a while,” Crazy Horse road manager Willie Hinds once said. “One night, Neil Young, who we all knew from the Buffalo Springfield days, walked in. Anyway, Neil saw one set and asked if he could come in and play on the second. He walked away that night with Danny, Ralph, and Billy as his rhythm section.”

Those three members became a part of Crazy Horse alongside a few other rotating members. The Whitsells were frustrated with Young for poaching their bandmates, but the rhythm section saw it as a chance to move up the ranks in music.

[RELATED: Neil Young’s Bandmates Refused To Play This 1974 Song Live Because It Was Too Unsettling]

“We didn’t climb as we thought we would,” Molina once said. “And still haven’t really. We never have, nor do we consider ourselves a backup band.”

Crazy Horse became a weird in-between band. They were too talented to be considered just background musicians, but they needed Young to help prop them up. Young has given them their dues over the years, celebrating their talent on many occasions.

“Crazy Horse is the best garage band in the world, and when I want to do that kind of music, I ask for them,” Young once said. “Crazy Horse is a machine; it’s not a passing attraction, it’s not a toy. Grunge was a passing attraction, not the music we play together. Crazy Horse was there before the grunge movement, and Crazy Horse survived to the grunge.”

Despite being resigned to backing-band status, they have long received more praise than many in their situation are usually afforded. Revisit the band and Young’s sound above.

Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)