"Heart of Gold" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

. From his fourth album ''

Harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most lab ...

'', it is Young's only U.S. No. 1 single. In Canada, it reached No. 1 on the '' RPM'' national singles chart for the first time on April 8, 1972, on which date Young held the top spot on both the singles and albums charts. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the No. 17 song for 1972. In 2004, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' ranked it No. 297 on their list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, No. 303 in an updated 2010 list, and No. 259 in 2021.

Description

The song, which features backup vocals by

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, hav ...

and

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

, is one of a series of soft acoustic pieces which were written partly as a result of a back injury. Unable to stand for long periods of time, Young could not play his electric guitar and so returned to his acoustic guitar, which he could play sitting down. He also played his harmonica during the three instrumental portions, including the introduction to the song. "Heart of Gold" was recorded during the initial sessions for ''Harvest'' on February 6–8,

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

, at Quadrafonic Sound Studios in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

. Ronstadt (who herself would later cover Young's song " Love Is a Rose") and Taylor were in Nashville at the time for an appearance on

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American Country music, country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later s ...

's television program, and the album's producer Elliot Mazer arranged for them to sing backup for Young in the studio. Young played this song in 1971 solo shows before recording it. At a January 19 concert (preserved on '' Live at Massey Hall 1971'', released in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

) he played it on piano, starting with "A Man Needs a Maid" and then

segue A segue (; ) is a smooth transition from one topic or section to the next. The term is derived from Italian ''segue'', which literally means "follows". In music In music, ''segue'' is a direction to the performer. It means ''continue (the nex ...

ing into this song. By the time of ''Harvest'', he had separated the two songs and played "Heart of Gold" on guitar and harmonica. Young wrote in the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the record sleeve, sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner n ...

of his

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrati ...

compilation album ''

Decade A decade () is a period of ten years. Decades may describe any ten-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years. Usage Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement that "d ...

'': "This song put me in the middle of the road. Traveling there soon became a bore so I headed for the

ditch A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches a ...

. A rougher ride but I saw more interesting people there." This statement was in response to the mainstream popularity that he gained as a result of the number-one status of "Heart of Gold". Young has stated that this song, as well as "

" and " Out on the Weekend" from the same album, were inspired by his then blossoming love for actress Carrie Snodgress. In 1985,

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

said he disliked hearing the song, despite always liking Young:

The only time it bothered me that someone sounded like me was when I was living in Phoenix, Arizona, in about '72 and the big song at the time was "Heart of Gold". I used to hate it when it came on the radio. I always liked Neil Young, but it bothered me every time I listened to "Heart of Gold." I think it was up at number one for a long time, and I'd say, "Shit, that's me. If it sounds like me, it should as well be me."

Notable covers

Boney M Boney M. was a German- Caribbean vocal group that specialized in disco and funk created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter. Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the grou ...

covered the song to widespread acclaim on the album '' Nightflight to Venus'', released in 1978 * A cover by

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...

peaked at No. 44 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...

chart in 1987 *

Roxette Roxette was a Swedish pop rock duo, consisting of Marie Fredriksson (vocals and keyboards) and Per Gessle (vocals and guitar). Formed in 1986, the duo became an international act in the late 1980s, when they released their breakthrough second ...

covered the song on their MTV Unplugged in 1993 * Bettye LaVette covered the song on her compilation album ''Souvenirs'', released in 2000 * Black Label Society included a cover of the song on their 2-disc live album ''

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'', released in 2000. *

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

covered the song on her album '' Strange Little Girls'', released in 2001 *

covered the song (with

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, f ...

) on his 2003 posthumous box set '' Unearthed'' * Kacey Musgraves covered the song on her demo album ''Kacey Musgraves'', released in 2007 *

covered the song live at Young's award ceremony for MusiCares Person of the Year in 2010 * Superfly covered the song on their 2010 album ''Wildflower and Cover Songs: Complete Best'' * A cover by Charles Bradley was released in 2011 by Daptone Records *

Michael Sweet Michael Harrison Sweet (born July 4, 1963) is a singer and guitarist from Whittier, California; he is the co-founder, songwriter, guitarist and lead singer of the Christian metal band Stryper. He's also had a successful solo career, and briefly ...

covered the song on his 2014 album I'm Not Your Suicide. An alternate version was released as a video and bonus track featuring Electra Mustaine. *

Passenger A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...

covered the song on his covers album ''Sunday Night Sessions'', released in 2017 * Midnight Shine covered the song with elements of their Indigenous language, Mushkegowuk Cree, on the album ''High Road'', released in 2018

Recognition

In 2005, "Heart of Gold" was named the third greatest Canadian song of all time on the

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of ...

series '' 50 Tracks: The Canadian Version''. It ranked behind only

Barenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian rock band formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their Barenaked Ladies (EP), self-titled 1991 cassette becoming the first independent release to be certified gold i ...

' " If I Had $1,000,000" and Ian and Sylvia's " Four Strong Winds",'50 Tracks' list of essential Canadian music, 2005
/ref> the latter covered by Young on his 1978 album ''

Comes a Time ''Comes a Time'' is the ninth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young, released by Reprise Records in October 1978. Its songs are written as moralizing discourses on love's failures and recovering from worldly troubles. They are la ...

''.

Charts

Certifications

Personnel

— lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica * Teddy Irwin — guitar *

Ben Keith Bennett Keith Schaeufele (March 6, 1937 – July 26, 2010), better known by his stage name Ben Keith, was an American musician and record producer. Known primarily for his work as a pedal steel guitarist with Neil Young, Keith was a fixture of ...

—

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all steel guitars, it can ...

Tim Drummond Timothy Lee Drummond (20 April 1940 – 10 January 2015) was an American musician from Canton, Illinois. Drummond's primary instrument was bass guitar and he toured and recorded with many notable artists, including Conway Twitty, Bob Dylan, James ...

— bass *

Kenny Buttrey Aaron Kenneth Buttrey (April 1, 1945 – September 12, 2004) was an American drummer and arranger. According to CMT, he was "one of the most influential session musicians in Nashville history". Buttrey was born in Nashville, Tennessee, became a ...

— drums *

— backing vocals *

— backing vocals

References

{{authority control 1972 songs 1972 singles 1987 singles Neil Young songs Willie Nelson songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by Neil Young Reprise Records singles Song recordings produced by Elliot Mazer Songs about old age Song recordings produced by Neil Young Canadian soft rock songs