Heart of Gold (Neil Young song)

"Heart of Gold"
Single by Neil Young
from the album Harvest
B-side"Sugar Mountain"
ReleasedJanuary 1972 (U.S.)
RecordedFebruary 6–7, 1971
StudioQuadrafonic Sound, Nashville, Tennessee
Genre
Length3:07
LabelReprise
Songwriter(s)Neil Young
Producer(s)
Neil Young singles chronology
"When You Dance I Can Really Love"
(1971)
"Heart of Gold"
(1972)
"Old Man"
(1972)
Audio sample

"Heart of Gold" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young. From his fourth album Harvest, 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 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 and Linda Ronstadt, 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, at Quadrafonic Sound Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. 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'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) he played it on piano, starting with "A Man Needs a Maid" and then segueing 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 of his 1977 compilation album Decade: "This song put me in the middle of the road. Traveling there soon became a bore so I headed for the ditch. 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 "Harvest" and "Out on the Weekend" from the same album, were inspired by his then blossoming love for actress Carrie Snodgress.

In 1985, Bob Dylan 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."

Upon the single release, Record World said that "Dylanesque harmonica and lyric content give this one more of a folk feel than [Young's] most recent work."

Notable covers

Recognition

In 2005, "Heart of Gold" was named the third greatest Canadian song of all time on the CBC Radio One series 50 Tracks: The Canadian Version.

Charts

Chart (1972) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) 14
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) 30
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) 17
Canada Top Singles (RPM) 1
France (IFOP) 31
Ireland (IRMA) 12
Japan (Oricon) 28
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 9
Netherlands (Single Top 100) 8
New Zealand (Listener) 10
Norway (VG-lista) 4
South Africa (Springbok Radio) 8
UK Singles (OCC) 10
US Billboard Hot 100 1
US Billboard Easy Listening 8
US Cashbox Top 100 Singles 1
US Record World Top 100 Singles 1
West Germany (Official German Charts) 6

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI) Gold 50,000
United Kingdom (BPI) Silver 200,000
United States (RIAA) Gold 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Personnel


This page was last updated at 2023-12-24 11:41 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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