Heart of Gold (Neil Young song)

"Heart of Gold"
Side A of the Greek single
Single by Neil Young
from the album Harvest
B-side	"Sugar Mountain"
Released	January 1972 (U.S.)
Recorded	February 6–7, 1971
Studio	Quadrafonic Sound, Nashville, Tennessee
Genre	Folk rock [1] country rock [2] soft rock [3]
Length	3:07
Label	Reprise
Songwriter(s)	Neil Young
Producer(s)	Elliot Mazer Neil Young [4]
Neil Young singles chronology
"When You Dance I Can Really Love" (1971) "Heart of Gold" (1972) "Old Man" (1972)
Audio
"Heart of Gold" by Neil Young on YouTube

• James Last covered the song in 1972. It reached No. 17 on the Canadian RPM AC charts, December 30, 1972. ^[18]
• Boney M. covered the song on Nightflight to Venus , released in 1978.
• A cover by Willie Nelson peaked at No. 44 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1987. ^[19]
• Roxette covered the song on their MTV Unplugged in 1993.
• Tori Amos covered the song on her album Strange Little Girls , released in 2001.
• Johnny Cash covered the song (with Red Hot Chili Peppers) on his 2003 posthumous box set Unearthed .
• Canadian Diana Krall included it as a bonus track in 2015 on her 12th studio album. Wallflower: The Complete Sessions.
• Ruth B performed the song in September 2017 for Young's induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. ^[20]
• Fiona Apple released a cover of the song in April 2025. ^[21]

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 . ^[22]

Charts

Chart (1972)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [23]	14
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [24]	30
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [25]	17
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [26]	1
France (IFOP) [27]	31
Ireland (IRMA) [28]	12
Japan (Oricon) [29]	28
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [30]	9
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [31]	8
New Zealand ( Listener ) [32]	10
Norway (VG-lista) [33]	4
South Africa (Springbok Radio) [34]	8
UK Singles (OCC) [35]	10
US Billboard Hot 100	1
US Billboard Easy Listening [36]	8
US Cashbox Top 100 Singles [37]	1
US Record World Top 100 Singles [38]	1
West Germany (GfK) [39]	6

Chart (2025)	Peak position
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan) [40]	14

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [41]	Gold	45,000‡
Italy (FIMI) [42]	Gold	50,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [43]	Gold	30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI) [44]	Gold	400,000‡
United States (RIAA) [45]	Gold	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

• Neil Young — lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica
• Teddy Irwin — guitar
• Ben Keith — pedal steel guitar
• Tim Drummond — bass
• Kenny Buttrey — drums
• James Taylor — backing vocals
• Linda Ronstadt — backing vocals ^[46]

References

1. Haeems, Neil (June 25, 2020). "Neil Young's sorrowful 'Homegrown' finally surfaces after 45 years". The Daily Californian. Retrieved October 21, 2020. Thanks to Helm, 'Separate Ways' sits perfectly beside Young classics such as 'Cinnamon Girl' and 'Heart of Gold' as one of the greatest contributions to folk-rock.
2. Rosenbaum, Ron (February 27, 2006). "The Two Neil Youngs: Demme's Film Shows A Saccharine Singer". The Guardian Observer. Retrieved October 18, 2020. with a few older 'country-rock' throw-ins like 'Heart of Gold.'
3. "Sound Familiar? 10 Famous Cameos That May Surprise You – 60s and 70s Pop – Oldies Music". May 26, 2015. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015.
4. "Harvest". Discogs. February 1972. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
5. "RPM Top 100 Singles - May 13, 1972" (PDF).
6. "Billboard Top 100 – 1972". Archived from the original on February 16, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
7. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time Rolling Stone. Issue 963, December 9, 2004.
8. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time - Neil Young, Heart of Gold. Rolling Stone. 2010.
9. "Heart of Gold ranked #259 on Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs List". Rolling Stone. September 15, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
10. McDonough, Jim, Shakey, Random 2002, pp. 352-354, 370.
11. Crowe, Cameron, Neil Young, the Last American Hero. Rolling Stone, February 8, 1989, webpage found November 29, 2007.
12. See video recording on YouTube
13. "Thrasher", Neil Young's Heart of Gold, web page found November 29, 2007.
14. Mazer, Elliot, Neil Young's Heart of Gold Archived November 22, 2004, at the Wayback Machine . In Mix, May 1, 2001, webpage found November 29, 2007.
15. Neil Young (February 1, 2022). Neil Young Radio. Sirius XM.
16. Bob Dylan: Not Like a Rolling Stone Interview December 1985 Spin.
17. "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. January 22, 1972. p. 10. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
18. "RPM Top 50 AC - December 30, 1972" (PDF).
19. Whitburn, Joel (2013). Hot Country Songs 1944–2012. Record Research, Inc. p. 238. ISBN   978-0-89820-203-8.
20. "Here's what you missed at the 2017 Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame". CBC News. September 24, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
21. Strauss, Matthew (April 25, 2025). "Listen to Fiona Apple's New Cover of Neil Young's 'Heart of Gold'". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
22. '50 Tracks' list of essential Canadian music, 2005
23. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992 . St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
24. "Neil Young – Heart of Gold" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
25. "Neil Young – Heart of Gold" (in French). Ultratop 50.
26. "RPM100 Singles" (PDF). RPM. April 8, 1972. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
27. "Toutes les Chansons N° 1 des Années 70" (in French). InfoDisc. February 10, 1972. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
28. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Heart of Gold". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
29. Okamoto, Satoshi (2011). Single Chart Book: Complete Edition 1968–2010 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. ISBN   978-4-87131-088-8.
30. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Neil Young" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
31. "Neil Young – Heart of Gold" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
32. "Flavour of New Zealand, 15 May 1972". Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
33. "Neil Young – Heart of Gold". VG-lista.
34. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989" . Retrieved September 5, 2018.
35. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
36. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 263.
37. "CASH BOX MAGAZINE: Music and coin machine magazine 1942 to 1996". worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
38. "RECORD WORLD MAGAZINE: 1942 to 1982". worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
39. "Offiziellecharts.de – Neil Young – Heart of Gold" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved March 6, 2020. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON Neil Young"
40. "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 1" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan . Retrieved January 3, 2025.
41. "Danish single certifications – Neil Young – Heart of Gold". IFPI Danmark . Retrieved June 25, 2025.
42. "Italian single certifications – Neil Young – Heart of Gold" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved April 24, 2023.
43. "Spanish single certifications – Neil Young – Heart of Gold". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España . Retrieved January 26, 2024.
44. "British single certifications – Neil Young – Heart of Gold". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved March 1, 2024.
45. "American single certifications – Neil Young – Heart of Gold". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved February 29, 2020.
46. "Heart of Gold" . Retrieved July 4, 2025.