The Needle and the Damage Done

Last updated
"The Needle and the Damage Done"
Old Man (Neil Young single - cover art).jpg
German "Old Man" / "The Needle and the Damage Done" single cover art
Single by Neil Young
from the album Harvest
A-side "Old Man"
ReleasedApril 17, 1972
RecordedJanuary 30, 1971
Venue Royce Hall, UCLA
Genre Folk rock [1]
Length2:03
Label Reprise
Songwriter(s) Neil Young
Producer(s)
Neil Young singles chronology
"Heart of Gold"
(1972)
"The Needle and the Damage Done"
(1972)
"War Song"
(1972)

"The Needle and the Damage Done" is a 1972 song by Canadian-American singer-songwriter Neil Young. The lyrics describe the effects of heroin addiction on musicians Young knew, including his friend and Crazy Horse bandmate Danny Whitten, who would die of an overdose the same year the song was released. The song would preview the theme of Young's 1975 album Tonight's the Night, which would reflect on the fatal heroin overdoses of Whitten and Bruce Berry, a roadie for Young and Crazy Horse. [3] [4]

Contents

Background and lyrics

"The Needle and the Damage Done" was first released on Young's 1972 album Harvest . Rather than re-recording it, Young selected a live version from January 1971 that featured him singing and playing acoustic guitar. [5] It would appear on the compilation albums Decade in 1977 and Greatest Hits in 2004. [5] On the handwritten liner notes for Decade, Young wrote of the song: "I am not a preacher, but drugs killed a lot of great men."

Young performed the song in a 2005 Nashville concert, with the version being included on Jonathan Demme's 2006 documentary Neil Young: Heart of Gold . The documentary's DVD includes Young's 1971 performance of the song from The Johnny Cash Show . [6]

The song also appears on the 2007 album Live at Massey Hall 1971 . On that album, Young presented "The Needle and the Damage Done" with the following introduction:

Ever since I left Canada about five years ago or so and moved down south, I found out a lot of things that I didn't know when I left. Some of 'em are good, and some of 'em are bad. Got to see a lot of great musicians before they happened, before they became famous, y'know, when they were just gigging, five and six sets a night... things like that. And I got to see a lot of great musicians who nobody ever got to see for one reason or another. But, strangely enough, the real good ones that you never got to see was... 'cause of heroin. And that started happening over and over. Then it happened to someone that everyone knew about. So I just wrote a little song. [7]

Covers and cultural references

Bands that have covered this song on studio albums include Our Lady Peace, Duran Duran, Simple Minds, and The Pretenders. [8]

Five Eight covered the song for their 1993 release The Angriest Man. [9]

Tori Amos covered the song during her "Strange Little Tour" in 2001. [8]

Australian singer Lior covered the song in 2006 as part of youth radio station Triple J's Like a Version segment. [10]

English folk singer Laura Marling covered it twice on her August 2008 tour of Australia, and on several dates during her 2010 tour of England, Marling has since recorded the cover on a limited edition 7" distributed as a part of the Third Man Records Blue Series. [11]

Pearl Jam's lead singer Eddie Vedder covered the song at a Pearl Jam show on August 23, 2009, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. He dedicated it to Michael Jackson, to whom he grew up listening. Pearl Jam also covered the song during their Backspacer tour. [12]

Jewel covered the song on The Howard Stern Show on May 24, 2010. [13]

British Artist Pete Fowler's August 2013 solo exhibition, at Beach London Gallery, of cross-stitch embroidery was titled "The Needle and The Damage Done." [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Young</span> Canadian and American musician (born 1945)

Neil Percival Young is a Canadian and American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining the folk-rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the beginning of his solo career, often with backing by the band Crazy Horse, he has released critically acclaimed albums such as Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969), After the Gold Rush (1970), Harvest (1972), On the Beach (1974), and Rust Never Sleeps (1979). He was also a part-time member of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, with whom he recorded the chart-topping 1970 album Déjà Vu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Vedder</span> American singer (born 1964)

Eddie Jerome Vedder is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and one of three guitarists for the rock band Pearl Jam. He was previously a guest vocalist for supergroup Temple of the Dog, a tribute band dedicated to the late singer Andrew Wood.

<i>Harvest</i> (Neil Young album) 1972 studio album by Neil Young

Harvest is the fourth studio album by Canadian-American musician Neil Young, released on February 1, 1972, by Reprise Records, catalogue number MS 2032. It featured the London Symphony Orchestra on two tracks and vocals by guests David Crosby, Graham Nash, Linda Ronstadt, Stephen Stills, and James Taylor. It topped the Billboard 200 album chart for two weeks, and spawned two hit singles, "Old Man", which peaked at No. 31 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and "Heart of Gold", which reached No. 1. It was the best-selling album of 1972 in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike McCready</span> American guitarist

Michael David McCready is an American musician known for being a founding member and lead guitarist of Pearl Jam. McCready was also a member of the side project bands Flight to Mars, Temple of the Dog, Mad Season, and The Rockfords. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a part of Pearl Jam in 2017 alongside the three other founding members, and former member Dave Krusen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Irons</span> American drummer

Jack Steven Irons is an American drummer. He is the founding drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers until he departed in 1988 and is a former member of Pearl Jam and Eleven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Ament</span> American bassist

Jeffrey Allen Ament is an American musician best known as the bassist of rock band Pearl Jam, which he co-founded alongside Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder. Ament wrote or co-wrote many of Pearl Jam's hits, including "Jeremy", "Oceans", "Dissident", "Nothingman" and "Nothing as It Seems".

<i>Tonights the Night</i> (Neil Young album) 1975 studio album by Neil Young

Tonight's the Night is the sixth studio album by Canadian / American songwriter Neil Young. It was recorded in August–September 1973, mostly on August 26, but its release was delayed until June 1975. It peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard 200. The album is the third and final of the so-called "Ditch Trilogy" of albums that Young released following the major success of 1972's Harvest, whereupon the scope of his success and acclaim became so difficult for Young to handle that he subsequently experienced alienation from his music and career.

<i>After the Gold Rush</i> 1970 studio album by Neil Young

After the Gold Rush is the third studio album by the Canadian-American musician Neil Young, released in September 1970 on Reprise Records. It is one of four high-profile solo albums released by the members of folk rock group Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in the wake of their chart-topping 1970 album Déjà Vu. Young's album consists mainly of country folk music along with several rock tracks, including "Southern Man". The material was inspired by the unproduced Dean Stockwell-Herb Bermann screenplay After the Gold Rush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crazy Horse (band)</span> American rock band

Crazy Horse is an American rock band best known for their association with the musician Neil Young. Since 1969, fifteen studio albums and eight live albums have been billed as being by Neil Young and Crazy Horse. They have also released six studio albums of their own between 1971 and 2009.

<i>Mirror Ball</i> (Neil Young album) 1995 studio album by Neil Young

Mirror Ball is the 23rd studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, and features members of American rock band Pearl Jam. It was released on August 7, 1995, through Reprise Records. The album has been certified gold by the RIAA in the United States.

<i>Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere</i> 1969 studio album by Neil Young with Crazy Horse

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere is the second studio album by Canadian-American musician Neil Young, released in May 1969 on Reprise Records, catalogue number RS 6349. His first with longtime backing band Crazy Horse, it emerged as a sleeper hit amid Young's contemporaneous success with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, ultimately peaking at number 34 on the US Billboard 200 in August 1970 during a 98-week chart stay. It has been certified platinum by the RIAA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Whitten</span> American guitarist

Danny Ray Whitten was an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with Neil Young's backing band Crazy Horse, and for the song "I Don't Want to Talk About It", a hit for Rod Stewart and Everything but the Girl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Down by the River (Neil Young song)</span> 1969 single by Neil Young and Crazy Horse

"Down by the River" is a song composed by Neil Young. It was first released on his 1969 album with Crazy Horse, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Young explained the context of the story in the liner notes of his 1977 anthology album Decade, stating that he wrote "Down by the River," "Cinnamon Girl" and "Cowgirl in the Sand" while delirious in bed in Topanga Canyon with a 103 °F (39 °C) fever.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pearl Jam</span> American rock band

Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, as well as Matt Cameron (drums), who joined in 1998. Keyboardist Boom Gaspar has also been a touring/session member with the band since 2002. Former members include Dave Krusen, Matt Chamberlain, Dave Abbruzzese, and Jack Irons, all of whom were the band's drummers from 1990 to 1998. Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, and is considered one of the most influential bands from that decade, dubbed "the most popular American rock and roll band of the '90s".

<i>Crazy Horse</i> (album) 1971 studio album by Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse is the debut album by Crazy Horse, released in 1971 by Reprise Records. It is the only album by the band to feature Danny Whitten recorded without Neil Young, and it peaked at No. 84 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

<i>Live at Massey Hall 1971</i> 2007 live album by Neil Young

Live at Massey Hall 1971 is a live album by Canadian musician Neil Young. Released in 2007, the album features a solo acoustic performance by Young at Massey Hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on 19 January 1971 during his Journey Through the Past Solo Tour. It is the second release in Young's Archives Performance Series.

The Stray Gators was the name given by Neil Young to his supporting musicians from 1971 to 1973 and who backed him on the albums Harvest (1972) and Time Fades Away (1973). It consisted of Jack Nitzsche (piano), Ben Keith, Tim Drummond (bass) and Kenny Buttrey (drums); the latter replaced during the Time Fades Away tour by Johnny Barbata.

<i>Merkin Ball</i> Two-song single by Pearl Jam

Merkin Ball is an extended play (EP) by American alternative rock band Pearl Jam. The EP contains two songs: A-side "I Got Id" and B-side "Long Road", both written by Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder. The EP features Canadian-American musician Neil Young and was released on December 4, 1995, through Epic Records. Merkin Ball is a companion to Young's 1995 album, Mirror Ball.

The Backspacer Tour was a concert tour by the American rock band Pearl Jam to support its ninth studio album, Backspacer (2009). Fifty-six shows were played, across North America, Europe and Oceania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown</span> Song written by Danny Whitten

"Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown", also known as "(Come On Baby Let's Go) Downtown" or "Downtown", is a song written by Danny Whitten, possibly in collaboration with Neil Young, that was first released on Crazy Horse's 1971 album Crazy Horse. A live version was later released on multiple Neil Young albums, most famously on his 1975 album Tonight's the Night, and then on his 2006 album Live at the Fillmore East. Phish has covered the song in concert.

References

  1. "Top 10 Neil Young Songs".
  2. "Harvest". Discogs. February 1972. Retrieved 2015-07-21.
  3. "The Meaning Behind Neil Young's Devastating "The Needle and the Damage Done"". American Songwriter. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  4. "Tonight's the Night". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  5. 1 2 "The Needle and the Damage Done". Neil Young Archives. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  6. "Neil Young - Heart of Gold [DVD]". Amazon. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  7. "The Needle and the Damage Done (Live at Massey Hall 1971)". Neil Young Archives. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  8. 1 2 "The Needle and the Damage Done – I know that some of you don't understand". WordPress. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  9. "Five-Eight". Trouser Press. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  10. "Lior covers Neil Young 'The Needle and the Damage Done' for Like A Version [2005]". Triple J. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  11. "Laura Marling's 'Needle and the Damage Done' Stop-Motion Video". Nashville Scene. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  12. "The Needle and the Damage Done". Pearl Jam. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  13. "Jewel's Cover Of Neil Young's 'The Needle and the Damage Done' Will Give You Goosebumps". Sunny Skyz. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  14. "The Needle and The Damage Done". Caught by the River. Retrieved July 23, 2024.