20 Things You Didn’t Know About Neil Young

He Has a House in Florida

Neil Young has resided in Northern California on a ranch in La Honda for many years. he first moved there in the 1970s and has stayed there for the majority of his time since. But he has always retained his Canadian citizenship.And he still loves Canada and it remains one of his favorite places. Aside from this he also has other houses around the U.S. He had a home in Florida as well as a home on Hawaii where he loves to visit and spend holidays.(Image Source/ rollingstone.com)

His Middle Name is Percival

Neil Percival Young, is the official name of the star. It is a very grand name and brings to mind snippets from Merlin with Arthur and the round table. Not many people know this and it is only a fact that he has shared amongst his nearest and dearest.But Neil Percival Young is definitely a statement of a name. The singer has decided to ditch the middle name though and stick to something shorter and sweeter. Perhaps Percival wasn't the rock and roll vibe he was after.(Image Source/ hennemusic.com)

 

He Loves to Paddleboard

 As well as being a singer, he is also a very keen paddleboarder. Whenever he has any free time, he tries to get out his paddleboard and float around on the sea. He loves the peace of it, you are momentarily removed from everyday life and the stresses of everything.He said, "it's a beautiful thing…I can't worry about the paparazzi. You can't see them anyway. They are taking pictures from behind trees. You can't think about that." This is bcause he likes to unwind from his otherwise hectic famous life.(Image Source/ pastdaily.com)

He Likes to Smoke Weed

It turns out that Neil Young is partial to the occasional smoke of weed. He only does it occasionally now. He used to smoke it a little more often but he said that weed makes him paranoid. However, he thinks he has the answer to this and has managed to find a way around the paranoid symptoms.He says that if you chew two or three peppercorns just before smoking then it will alleviate the paranoia. How he came about discovering this strange combination is another question. Neil Young must have been determined to find a way around his problem.(Image Source/ guitar.com)

He Turned Down a Lot of Money

Neil Young was offered $1,000,000 dollars to be the headline act for the concert, Woodstock, back in 1994. Neil Young wanted to stick to his original spirit and he thought that Woodstock may take away from this. Woodstock is a fairly commercial concert which he did not feel would combine with the spirit of his songs.1969 is much more rock and roll and so he turned down the chance to make a lot of money because he did not want to stray from his original roots when his music is less conventional. And, it was not just a little bit of money but a massive million dollars. There's a singer with principles.(Image Source/ pitchfork.com)

Kurt Cobain Inspired Him

As we know, Neil Young had a period where he stopped making music. whether this was a lack of inspiration or he fell out of love with music we don't know. But the person he credits to bringing him back to music is Kurt Cobain.He said he inspired him to get back into music and start recording a new album again. During his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame speech, he dedicated it is Kurt Cobain who he openly thanked for getting him back into music.(Image Source/ cnbc.com)

 

He Has Been Inducted in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice

Neil Young is famous around the world for his music. Rock lovers everywhere love him, but perhaps even more imperatively even non-rock lovers adore him too. His classic 1969 is a song that will forever be played.For any rock and roll singer, the best accolade is being inducted in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So, for Neil Young to have this happen twice, is very impressive. Not that this comes as a surprise for the singer who is a legend in the rock world.(Image Source/ udiscovermusic.com)

He's A Model Train Collector

 This is a hobby we didn't expect from a rock and roll icon. But he definitely does not conform to the stereotypes. He's a very keen collector of model trains. And, he once invested in Lionel Trains LLC which is the world's most famous model train company. The company, a few years back was about to go bankrupt.So, Neil Young invested in the company to save it from going bankrupt. He is now a part-owner. And, his plan worked because the company is now doing very well again thanks to Neil. Rock singer, paddleboarder, avid model train collector: this man is an eclectic mix.(Image Source/ rollingstone.com)

He Has Health Complications

Neil Young grew up with his father, mother, and older brother. but it was far from a simple childhood. He suffered from a variety of health conditions. these were epilepsy, Type 1 diabetes, and polio. By 1951 his health got to a bad state and he was no longer able to walk anymore.Thankfully, in time and with the support of his family he managed to overcome his ailments and cope with them. Plus, all of this was helped when he found a love of music which helped him get through some of the harder times with his health issues.(Image Source/ Guargian

.com)

He Plays the Ukulele and Banjo

since being a young boy Neil Young has had a massive love for music, in any form. He became particularly interested in folk music and sounds and he started to learn the banjo and the ukulele which he can still play and he still loves.He became involved with the Canadian folk circle. From there, his music knowledge and variety of choices grew and he eventually started to dabble within the world of rock. Despite becoming famous for Rock and roll his music choices remain wide open.(Image Source/ Guardian.com)

 

He Has a Son with Cerebral Palsy

 Neil Young was hitting the peak of his music career. He had a relationship with his girlfriend at the time, actress Carrie Snodgrass. The pair of them had a son together. However, it was a difficult time for everyone as their son Zeke was born with Cerebral Palsy which led to many difficulties for the family.Carrie Snodgrass gave up her acting career to care for her son. The new pressures were felt by everyone and at this time Young had a few career knockbacks to contend with alongside his difficult family situation.(Image Source/ DailyMail.com)

He Married Pegi Morton

Things started to look up for the singer because he finally met his wife, Pegi Morton. She was a waitress nearby his ranch and the two of them met and fell in love. They then went on to marry one another.She also inspired many of Neil Young's future songs such as 'Unknown Legend'. The couple was very happy together and at this point, his career started to continue very successfully. He hit the charts again and his life seemed to be going from strength to strength.(Image Source/ ultimateclassicrock.com)

His Label Filed a Lawsuit Against Him

Neil Young started recording albums and songs which strayed from his previous work. His fans started to give him criticism for his music as people felt it was going downhill. His Album Hawks & Doves

went down very badly with fans and critics as it had hints of co0untry music in it.Which, people felt was diverting from his rock and roll roots. He also started airing more political views which were right-wing. People started to turn against him. After a few unsuccessful songs, his label filed a $3 million lawsuit against him for producing what they termed "unrepresentative" music.(Image Source/ Telegraph.com)

His Ex-Partner tried to Sue Him

Carrie Snodgrass filed another lawsuit against him. This was due to child care support. Carrie Snodgrass felt that her baby's father was out of the picture with childcare help and monetary support. So, she filed a suit against him.The lawsuit never actually came to anything but he relationship between Neil and Snodgrass became very strained. He was also facing further difficulties in his personal life which we will explore in the next point.

(Image Source/ shutterstock.com)

He Had Two Children with Pegi

After marrying Pegi, the couple wanted to start a family together. So, the two of them went on to have two children together. But his son Ben was born with cerebal palsy and his daughter amber was born with epilepsy.So, the couple was delighted at having two children. Bit, the health complications made life a lot more difficult and presented a whole host of new worries for the family and kids.(Image Source/ Dailymail.com)

 

He Has Been Married 3 Times

First, Young married his first wife who was a restaurant owner called Susan Acevedo, in December 1968. They sated together until October 1970, but then she filed for divorce. Then, Young met his future wife Pegi Young in 1974 when she was working as a waitress.Unfortunately, after 36 years of marriage, they had a divorce. Then he met Daryl Hannah and the pair have been together since 2014. They are now married. The couple shared a wedding video to show the world that they were together officially.(Image Source/ usweekly.com)

He Has Done a Lot of Charity Work

Young is an active environmentalist. He has spoken out on multiple occasions for the welfare of small founders. He has been very active on the subject. In 1985 he co-founded the benefit concert Farm Aid.He then worked on a program to switch to hybrid-electric technology. In 1986 he co-founded The Bridge School which is an educational organization for children with severe verbal and physical disabilities. Of course, this is an organization very close to his heart as his 3 children each have a disability that affects every area of their life.(Image Source/ rollingstone.com)

His Wife Is Daryl Hannah

Neil Young's new wife is also famous. She is a famous actress and has appeared in many major roles. She is widely recognized all over. And, more recently she has come back into he spotlights for speaking out about Epstein and bringing evidence forward about him.She claimed that he sexually harassed her multiple times during the production of Kill Bill and that after this movie she found it hard to find work again. She even said that once she was in her hotel room when he tried to break in, she had to run away through a fire escape. She was amongst several women who also came forward with evidence against him.(Image Source/ extra.ie.com)

He Had an Aneurysm

Young had a huge health scare in 2005 when it turned out that he had a brain aneurysm. This was nearly fatal and he had to have brain surgery to try and remove it. Thankfully, the operation worked but it was a massive scare to Neil Young and his family.While he was recovering from the serious operation, he finished work on the reflective, acoustic-based Prairie Wind

. Aneursysm's are very serious and can be fatal if they are not treated in time, thankfully for Neil it was.(Image Source/ The Guardian)

 

He Is Very Political

His political views had been cortices in the past and had driven some fans with different views away. But this definitely did not stop Neil Young. And, as he grew older, he grew even more passionate. He even developed his songs into political messages.Among these was the album Living with War

which was an angry protest about the war in Iraq.  He also released tracks such as “Let’s Impeach the President” and “Shock and Awe.” He spoke out against Donald Trump's presidency and what he was doing to America and the world.(Image Source/ Fortune.com)