| "The Needle and the Damage Done" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.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" | |||
| Released | April 17, 1972 | |||
| Recorded | January 30, 1971 | |||
| Venue | Royce Hall, UCLA | |||
| Genre | Folk rock[1] | |||
| Length | 2:03 | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Neil Young | |||
| Producer(s) |
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| Neil Young singles chronology | ||||
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"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 money that Whitten used to buy the drugs was provided by Young. 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]
- ^ "Top 10 Neil Young Songs".
- ^ "Harvest". Discogs. February 1972. Retrieved 2015-07-21.
- ^ "The Meaning Behind Neil Young's Devastating "The Needle and the Damage Done"". American Songwriter. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ "Tonight's the Night". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 24, 2024.