THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

602-Neil Young and Crazy Horse-My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue.)

1979-Has never charted in the UK.

Best Bit-At 1.54. A line from this song,’It’s better to burn out than to fade away,’ was the final line written by Kurt Cobain in his suicide note.

Neil Percival Young was born on November 12th, 1945, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, since 1963 he has accumulated an extensive discography. To date he has recorded 40 studio Albums as a solo artist, or with his band Crazy Horse. There have also been eight live Albums, and three compilations. As a member of Buffalo Springfield (see also best songs 559) he appeared on all three of their Albums, between 1966-1968, and has also appeared on three Albums with Crosby, Stills, and Nash (see also best songs 417.) There is also an Album attributed to ‘The Stills-Young Band.

‘My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue) is the opening song on Neil Young and Crazy Horse’s 1979 Album ‘Rust Never Sleeps. The whole of ‘Side 1’ is acoustic, and the whole of ‘Side 2’ is electric. The Album was recorded live at different concert venues in America between 1976-1978, and overdubbed in the studio in order to remove as much crowd noise as possible. The final track on the Album on ‘Side 2’ is an electric version of this song called ‘Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black,’) Neil Young’s often distorted electric guitar playing, of which the electric version is a fine example, earned him the nickname ‘Godfather of Grunge,’ and he became a major influence on bands such as Nirvana (see also best songs 788 and 9,) and Pearl Jam (see also best songs 458.)

Neil Young wrote ‘My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue’) at a time when he thought his music might not be relevant anymore. His idol Elvis Presley had recently died, and ‘Punk Music’ was the new ‘Rock N’ Roll.’ The song deals with the fleeting nature of fame, and how hard it is to stay relevant as an artist.

‘The king is gone, but he’s not forgotten, this is the story of Johnny Rotten.It’s better to burn out than it is to rust, the king is gone but he’s not forgotten.