Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse evolved in 1969 when singer Neil Young invited Danny Whitten (guitar), Billy Talbot (b. New York, New York, USA; bass) and Ralph Molina (b. Puerto Rico; drums)—all formerly of struggling local attraction the Rockets—to accompany him on his second album, EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS IS NOWHERE. The impressive results inspired an attendant tour, but although the group also contributed to Young's AFTER THE GOLDRUSH, their relationship was sundered in the light of Whitten's growing drug dependency. CRAZY HORSE, completed with the assistance of Jack Nitzsche and Nils Lofgren, featured several notable performances, including the emotional I Don't Want To Talk About It, later revived by Rod Stewart and Everything But The Girl. Whitten succumbed to a heroin overdose in November 1972, but although Talbot and Molina kept the group afloat with various different members, neither LOOSE or AT CROOKED LAKE scaled the heights of their excellent debut. Reunited with Young for TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT and ZUMA, and buoyed by the arrival of guitarist Frank Stampedro (b. West Virginia, USA), the group reclaimed its independence with the excellent CRAZY MOON. Although Crazy Horse has since abandoned its own career, their role as the ideal foil to Young's ambitions was amply proved on the blistering RAGGED GLORY (1991).