by Contrary to the idealistic image of rock and roll as a united front of artists against the musical establishment, the history of rock has so often been punctuated by vicious rivalries, long-running feuds, and bizarre scuffles, particularly in the case of Neil Young.
Despite his ‘peace and love’ credentials, first emerging during the age of 1960s counterculture alongside Buffalo Springfield, Young has repeatedly reaffirmed an ability to weave a plethora of arguments and feuds into his extensive career in music. From his Crosby, Stills, and Nash comrades to the organisers of Glastonbury Festival and, in one now-infamous video, a New York record store employee, Young has never faltered in his ability to kick-off about seemingly inconsequential things.
At the same time, though, Young has always maintained an appreciation for certain figures within the musical world. For instance, the songwriter became an unlikely inspiration on the grunge generation after his work with Crazy Horse, and – to his credit – the harbinger of Harvest Moon cultivated an unending appreciation for the likes of Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and even the abrasive dissonance of groups like Sonic Youth. He has always leant towards the outsiders, it would appear.
It stands to reason, then, that Young has always been a natural disciple of the king of outsiders, Bob Dylan. While the folk hero’s litany of life-affirming anthems and endless penchant for reinvention does place him in the same realm as Young, and both artists have shared stages, bills, and compliments with each other over the decades, there have been one or two notable moments of tension between Dylan and Young, too.
Namely, when the Canadian songwriter turfed Dylan from his tour bus, apparently unable to recognise one of the most recognisable artists to ever grace the airwaves. Young revealed this expectedly chaotic anecdote through his website, Neil Young Archives, earlier this year, in the same breath as lending his support for the recent Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown.
“I love Bob Dylan and his music. Always have. He’s a great artist,” the songwriter wrote. Adding the inexplicable explanation, “Once he was on my bus and I didn’t recognise him and threw him off but that’s another story.”
Tragically, Young offered no further explanation to that kernel of an anecdote, so we have no clue of when, where, why, or how the songwriter failed to recognise Bob Dylan, of all people. Perhaps it was during the mid-1970s, when Young’s rock and roll lifestyle was arguably at its wildest, and Dylan was emerging from his most reclusive period. Even then, though, Dylan has always maintained the same look – give or take a beard here and there – throughout the entirety of his career.
Perhaps we will never know the specifics of the tale, and perhaps it is better that way. After all, the mental image of a belligerent Neil Young pushing a presumably bemused Bob Dylan off the steps of his tour bus is likely more entertaining than the true reality of the situation could ever be.
