My My Hey Hey

Ricky and I were having some Classic Rock kind of conversation last night. I asked him a few questions about Neil Young as I had heard him sing a few of his songs in The Junkyard. At home,
we listened to some Neil Young music and we kinda talked about the man.

Neil Young performing Heart of Gold, 1971

I was so amazed at how advanced this man was. Yeah, he was a performer in the 1970’s, a time when singers have to be dressed to kill and have to look oh so neat and shiny. Well, he kinda dress like Cobain; flannel, simple trousers, unkempt hair. He was so full of talent but he ain’t boasting, not a bit.

flannel shirt, work boots and unkempt hair, made people of the seventies wonder, 'what the hell is this man up to?'

He is considered the Godfather of Grunge music. It is apparent that he has influenced a lot of grunge groups both in music and attitude. He plays his music with such talent and attitude; and obviously with some wild passion about what he is doing.

I tip my hat to the Godfather of Grunge, you still rock!  (Neil Young_2013)

This particular Neil Young song got my attention: My My Hey Hey. The first stanza goes like this:

My my, hey hey

Rock and roll is here to stay

It's better to burn out

Thank to fade away

My my, hey hey

Cobain once quoted in his “suicide” note that “it’s better to burn out than to fade away” a line from My My Hey Hey. Obviously, the grunge icon himself is listening to good old Neil.

The last part of the song goes:

Hey hey, my my

Rock and roll can never die

There's more to the picture

Thank meets the eye.

Hey hey, my my.

And I couldn’t agree more! Rock and roll can never die. Some rock stars did die young, but it is through their death that the legacy not only continues but flourishes.

*I’m kind of reminiscing the good old nineties, and the likes of Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley and Shannon Hoon.  

Kurt Cobain, Shannon Hoon and Layne Staley. RIP.