Nils Lofgren tells a story about working with Neil Young on the song "Southern Man"

Nils Lofgren tells a story about working with Neil Young on the song "Southern Man"

[@lelandsklar6363]

Loved recording with Nils. He is such a great guy and talented musician....

[@1adam12...]

Kat’s lucky to have ur thunderbroom sweepin up too!

[@AnthonyBurrito1313]

SKLAR!!!!

[@ToldAlthea]

As are you Leland! Learned of your work exactly 19 years ago, and was THE first person in line to see IMMEDIATE FAMILY doc.

[@Chafflives]

I never knew about his immense contribution to that classic song. Thank-you Nils.

[@62dtc]

Wonder if they are able to get writing credits and royalties?

[@sanaullah6911]

Nils is one of the nicest , most humble guys in the music business. No ego - just pure class.

[@vamboroolz1612]

Yes he is. Hanging around, talking to fans taking photo opportunities after nigh on EVERY concert. Nils is a legend.

[@MarkLiversedge]

The Loner: Nils sings Neil is amazing, totally recommend you check it out. Am a lifelong Neil Young fan and his cover of "Birds" is the best Neil Young cover ever done.

[@vamboroolz1612]

@@MarkLiversedge yeah, that is a really good Nils album. He brings a little of himself to the songs which is always a good thing.

[@stephanbosch225]

Yeah? You know them all I presume.

[@GrumblingGrognard]

I will never hear that song the same way again! :)

[@chasbodaniels1744]

… especially knowing about Nils’ contributions!

[@joeljoss1916]

Really! Southern man polka. I'm digging out the disc right now, I love it! I had an enthusiast I worked with tell me to check Mr Lofgren out in the early 70's. He said "you'll be hearing more of this guy" didn't know I already had.

[@markkirsch1861]

I was standing in the Phoenix airport by the oversized luggage area waiting for my bags. I heard “that voice” from the guy standing to my left. When his call was done I turned to him and asked if he was Nils and he said yes. He was waiting for his guitars to come out. We chatted about music, Bruce, Grin and life in general. Couldn’t have been nicer. Plus he agreed to take a picture with me. A memory of a lifetime for me from one of the classiest guitarists on the planet.

[@tommcnally3646]

The ultimate band guy! These people add so much to songs behind the scenes

[@chrisbradley1192]

1977 I was at a Nils Lofgren concert at Leeds University. Support band was this relatively little-knwn band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The crowd went nuts after their set so (as the story goes - and I can well believe it) Nils told them to get out and do an encore "or else they'll tear the place down". They did and Tom took off his guitar strap and threw it into the audience. This goes to show that Nils wasn't just thinking about himself on that night.

[@daviddavies2945]

Saw them at the Capitol Theatre Cardiff on that same tour. Two amazing bands, and a memorable nights entertainment.!.

[@andrewhudson8966]

@@daviddavies2945saw the same tour at Sheffield City Hall,what a show

[@ThefightingCelt]

I remember back in the hot, dry summer of 1976, that I was browsing through the albums in my local record shop, whereupon I came across a newly released album by Nils Lofgren called Cry Tough. I decided to buy it and liked it very much. Nils is a great musician and a top man.

[@dsoule4902]

👍🏻

[@dominicmcclarey4481]

Such a great album. I listened to that and then Televison's "Marquee Moon" almost on rotation in my last year at school..1977.. opened up the idea of music having many possibilities .. massive talent XX

[@ThefightingCelt]

@@dominicmcclarey4481 I love Marquee Moon. Brilliant album.

[@Ou81269]

Nils piano playing was so prominent in “After the Gold Rush”. Recently went back and listened to the album and realized that. And the fact that he did not consider himself to be proficient at the piano makes it that much more significant to me. Great story.

[@lilmoe4364]

Sure sounds good to me !

[@kristi5267]

I loved hearing this story after hearing this song all of my life! Thanks.

[@BullCricket75]

As an underappreciated fellow accordion player, I can totally appreciate this awesome story!

[@RSVPini]

Yes. You and Weird Al Yankovic should appreciate Nils' story more than most people....😃

[@roscius6204]

Always loved that mood swing. Right place, right time. Neil seems to have had a knack of bringing in people who perfectly balance his music.

[@garyyarago2096]

I saw Nils several times at Winterland during the late 70's, always gave a great show,he even did somersaults off of a hidden trampoline! He had a few FM staples on the air waves (Beggar's Day?) at the time.Saw him again with Ringo's All Starrs, a phenomenal group of legends, in 93.

[@ziblot1235]

Nils was a one man show. No question.

[@alanhowell3646]

Beautiful! His debut album blew me away. Great musician and guitar player

[@daveydudely9954]

nils' first self titled solo album from 1975 is worthy of any other great album he's worked on

[@brianrcooney]

I agree. He signed the vinyl copy I bought the year it was released. I had heard “going back” and thought it sounded like Neil Young. Grin’s “White Lies” was one of my favorite songs, but I never knew who Nils Lofgren was. I have purchased every one of his albums since his first. And I go to of his concerts when he plays in my area.

[@markjohnston8631]

Awesome story. I love the versions I've heard that incorporate the polka beat. So fun to hear different versions of the classics!

[@fergalkavanagh6999]

The Crazy Horse guys always get a lot of dismissive comments like "they could barely play", but here we have a virtuoso like Nils explaining how instrumental Ralph was in helping the arrangement of a stone cold classic like Southern Man. Love this.

[@fostexfan160]

well said.......I consider them to be Rock performing virtuosos anyway. Devoid of ego and image. Pure raw rock!!

[@mtadams2009]

I never heard that comment about Crazy Horse before. I thought they were a great band. Interesting what some people think.

[@LOLsaudi]

That song is so important musically and politically. What a lovely man. Thanks for composing a masterpiece

[@pkoven]

once again, there is nothing like melding together different sounds to yield those fantastic sounds that are just iconic.

[@stevewhiteley9249]

It made my day to hear Nils play ‘Roll out the barrel’ like a cockney pub pianist :-) seriously I have always admired his playing and singing, what a talented man.

[@ranradd]

Thanks Nils. Always loved you music and bought you first album back in the early '70's.

[@ronmartin4212]

Nils is on so many great sessions.I love his Beatle fandom,showing off his Remco '64 hair dolls in the background.I had two sets of those.

[@robertbehan6348]

Got to see Nils with his band in the late 80’s and he was just incredible - on both electric and acoustic guitar. He did an amazing version of ‘Keith Don’t Go’ that night.

[@dsoule4902]

When he did backflips onstage

[@datapolo]

His live album Night After Night is up there with some of the best live albums ever.

[@abradfordajb]

I love these stories that come out long, long after we've all grooved on the record, revealing what made the song. Back in the day, no one knew anything about the basis for a song, only that we all loved the finished product. 😎

[@malcolmbradley6136]

Wonderful memories from days of watching nils play live ❤❤🎸🎵🎵🎵🎸🎵

[@davidkopec9442]

The Power of Polka. As a Polish American i love this at the highest level.

[@williammarotz7406]

Nils said, music is the language of the soul. Great performer musician and artist. 50 years I've benefited thank you Mr. Lofgren.

[@christopherecatalano]

I think it’s is one of the finest albums ever made (and Young has a few others that are right there). So much musical diversity, sonically alive (you can hear and feel the space(s) it was recorded in), with a sustained mood throughout. Not quite the collection of demos that Zappa lovingly referred to it as, but it has a rare spontaneity nonetheless. If only all of our ‘demos’ sounded so perfect and complete😂

[@TheMarkEH]

A fabulous story that chipped away at my ignorance of what helped make that song so good.

[@ziblot1235]

I dont thiink anyone else knew about it either. Nils is such a modest character.

[@MjKestrel]

Thanks Nils ✴️ bought your albums in the 70s 80s which were the first albums i ever purchased, i was a teenager and still i big fan today of everything you do. Im now in my 60s 🙏 ( 1/08/2023) from MJK = Wales UK

[@alessandrorossini8704]

That's how good music is made of: freedom to express creativity beyond predictable boundaries.

[@adamsaben3299]

Reason #3295 as to why we must thank KZbin. Where else would you be able to hear cool stories like this right from the horse's mouth? These interviews with our heroes and music lessons from the actual writers and artists that we can watch for free 24 hours a day is a blessing.

[@jeffbayne15]

Sounds "Professional" to me... WOW!!! Thanks for sharing...

[@injuredtabletennisplayer1474]

He played at a wedding of a good friend of mine. We ambushed him and he was so gracious. Great memory.

[@indieshack4476]

Wonderful story! Very talented guy, I started buying his albums in the mid-70's and never stopped :)

[@peterbaruxis2511]

Me too. I saw him once live in a small place, only a couple hundred people. I've kinda watched his career- I don't remember where I heard that he was considered for Mick Taylor's spot as a Rolling Stone.

[@bldallas]

Wow, I’ve only really known about Nils from his work in the E Street band. This is such a cool story. Now I feel like I need to dig deeper into the history of Niles Lofgren. Thanks for sharing!

[@urkel3000]

Lived in VA back in 70s and remember Grin; loved that stuff. Always loved the unhinged sounding piano on When You Dance from Goldrush...still one of my go-to headphone jams to listen to. This story about how the Southern Man arrangement came about is gold.

[@andyinoregon]

Great description of "When You Dance." I first heard Neil Young in Buffalo Springfield, and then "After the Goldrush" was his first solo album that I bought. I remember wishing that "Till the Morning Comes" was a lot longer than 1:17.

[@colm1478]

What a great story. Nils is a legend for his work on Speakin’ Out alone.

[@timbranton7950]

Agree - beautiful and surprisingl inventive playing

[@MrBluoct]

The context of this detail and story is great. Nils: such a multi-talented, multi-decade musician

[@DailySource]

What an amazing song musically and lyrically. Great to hear some of how the music portion came together.

[@AFaceintheCrowd01]

I loved Grin and always followed Nils.

[@renmazzolo9676]

Thank you Nils. I’ve always loved your style mate. Cheers from Ren down under 🇦🇺 👍

[@jcc2c22]

I first encountered Nils back in 1969 when he and his backup group Grin were playing at a members only very small venue rock club in Baltimore called the Blue Sette. I got in as a guest of an actual member and these guys were smoking hot. I was up close and personal 4 years later when they played the spring concert at my Alma mater when I was a senior there.

[@yuvgotubekidding]

Definitely Neil Young’s best album.

[@paulnoble3475]

I had a Nils Lofgren cassette in the middle -late 70’s. Live. Played it to death. Journeyman, brilliant.

[@anthonyhall2565]

I saw Nils live in Fells Point, Maryland many moons ago. He's a Maryland boy that has absolutely made it big but he's too humble to admit it. He's frequently requested to work with many great artists, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen to mention two.

[@andrestrat]

earring those notes bring back so much emotions in me..... one of the best LP ever.

[@randallfrank5682]

Great story Nils. Thank you.

[@prisonersforprofit]

great story, such an iconic piano bit to an iconic song, probably my favorite neil young tune, neil's aptitude to lay down those lyrics and melody, it's one thing to fill the song but neil made it fly, i still scream out the lyrics, "i heard screaming, and bullwhips crackin', how long, how long?"

[@magnustorque5528]

Very cool. For me After The Goldrush is the best Neil Young album of all time. It plays like a complete book the way the tracks are arranged on both sides. Few albums achieve that (Dark Side of the Moon, Violator, Who's Next, etc.) partly because of that, After The Goldrush is solid gold from top to bottom.

[@seankearney5469]

Playing with Bruce and Neil Young and his own great stuff. He is such a solid dude. I always think he is unsung and kind of underground in a way. Either way he is so awesome love his guitar and vocals

[@GreatWaterCircus]

Always liked Nils... great story and great piano work... After the gold rush, totally cool album... thanks

[@harvey1954]

Love it when musician can break it down musically. So many "music" interviews are nothing more than fluff by star struck interviewers.

[@ashleybarker937]

Amazed to hear him play Roll Out The Barrel

[@NickViggiano-qz9pc]

This is a great story, but I don't think many people realize what an incredible guitarist this guy is. Everyone should check out the Live album he put out in the 70's. It's awesome.

[@henrygvidonas9573]

I always love when the guitar solo in a song is almost like an intermission or "coffee break" to the rest of the song and the band accompaniment does something distinctly different. Whether it's the double time in "Southern Man", shifting from 7/4 to straight 4/4 for the solo in Pink Floyd's "Money", playing a solo over a bridge instead of the chord changes of the verse or chorus. It almost always makes a song better and more interesting.

[@THEFEEL57]

Love the story. Thank you greatly❤

[@broadcasttttable]

One of my all-time favorite lead guitar solos (actually its the whole song, not just the solo) is Nils' "Valentine." The definition of emotive.

[@Lemma01]

Class act. Thank you.❤

[@richsadowsky8580]

brilliant enhancements. Always had great respect and appreciation for the piano part in that guitar song.

[@lovetheobscurities]

I saw Nils Lofgren live at a "bar/club" venue in Ottawa, Canada. What a treat. Just him and his acoustic guitar. What's cool is that he clearly was doing that tour for the love of music and not for big money. This was in the mid-nineties, well into his E Street days.

[@Andy-eu1ng]

This is really freaky last night I was playing and singing neil young songs on a live platform with an acoustic bass and my level went up about 50% I think it's his best song and to see legend nils lofgren (the guy who back flips while playing guitar) breaking the song down was amazing,,,I know a lot of neil young haters and people like roger waters who don't get neil young but he's a genius and I'm going to use the GOAT for him

[@matthewpocock4824]

After the Buffalo Springfield, Neil had a bunch of awesome players around himself and Crazy Horse. Nils is definitely a big contributor to that hungry sound. It's a very cool song to jam along with.

[@johnwattdotca]

I like to take the A chord at the end of the chorus and build it up, moving it up the neck over an octave. And no matter how slow I sing a Neil Young song, the record is always slower.

[@matthewpocock4824]

@@johnwattdotca I do the same. It makes an easy transition into the solo.

[@johnwattdotca]

@@matthewpocock4824 Wow, you got me there. After all this time I've always just played the chords, never having someone else so I can solo. The only Neil Young song I did onstage is a song he didn't write, "Down By The River". It was a quiet night for the first set, raining outside, so I introduced down by the river, starting off mellow, and for the solo I changed to a Robin Trower sound, the band jamming it out until we settled down again.

[@matthewpocock4824]

@@johnwattdotca try it. Dm pentatonic scale.

[@johnwattdotca]

@@matthewpocock4824 You're being modern musical, not acid-rock, saying pentatonic scale. I see Neil Young as being able to afford a Les Paul when he made his first album, and that's when he began to play lead guitar, maybe the worst lead guitarist with a hit album at the time. I think he played one note 27 times in a row in "Down By The River", or "Cowgirl in the Sand". This is late 1960s for me. If you want to hear Neils' most experimental playing, he did the soundtrack, just his guitar, for a movie about stoner people being outside, sometimes in a forest. There are interactions, and it does end.

[@62dtc]

Great clip, didn’t realize Nils had a role in the music writing of Southern Man. Wonder if Nils and other guys receive any royalties for their contributions to the songs?

[@davidharris3194]

A magical moment in history!

[@anthonymorris5084]

Southern Man is such a great song.

[@KevinKerwin]

Grin was a great band Nils... I was a Bethesda Boy back then... Everybody is missing the Sun...

[@bluwasaabi]

Nils, that's so great! Thank you.

[@santamara]

❤ Great story.. wonderful memories.! 👍

[@spookedhorse]

Met Nils umteen years ago, in Jersey. Point Pleasant, NJ, to be exact. On the boardwalk, roughly 2am, in the rain. He was very polite, well mannered and actually laughed at us being so star-struck. Funny thing....we were all looking for pizza and buzzed, LOL.

[@Bozakky]

Way to go, Nils. Brilliant.

[@TheSaltydog07]

Always admired Mr. Lofgren.

[@axelowell4084]

Loved his Solo Work !

[@leafyleafyleaf]

I’ve been listening to the After the Gold Rush album since I borrowed the CD from the public library back in 1991. So cool to finally hear the back story of that piano vamp from the guy who created it!!

[@John-Es]

Awesome story, thanks Nils!

[@jamespainter7617]

Great song, even greater story!

[@robhodder1687]

Fascinating!

[@philhatch483]

Great story! Always thought that added so much to the song.

[@dougpeters1625]

I love these behind-the-scenes incredible stories. This is why KZbin was invented.

[@whatevershebrings]

Nice explainer from the man himself. I'd wrongly assumed it was Jack Nitzsche that played keys on the track. I knew Nils was on the album, but unaware of this credit. Would love to hear him talk about the making of "Tonight's the Night".

[@barkeater7867]

so freakin cool. love this backstory stuff

[@Caperhere]

That’s interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[@DonIsadick-mf3gv]

That piano part is epic.

[@johnwalker6919]

One word: brilliant.

[@mikesimonson7860]

Well, I heard Mr. Young sing about her Well, I heard ol' Neil put her down Well, I hope Neil Young will remember A Southern man don't need him around, anyhow

[@chrisweidner4768]

Sung by a guy wearing a Neil Young T-shirt. Learn more of the story. Skynyrd and Neil grew to love each other.

[@broncobrian2344]

@@chrisweidner4768Yes they did ! But its still not right to sing such a bigoted closed minded song. Says this old southern hippie

[@chrisweidner4768]

@@broncobrian2344 True. From a midwestern old hippie who spent time in Georgia while serving in the Army infantry. I still say “fixin’ to.” Amazing people there. All the best to you and yours. Always.

[@lilmoe4364]

Awesome story...great when that happens, a little twist is sometimes all that's needed to bring out the best in a song, and it's not always the original writer that comes up with it ! Great stuff, thanks for posting

[@ottokriete1153]

I look at most of the comments, and just have to kinda grin ( pun definitely intended ). I grew up with this guy, figuratively. I was hooked on Neil Young and was crazy impressed with the Boss.... and Nils was there in the mix for all of that.... just not noticed because he was just adding to the mix. but , THAT is what makes for great musicianship... not the front man with the flash, but the guy in the back driving thd beat and playing rythm...... thanks for the great music, Nils... not all of us didn't notice you.!

[@davidayer2168]

Oh man I'll never hear that the same again, but either way that oompah-oompah low end pulse works like gangbusters; makes it a signature rocker for Young.

[@moeball740]

I'm curious as to what experiences led Young to come up with those lyrics. That's some powerful haunting stuff there and it obviously hit a nerve as the song Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd referenced.

[@clovergrass9439]

Typical, the tribe blaming Whites for what they actually instigated.

[@gavRirvine]

Brilliant!

[@edfulginiti8798]

Inadvertently demonstrating how today’s music 🎼 sukks by contrast. Thanks Nils.

[@yeojohn]

Fascinating.

[@DexterHaven]

That tempo shift is what makes the song! Great story.

[@superbird24]

Respect your work. 👍

[@Fabianorocknwood]

Beyond cool!!!

[@Ratguitar58]

WTF???? What a Great story!!! Nils Lofgren !!!!! Thank you for doing that!!!❤ I always liked the way that song transitioned in and out of the polka beat and now I know why

[@drillbag]

Nils is one talented guy, its a shame his solo career never took off.

[@Michael-mm3fm]

Saw him once, somewhere in north London I think, early 90s, great gig.

[@loilt5091]

I bought one his on vinyl back in the day…great talent & guy‼️

[@peterbaruxis2511]

"Southern man with a polka beat" I'm speechless.

[@jsamc]

Neil Young Live in Berlin was a BLAST !!

[@RickNowels1]

I remember the parts!!