Skip to main content

LIVE TV

© 2026 WGCU News

News for all of Southwest Florida

LIVE TV

Donate

Play Live Radio

Next Up:

0:00

0:00

0:00 0:00

Available On Air Stations

Neil Young Returns with 'Prairie Wind'

NPR | By Scott Simon

Published September 17, 2005 at 12:00 AM EDT

The creation of Neil Young's latest album, Prairie Wind, was punctuated by a life-changing "medical event" for the singer-songwriter.

As he was preparing to record the song "The Painter" in Nashville, Young was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. He recorded eight of the songs before surgery for the aneurysm, and two afterward as he recovered.

Young was born in Toronto in 1945 and moved to Los Angeles in 1966, forming the seminal rock band Buffalo Springfield and later Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. He also released several albums with longtime backing band, Crazy Horse.

The songs "Old Man," "Heart of Gold" and "Keep on Rockin' in the Free World" are well-known examples of Young's folk- and country-laced rock.

Young wrote some of the songs on Prairie Wind in 15 or 20 minutes, he tells Scott Simon. "It doesn't take me very long when I get started. I just try to remain open." The album is released Sept. 27; a concert film directed by Jonathan Demme is also forthcoming.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tags

Scott Simon

Scott Simon is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First.

See stories by Scott Simon

More from WGCU

Arts & Culture

From costumes to props and sets, director Shaelyn Crabtree has created a world of pure imagination at Cultural Park Theatre for 'Willy Wonka'

Tom Hall

Hold your breath. Make a wish. Count to three. Come with me and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination. From costumes to props and sets, director Shaelyn Crabtree has created such a world at Cultural Park Theatre. Join Crabtree and five golden ticket winners as they tour Willy Wonka’s fabled chocolate factory. Final performances are Friday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Sept. 27 at 3 p.m.
Arts & Culture

Urbanite's Modern Works Festival and Cypress Lake's 'A Monster Calls' headline 13 shows onstage in Southwest Florida this week

Tom Hall

This week, one show opens, four close, four continue their runs and there are four limited engagements at Southwest Florida theaters.
Arts & Culture

October exhibits at the Alliance for the Arts focus on rites of passage and the passage of time

Tom Hall

“Passage of Time: A Themed Members Show” considers everything from shifting seasons and aging to physical journeys and symbolic crossings from where we have been to where we are going. Artist Dahye Kim uses video, photography, light, sound and reflective screens to create an environment where past, present and future converge. Marian Fuller employs reclaimed materials and found objects to uncover unexpected meanings in ordinary things. These exhibitions are on view Oct. 2-31.