Danny Whitten
Encyclopedia
Daniel Ray Whitten was an American
musician and songwriter
best known for his work with Neil Young
and Crazy Horse
, and for the song "I Don't Want To Talk About It
", a hit for Rita Coolidge
, Rod Stewart
and Everything but the Girl
.
, Georgia
. His parents split up when he was young. He and his sister, Brenda, lived with their mother, who worked long hours as a waitress. His mother remarried when he was 9 and the family moved to Canton, Ohio
.
Whitten joined Billy Talbot
and Ralph Molina
among others in the doo-wop
group Danny and the Memories. After recording an obscure single, "Can't Help Loving That Girl of Mine", core members of the group moved to San Francisco
where they morphed into a folk-psychedelic rock act called The Psyrcle. Whitten played guitar, Molina drums, and Talbot played bass and piano.
By 1967, the group took on brothers George and Leon Whitsell on additional guitars and vocals, as well as violinist Bobby Notkoff
, the sextet calling themselves The Rockets. They signed with independent label White Whale Records
, working with producer Barry Goldberg
for the group's self-titled album
in mid-1968. The album sold poorly.
Songwriter Neil Young, fresh from departing the Buffalo Springfield
, with one album
of his own under his belt, began jamming with the Rockets and expressed interest in recording with Whitten, Molina and Talbot. The trio agreed, so long as they were allowed to simultaneously continue on with The Rockets: Young acquiesced initially, but imposed a rehearsal schedule that made that an impossibility. At first dubbed "War Babies" by Young, they soon became known as Crazy Horse
.
Recording sessions led to Young's second album, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
, credited as Neil Young with Crazy Horse, with Whitten on second guitar and vocals. Although his role was that of support, Whitten sang the album's opening track "Cinnamon Girl
" along with Young, and Whitten and Young played guitar on "Down by the River
" and "Cowgirl in the Sand." These tracks would influence the grunge
movement of the 1990s, and all three songs would be counted among Young's most memorable work, continuing to hold a place in his performance repertoire to this day.
As did so many other rock musicians in the late 1960s, Whitten began using heroin and quickly became addicted. Although he participated in the early stages of Young's next solo effort, After the Gold Rush
, Whitten and the rest of Crazy Horse were dismissed about halfway through the recording sessions, in part because of Whitten's heavy drug use. Whitten performs on "Oh, Lonesome Me", "I Believe in You", and "When You Dance I Can Really Love
". Young wrote and recorded "The Needle and the Damage Done
" during this time, with direct references to Whitten's addiction and its role in the destruction of his talent.
Acquiring a recording contract and expanded to a quintet in 1970, Crazy Horse recorded its first solo album, released in early 1971. The debut album
included five songs by Whitten, with two standout tracks being a song co-written by Young which would show up later on a Young album, "(Come On Baby Let's Go) Downtown", and Whitten's most famous composition, "I Don't Want To Talk About It
", a heartfelt ballad that would receive many cover versions and offer the promise of unfulfilled talent.
Whitten continued to drift, his personal life ruled almost totally by drugs. He was kicked out of Crazy Horse by Talbot and Molina, who used replacements on the band's two albums of 1972. In October of that year, after receiving a call from Young to play rhythm guitar on the upcoming tour behind Young's Harvest album, Whitten showed up for rehearsals at Young's home outside San Francisco. While the rest of the group hammered out arrangements, Whitten lagged behind, figuring out the rhythm parts, though never in sync with the rest of the group. Young, who had more at stake after the success of Harvest, fired Danny from the band. He did this on the 18th of November, 1972. Neil gave Danny $50.00 and a plane ticket back to Los Angeles. Later that night Whitten died from a fatal combination of Valium, which he was taking for severe knee arthritis, and alcohol, which he was using to try to get over his heroin addiction.
Neil Young recalled, "We were rehearsing with him and he just couldn't cut it. He couldn't remember anything. He was too out of it. Too far gone. I had to tell him to go back to L.A. 'It's not happening, man. You're not together enough.' He just said, 'I've got nowhere else to go, man. How am I gonna tell my friends?' And he split. That night the coroner called me and told me he'd ODed. That blew my mind. Fucking blew my mind. I loved Danny. I felt responsible. And from there, I had to go right out on this huge tour of huge arenas. I was very nervous and ... insecure.”
Years later, Young told biographer Jimmy McDonough
that for a long time after Whitten died, he felt responsible for Whitten's death. It took him years to stop blaming himself. "Danny just wasn't happy", Young said. "It just all came down on him. He was engulfed by this drug. That was too bad. Because Danny had a lot to give, boy. He was really good."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
best known for his work with Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
and Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse (band)
Crazy Horse is an American rock band best known for its association with Neil Young. It has been co-credited on a number of albums throughout Young's career and has released five albums of its own.-Early years:...
, and for the song "I Don't Want To Talk About It
I Don't Want to Talk About It
"I Don't Want to Talk About It" is the name of a song written by Danny Whitten. Whitten's band, Crazy Horse released it as a track on their 1971 eponymous album....
", a hit for Rita Coolidge
Rita Coolidge
Rita Coolidge is a multiple Grammy Award-winning American vocalist. During the 1970s and 1980s, she charted hits on Billboard's Pop, Country, Adult Contemporary and Jazz charts.-Career:...
, Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
and Everything but the Girl
Everything but the Girl
Everything but the Girl was a two-person English band, formed in Hull during 1981, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, and singer Ben Watt . They are currently inactive although vocalist Tracey Thorn hinted that they may reform someday...
.
Biography
Whitten was born on May 8, 1943, in ColumbusColumbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. His parents split up when he was young. He and his sister, Brenda, lived with their mother, who worked long hours as a waitress. His mother remarried when he was 9 and the family moved to Canton, Ohio
Canton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
Whitten joined Billy Talbot
Billy Talbot
Billy Talbot is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the bassist of Crazy Horse.-Music career:Born in New York City, Talbot started his musical career singing on street corners at the age of 14. He moved to New Jersey with his family the next year, and by 17 he had moved to...
and Ralph Molina
Ralph Molina
Ralph Molina is an American musician, best known as the drummer for Neil Young's backing band Crazy Horse.Born in Puerto Rico, Molina has been a member of Crazy Horse since they were formed in 1962 as Danny & the Memories. He has remained throughout the band's many personnel changes, and has...
among others in the doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
group Danny and the Memories. After recording an obscure single, "Can't Help Loving That Girl of Mine", core members of the group moved to San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
where they morphed into a folk-psychedelic rock act called The Psyrcle. Whitten played guitar, Molina drums, and Talbot played bass and piano.
By 1967, the group took on brothers George and Leon Whitsell on additional guitars and vocals, as well as violinist Bobby Notkoff
Bobby Notkoff
Bobby Notkoff is a violinist who played with The Rockets in the 1960s and Family Lotus in the 1970s. He was a founding member of Electric Flag, one of the first supergroups, with Mike Bloomfield and Buddy Miles.He lives in New Mexico.-Selected discography:...
, the sextet calling themselves The Rockets. They signed with independent label White Whale Records
White Whale Records
White Whale Records was an American record label, founded in 1965 by Ted Feigin and Lee Lassiff in Los Angeles, California, and probably best known as the record label of The Turtles....
, working with producer Barry Goldberg
Barry Goldberg
Barry Goldberg is a blues and rock keyboardist, songwriter and record producer.-Career:As a teenager in Chicago, Goldberg sat in with Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, and Howlin' Wolf. He played keyboards in the band supporting Bob Dylan during his 1965 'electrified' appearance at the Newport Folk Festival...
for the group's self-titled album
The Rockets (album)
The Rockets is the sole release by The Rockets in 1968.Selling only about 5,000 copies, it was far from a success. Nevertheless, the album found among its fans Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young, who would soon take Danny Whitten, bassist Billy Talbot and drummer Ralph Molina for his backing...
in mid-1968. The album sold poorly.
Songwriter Neil Young, fresh from departing the Buffalo Springfield
Buffalo Springfield
Buffalo Springfield is a North American folk rock band renown both for its music and as a springboard for the careers of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Jim Messina. Among the first wave of North American bands to become popular in the wake of the British invasion, the group combined...
, with one album
Neil Young (album)
Neil Young is the self-titled debut studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, which was his debut release as a solo artist following his departure from the band Buffalo Springfield...
of his own under his belt, began jamming with the Rockets and expressed interest in recording with Whitten, Molina and Talbot. The trio agreed, so long as they were allowed to simultaneously continue on with The Rockets: Young acquiesced initially, but imposed a rehearsal schedule that made that an impossibility. At first dubbed "War Babies" by Young, they soon became known as Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse (band)
Crazy Horse is an American rock band best known for its association with Neil Young. It has been co-credited on a number of albums throughout Young's career and has released five albums of its own.-Early years:...
.
Recording sessions led to Young's second album, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere is the second studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, released on Reprise Records catalogue RS 6349...
, credited as Neil Young with Crazy Horse, with Whitten on second guitar and vocals. Although his role was that of support, Whitten sang the album's opening track "Cinnamon Girl
Cinnamon Girl (Neil Young song)
"Cinnamon Girl" is a song by Neil Young. It debuted on the 1969 album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, which was also Young's first album with backing band Crazy Horse...
" along with Young, and Whitten and Young played guitar on "Down by the River
Down by the River
"Down by the River" is a song composed by Neil Young. It was first released on his 1969 album with Crazy Horse, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Young explained the context of story when introducing it in New Orleans on September 27, 1984. It depicts a man who catches his woman cheating on him,...
" and "Cowgirl in the Sand." These tracks would influence the grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
movement of the 1990s, and all three songs would be counted among Young's most memorable work, continuing to hold a place in his performance repertoire to this day.
As did so many other rock musicians in the late 1960s, Whitten began using heroin and quickly became addicted. Although he participated in the early stages of Young's next solo effort, After the Gold Rush
After the Gold Rush
After the Gold Rush is the third studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young. Released in August 1970 on Reprise Records, it was one of the four high-profile albums released by each member of folk rock collective Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in the wake of their chart-topping 1970 album Déjà Vu...
, Whitten and the rest of Crazy Horse were dismissed about halfway through the recording sessions, in part because of Whitten's heavy drug use. Whitten performs on "Oh, Lonesome Me", "I Believe in You", and "When You Dance I Can Really Love
When You Dance I Can Really Love
"When You Dance I Can Really Love" is the ninth track on Neil Young's 1970 album After the Gold Rush. It was written by Young.It was released as a single in the U.S...
". Young wrote and recorded "The Needle and the Damage Done
The Needle and the Damage Done
"The Needle and the Damage Done" is a song by Neil Young that describes the descent into heroin addiction of musicians he knew. It was written about the heroin use of his Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten, and previews the theme of "Tonight's the Night", a song that addresses the heroin overdose...
" during this time, with direct references to Whitten's addiction and its role in the destruction of his talent.
Acquiring a recording contract and expanded to a quintet in 1970, Crazy Horse recorded its first solo album, released in early 1971. The debut album
Crazy Horse (album)
Crazy Horse is the 1971 debut album by Crazy Horse, released by Reprise Records. It peaked at number 84 on the Billboard album chart.- History :...
included five songs by Whitten, with two standout tracks being a song co-written by Young which would show up later on a Young album, "(Come On Baby Let's Go) Downtown", and Whitten's most famous composition, "I Don't Want To Talk About It
I Don't Want to Talk About It
"I Don't Want to Talk About It" is the name of a song written by Danny Whitten. Whitten's band, Crazy Horse released it as a track on their 1971 eponymous album....
", a heartfelt ballad that would receive many cover versions and offer the promise of unfulfilled talent.
Whitten continued to drift, his personal life ruled almost totally by drugs. He was kicked out of Crazy Horse by Talbot and Molina, who used replacements on the band's two albums of 1972. In October of that year, after receiving a call from Young to play rhythm guitar on the upcoming tour behind Young's Harvest album, Whitten showed up for rehearsals at Young's home outside San Francisco. While the rest of the group hammered out arrangements, Whitten lagged behind, figuring out the rhythm parts, though never in sync with the rest of the group. Young, who had more at stake after the success of Harvest, fired Danny from the band. He did this on the 18th of November, 1972. Neil gave Danny $50.00 and a plane ticket back to Los Angeles. Later that night Whitten died from a fatal combination of Valium, which he was taking for severe knee arthritis, and alcohol, which he was using to try to get over his heroin addiction.
Neil Young recalled, "We were rehearsing with him and he just couldn't cut it. He couldn't remember anything. He was too out of it. Too far gone. I had to tell him to go back to L.A. 'It's not happening, man. You're not together enough.' He just said, 'I've got nowhere else to go, man. How am I gonna tell my friends?' And he split. That night the coroner called me and told me he'd ODed. That blew my mind. Fucking blew my mind. I loved Danny. I felt responsible. And from there, I had to go right out on this huge tour of huge arenas. I was very nervous and ... insecure.”
Years later, Young told biographer Jimmy McDonough
Jimmy McDonough
Jimmy McDonough is a journalist and biographer. He is perhaps best known for his biographies of Russ Meyer, Andy Milligan and Neil Young. He is noted by critics for his remarkably exhaustive accounts and for his tendency to avoid romanticizing his subjects' lives. For this reason, he was described...
that for a long time after Whitten died, he felt responsible for Whitten's death. It took him years to stop blaming himself. "Danny just wasn't happy", Young said. "It just all came down on him. He was engulfed by this drug. That was too bad. Because Danny had a lot to give, boy. He was really good."
Discography
- Surfin' Granny, 'A' Side. Mirror Mirror, 'B' Side. Danny and the Memories, Single, Liberty label 1963 (Not Released)
- Can't Help Loving That Girl of Mine, 'A' Side. Don't Go, 'B' Side. Danny and the Memories, Single, Valiant label 1964
- Baby Don't Do That, 'A' Side. 'B' Side, Unknown. The Psyrcle, Single, Lorna label 1966 (Not Released)
- The Rockets, The Rockets, Album, White Whale label, 1968
- Hole In My Pocket, The Rockets, Single, White Whale label, 1968 (Promotional release only)
- Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Album, Reprise label 1969
- After the Gold Rush, Neil Young, Album, Reprise label 1970
- Crazy Horse, Crazy Horse, Album, Reprise label 1971
- Dirty Dirty 'A' Side, Beggar's Day 'B' Side, Crazy Horse, Single, Reprise label 1971
- Downtown 'A' Side, Dance Dance Dance 'B' Side, Crazy Horse, Single, Reprise label 1971
- Hole In My Pocket on Blast From My Past, Barry Goldberg, Album, Buddah label 1971
- Tonight's the Night, Neil Young, album, Reprise 1975 (posthumous)
- Gone Dead Train The Best Of 1971 - 1989 Crazy Horse, Album Reprise label 2005
- Crazy Horse. The Complete Reprise Recordings 1971 - 1973, Crazy Horse, Album Reprise label 2005
- Live at the Fillmore East Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Album, Reprise 2006 (recorded 1970)
Songs written by Danny Whitten
- "Dance To The Music On The Radio" (D Whitten/B Talbot)
- "Dirty, Dirty" (D Whitten)
- "(Come On Baby Let's Go) Downtown" (D Whitten/N Young)
- "Hole in My Pocket" (D Whitten
- "I Don't Need Nobody (Hangin' Round My Door)" (D Whitten)
- "I Don’t Want To Talk About It" (D Whitten)
- "I'll Get By" (D Whitten)
- "Let Me Go" (D Whitten)
- "Look at All the Things"" (D Whitten)
- "Love Can Be So Bad" (D Whitten/L Vegas)
- "May" (D Whitten/B Talbot)
- "Mr Chips" (D Whitten)
- "Oh Boy" (D Whitten)
- "Wasted" (D Whitten/L Vegas/P Vegas)
- "Whatever" (D Whitten/B Talbot)
- "Won't You Say You'll Stay" (D Whitten)