The Artist Neil Young Thought Was the Best of His Generation

Neil Young is a once-in-a-generation artist. His brand of folk has stayed evergreen since his heyday in the ’70s. As such, his opinion is held in high esteem. He once heralded a particular artist as “the best” of his generation. As it turns out, it’s another folk icon. Find out which artist Young issued that praise to, below.

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The Artist Neil Young Thought Was the Best of His Generation

Yesterday a child came out to wonder
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder
And tearful at the falling of a star
And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down

Joni Mitchell’s “The Circle Game” was reportedly inspired by Young’s “Sugar Mountain.” Moving Mitchell’s pen was a badge of honor for Young.

“Joni Mitchell also really loved my song ‘Sugar Mountain,’” Young once said. “Later, she wrote ‘The Circle Game’ about ‘Sugar Mountain.’ It was a real feeling of recognition that Joni wrote her song to answer mine; I didn’t even hear it until she had already been singing it for a year.”

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In the same conversation, Young talked about how he rated Mitchell in the grand scheme of things. He put her on a pedestal, crowning her the greatest artist of their generation.

Then the child moved ten times round the seasons
Skated over ten clear frozen streams
Words like, when you’re older, must appease him
And promises of someday make his dreams
And the seasons they go round and round

“I love Joni,” Young added. “She’s wonderful. She’s one of the greatest artists of our generation – she may be the greatest artist of our generation.”

The admiration is mutual between Young and Mitchell. Mitchell semi-recently showed her support for Young by joining him in his protest of Spotify. Though both artists have now returned to the platform, the move was a show of loyalty to her fellow folkie.

Revisit “The Circle Game,” below.

Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now
Cartwheels turn to car wheels through the town
And they tell him,
Take your time, it won’t be long now
Till you drag your feet to slow the circles down
And the seasons they go round and round

Neil Young (Photo by Michael Putland Hulton)