Neil Young

On November 12, 1945 – 73 years ago today – the singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist, producer, director, screenwriter, humanitarian, entrepreneur, inventor and environmentalist Neil Percival Young was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 

Upfront: I would tell you that Maestro Neil Young has been part of my life since my coming of age (which I count to 1966, when I was 12 years old). His songs, his voice, his guitar work and the bands in which he has played helped to define my teenage years and as such, my lasting musical sensibilities. His work with Buffalo Springfield (1966-1968); Crazy Horse (1968-1969); Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (1969-1970); and his acoustic work in the early seventies remains – for me – some of the best folk rock and rock ‘n’ roll ever played and recorded.

(Just for the heck of it, I’d point out that Young entered and then worked in the United States illegally, and only received his Green Card in 1970, making him one of the countless “illegal aliens” who have gone on to enrich the American cultural gene-pool. Just sayin’.)

Darryl Hannah and Neil Young

(Another parenthetical observation. On October 31, 2018 – 12 days ago – Young admitted to having married the 57 year-old actress Darryl Hannah earlier this year, making him – in my opinion – a very lucky 73 year-old. Just sayin’.)

There’s no need to talk about Neil Young’s success; his albums have spent so much time on the U.S. and U.K. charts that he should have a penthouse suit atop them both. And there’s really no need to extensively detail the honors he has received, which include membership in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and being ranked 34th on Rolling Stone Magazine’s “100 Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Artists of All Time.” (I hate these stupid lists. Why shouldn’t Young be ranked #33, or #18, or #10? It’s all utterly arbitrary except for the fact that he is indeed one of the great ones.)

But of all the honors Neil Young has received, none is greater – in my eyes – than one bestowed upon him in 2008. That was year that Dr. Jason E. Bond, who at the time was an associate professor of biology at East Carolina University, named a new species of spider he had discovered in Jefferson County, Alabama after Neil Young, calling it: Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi. 

Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi and Neil Young

Dr. Bond explained his choice this way:

“There are rather strict rules about how you name new species, and these rules are outlined in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. As long as these rules are followed you can give a new species just about any name you please. With regards to Neil Young, I really enjoy his music and have had a great appreciation of him as an activist for peace and justice.”

This is beyond cool; it is the ginchiest (which is – or at least was – the South Jersey word for “beyond cool”). It is also on Dr. Bonds’ part an example of the very highest degree of geekdom and something that reinforces my belief that in the end, the nerds shall inheriteth the earth.