Neil w Young and The Legendary Bear...
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See extensive personal bio at www.myspace.com/therealneilyoung
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Neil w Young and The Legendary Bear...
Paris, ON, CA
Country / Rockabilly / Americana
Neil has been writing songs and playing guitar since he was a teenager going to high school in Burford Ontario Canada during the legendary 1950's Country Rockabilly era and the dawning of Rock 'n Roll.
“In the early 1960’s,” Neil says, with thoughts of what might have been, “I ‘temporarily’ put on hold an opportunity to seriously pursue a music career. At the time, I was studying under the mentorship of Gerry Risser at his Counterpoint School of Music and Recording Studio. Gerry was a product of the birth of rock ’n roll in the 1950’s getting his start playing guitar in 'The Mel-O-Denes', a rock band in his hometown of London Ontario. From that start, Gerry performed with The Capers - a London group that included drummer Garth Hudson (later with The Band). The Capers had their own TV show on CFPL Channel 10 London. Gerry landed a recording contract in Detroit and had personal appearances with such artists as The Everly Brothers, Paul Anka, Jimmy Rogers, Bill Haley & The Comets, Johnny Cash and others. Gerry was a good friend of Chet Atkins and traveled often to Nashville to further hone his craft under the watchful eye and tutorship of the master himself, "Mister Guitar".
It truly was a great privilege to have had that early training with Gerry and to have been so close to being in the company of legends at the time," Neil adds nostalgically.
Living now in Paris Ontario, known as 'The prettiest little town in Ontario', within a stone's throw of where his country roots were nurtured growing up on the family farm, he found it the perfect place to embark on his life-long dream to record an album of his original material and to begin writing his long-awaited novel.
Neil's debut album "No Looking Back" was released in August 2007.
He was a nominee at the 2008 Hamilton Music Awards in the New Country Recording of the Year category for "No Looking Back".
In April 2008, Neil was honored to receive the Golden Kayak Award for Best Country Song 2007 at the 2008 IAIA (International Academy of Independent Artists) Awards for "The Cowboy Song".
Four songs on his debut album have topped their respective charts at IAC Music and two have topped the Cashbox Magazine Country Chart
"The Cowboy Song" and "The Restless Wind" both went to # I on the IAC Music Country Chart and to # 1 on the Cashbox Country Chart.
"All Through The Night" and "There's Just The One And Only You" went to # 1 on the IAC Music Easy Listening/Soft Rock. "All Through The Night" went to # 2 on the Cashbox Easy Listening/Soft Pop Chart.
The album was number one in the U.K. for three consecutive weeks on the album chart at LoneBoy Music and in the Top 10 on the LoneBoy album chart for twenty-five weeks.
Neil was greatly honoured to be one of the artists named on the July 1, 2007 front cover of CASHBOX MAGAZINE under the headline: "These are a few of the awesome Indies gracing our Independent Charts every week".
Also on Neil's debut album are two songs for which he received Honor Awards in Lyric Writing in The Great American Song Contest: “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash” - his tribute to the legendary ‘Man in Black’, and “I Got My Ragtop Down” - a 1950’s rockabilly inspired song. His lyrics for “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash” were also a Finalist in the American Songwriter Magazine Lyric Contest in Nashville Tennessee. “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash” reached # 2 on the IAC Music Country Chart and on the Cashbox Country Chart.
Favorable reviews have been written at CD Baby and in the December 2007 issue of the Country Home Online Magazine for Country Music in Germany as well as at LoneBoy Radio in London England and in the 2008 Summer # 83 issue of Blue Suede News.
The following two reviews were written by Rockabilly Hall of Fame Member Bobby Lawson:
“A great CD, these are eleven great songs, beautifully written and sung. Neil puts his all in these songs, from the heart and from the soul. I recommend this CD and Neil w Young to everyone who likes it country.”- Bobby Lawson, Member: Rockabilly Hall Of Fame
Neil's CD “No Looking Back” is a real musical treat. All the songs are masterfully written, and you know Neil is writing from the heart having lived some of the things that he sings about. The musicians and backup singers that Neil chose for this CD are certainly the very best. Beautifully produced and great song arrangements make this a must have CD.”-Bobby Lawson, Member: Rockabilly Hall Of Fame
KIAC internet station manager Jerry Kabat of WROK in Chicago wrote the following compliment about "Got Nothin’ To Lose", a song that Neil wrote while still in high school in the late 1950's:
“This is a great tune and shows what music was about in the 50's. Great vocal track with dynamite back-ups. This should have a Sun Studio label.”
Neil is backed on the album by a multi-talented line-up of musicians, including Juno nominee and international recording artist Ray Lyell on acoustic and bass guitar, keyboard, harmonica and backing vocals; ex Helix member Gary Borden on lead guitar; Ken Baird on piano, and Steve Petrie on pedal steel guitar and fiddle. Steve performed for a number of years with legendary Canadian Country Recording Stars, Stompin' Tom Conners and Tommy Hunter.
Vocalist Paula Tessaro shares lead vocals with Neil on "You Just Turned My Life Around".
The album was produced by Ray Lyell and co-produced by Neil w Young, arranged, programmed, engineered and mixed by Ray Lyell and recorded at Rayne Records and mastered at Grant Avenue Studio, both in Hamilton, Ontario.
From tumbleweeds drifting along old Route 66 and flashy 1950’s convertibles, to rusted out flatbed trucks and walking down train tracks, it is hard not to picture Johnny Cash here. Even more so with Neil's self-effacing western lilt and a soft southern drawl influenced in part during his teens while toiling in summer sun-baked tobacco fields alongside his co-workers from the Carolina’s and Georgia.
Neil purposely spells his full name Neil w Young with his middle initial "w" always appearing in the lower case with no period after it.
Also known as "Skip" to his family and close friends, Neil is a Western Ontario Secondary School Honour Athlete, a graduate of Burford District High School - Burford Ontario, and a graduate of Waterloo Lutheran University (now known as Wilfred Laurier University) in Waterloo Ontario. He also holds what he considers to be a hard earned Masters Degree from the University of Life. Married with two daughters and six grandchildren, Neil is happy to let his debut album "No Looking Back" carve out his own niche and place in the world of music and for others to hopefully get enjoyment from it while his life-long dream continues to unfold day by day. "What more could I ask," Neil says wistfully, "than to have others enjoy my songs and music. Music is for the soul ... my wish is that mine touches others."
by Neil w Young and The Legendary Bear Creek Band
