Danny Ray Whitten (May 8, 1943 – November 18, 1972) was an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

's backing band

Crazy Horse Crazy Horse ( , ; – September 5, 1877) was a Lakota people, Lakota war leader of the Oglala band. He took up arms against the United States federal government to fight against encroachment by White Americans, White American settlers on Nativ ...

, and for the song "

I Don't Want to Talk About It "I Don't Want to Talk About It" is a song written by American guitarist Danny Whitten. It was first recorded by American rock band Crazy Horse and issued as the final track on side one of their 1971 eponymous album. It was Whitten's signature t ...

", a hit for

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

and

Everything but the Girl Everything but the Girl are an English musical duo formed in Kingston upon Hull in 1982, consisting of lead singer, songwriter, composer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer, producer and sing ...

Biography

Early years

Whitten was born on May 8, 1943, in Columbus,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. 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 nine years old and the family moved to

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, eighth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 70,872 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Canton–Massillo ...

Musical beginnings

Whitten joined Billy Talbot and Ralph Molina and Benjamin Rocco in the

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

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, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

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 Barry Joseph Goldberg (December 25, 1941 – January 22, 2025) was an American blues and rock keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. Goldberg co-produced albums by Percy Sledge, Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton, and the Textones, plu ...

for the group's self-titled album in mid-1968. The album sold poorly.

Connection with Neil Young

Songwriter Neil Young, fresh from departing

Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield was a Canadian-American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1966 by Canadians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin (musician), Dewey Martin and Americans Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely know ...

, with one album of his own, 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

. Recording sessions led to Young's second album, ''

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere ''Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere'' is the second studio album by Canadian-American musician Neil Young, released in May 1969 on Reprise Records, catalogue number RS 6349. His first with longtime backing band Crazy Horse, it emerged as a sleeper ...

'', 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 shared lead guitar on " Down by the River" and " Cowgirl in the Sand". These tracks would influence the

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

movement of the 1990s, and all three songs remain part of Young's performance repertoire.

Drug addiction

During this period, Whitten began using

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

; after finding that it mitigated his longstanding battle with

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects synovial joint, joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and h ...

, he quickly became addicted. Although he participated in the early stages of Young's next solo effort, ''

After the Gold Rush ''After the Gold Rush'' is the third studio album by the Canadian-American musician Neil Young, released in September 1970 on Reprise Records. It is one of four high-profile solo albums released by the members of folk rock group Crosby, Still ...

'', 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 guitar and vocals on " Oh, Lonesome Me", "I Believe in You", and "

When You Dance I Can Really Love "When You Dance I Can Really Love" is the ninth track on Canadian musician Neil Young's 1970 album ''After the Gold Rush''. It was written by Young. Background The official Neil Young website gives the title as "When You Dance I Can Really Love"; ...

". He was also brought in at the end of the sessions to provide harmony vocals on " Tell Me Why", "

Only Love Can Break Your Heart "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" is a song written by Canadian-American singer-songwriter Neil Young. It has been covered by many other artists. Genesis and recording The song is the third track on Neil Young's album ''After the Gold Rush''. ...

", "Cripple Creek Ferry", " Southern Man" and "Till the Morning Comes". Young wrote "

The Needle and the Damage Done "The Needle and the Damage Done" is a 1972 song by Canadian-American singer-songwriter Neil Young. The lyrics describe the effects of heroin addiction on musicians Young knew, including his friend and Crazy Horse bandmate Danny Whitten, who would d ...

" 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 group-only album, released in early 1971. The debut album included five songs by Whitten, with two standout tracks being a song co-written by Young that would show up later on a Young album, " (Come On Baby Let's Go) Downtown", and Whitten's most famous composition, "

", a heartfelt ballad that would receive many cover versions and offer the promise of unfulfilled talent.

Death

Whitten continued to drift, his personal life ruled almost totally by drugs. He was dismissed from Crazy Horse by Talbot and Molina, who used replacements on the band's two albums of 1972. In April of that year, after receiving a call from Young to play

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

as a member of

The Stray Gators The Stray Gators was the name given by Neil Young to his supporting musicians from 1971 to 1973 and who backed him on the albums ''Harvest'' (1972) and '' Time Fades Away'' (1973). It consisted of Jack Nitzsche (piano), Ben Keith (steel guitar), ...

on the upcoming tour behind Young's ''

Harvest Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...

'' 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 ''After the Gold Rush'' and ''Harvest'', fired him from the band on November 18, 1972. He gave Whitten $50 and a plane ticket back to Los Angeles. Later that night Whitten died from ingesting a combination of

diazepam Diazepam, sold under the brand name Valium among others, is a medicine of the benzodiazepine family that acts as an anxiolytic. It is used to treat a range of conditions, including anxiety disorder, anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal syndr ...

, which he was taking for severe knee arthritis, and alcohol, which he was using to try to get over his heroin addiction. In 1973, Charles Perry of ''Rolling Stone'' reported that Whitten died of a

methaqualone Methaqualone is a hypnotic sedative. It was sold under the brand names Quaalude ( ) and Sopor among others, which contained 300 mg of methaqualone, and sold as a combination drug under the brand name Mandrax, which contained 250 mg me ...

overdose. 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 died. 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."Quoted in Heatley, Michael (1997). ''Neil Young: In His Own Words'', p. 27. Omnibus Press, 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."

Discography

* "Surfin' Granny' (A-Side), "Mirror Mirror" (B-Side), Danny & The Memories, Single, Liberty label, 1963 (Not Released) * "Can't Help Loving That Girl of Mine" (A-Side), "Don't Go" (B-Side), Danny & The Memories, Single, Valiant label, 7/64; re-released 3/65 * "Baby, Don't Do That" (A-Side), (B-Side is unknown), The Psyrcle, Single, Lorna label, 1966 (Not Released) * '' The Rockets'', The Rockets, Album, White Whale label, 1968 * "Hole In My Pocket" (A-side), "Let Me Go" (B-Side), The Rockets, Single, White Whale label, 1968 * "Hole In My Pocket" (A & B-Sides), The Rockets, Single, White Whale label, 1968 (Promotional/radio release only) * "Let Me Go" (A & B-Sides), The Rockets, Single, White Whale label, 1968 (Promotional/radio release only) * ''

'',

& Crazy Horse, Album,

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any re ...

label, 1969 * ''

'', Neil Young, Album, Reprise label, 1970 * ''

'', Crazy Horse, Album, Reprise label, 1971 * "Downtown" (A-Side), "Crow Jane Lady" (B-Side), Crazy Horse, Single, Reprise label, 1971 * "Dance, Dance, Dance" (A-Side), "Carolay" (B-Side), Crazy Horse, Single, Reprise label, 1971 * "Dirty, Dirty" (A-Side), "Beggar's Day" (B-Side), Crazy Horse, Single, Reprise label 1971 * '' Tonight's the Night'', Neil Young, Album, Reprise, 1975 (recorded 1970, posthumously released) * '' Gone Dead Train: The Best of Crazy Horse 1971–1989'' Crazy Horse, Album,

Raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

label, 2005 * '' Scratchy: The Complete Reprise Recordings'', Crazy Horse, Album, Rhino Handmade label, 2005 * '' Live at the Fillmore East'', Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Album, Reprise, 2006 (recorded 1970) * '' The Archives Vol. 1 1963–1972, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Album, Reprise, 2009

Songs written by Danny Whitten

* "Baby, Don't Do That" (Whitten, Billy Talbot) 1966 Lorna single, produced by

Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (March 15, 1943 – June 9, 2025), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, was an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the frontman of Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the development ...

* "Dance To The Music On The Radio" (Whitten, Talbot) * "Dirty, Dirty" (Whitten) * "(Come On Baby Let's Go) Downtown" (Whitten, Neil Young) * "Hole in My Pocket" (Whitten) 1968 White Whale single, produced by

; also recorded by the 'Barry Goldberg Reunion' on ''There's No Hole In My Soul'' for

Buddah Records Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foundin ...

. * "I Don't Need Nobody (Hangin' Round My Door)" (Whitten) * "

" (Whitten) * "I'll Get By" (Whitten) * "Let Me Go" (Whitten) 1968 White Whale single, produced by Barry Goldberg. * "Look At All The Things" (Whitten) * "Love Can Be So Bad" (Whitten, Lolly Vegas) * "May" (Whitten, Talbot) * "Mr. Chips" (Whitten) * "Oh Boy" (Whitten) * "Wasted" (Whitten, Lolly Vegas, Pat Vegas) * "Whatever" (Whitten, Talbot) * "Won't You Say You'll Stay" (Whitten)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitten, Danny 1943 births 1972 deaths American blues guitarists American male guitarists American rock guitarists Musicians from Columbus, Georgia Crazy Horse (band) members 20th-century American musicians Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) American lead guitarists American rhythm guitarists Drug-related deaths in California Alcohol-related deaths in California Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers The Stray Gators members