What the Producer of Neil Young’s ‘Heart of Gold’ Thought When He 1st Heard It

A lot of the soft-rock from the 1970s isn’t generally considered classic rock , but when those songs are good they’re really good. For example, Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” is indisputably one of the best songs ever recorded. Young’s producer revealed what he thought of the track when he first heard it.

The producer of Neil Young’s ‘Heart of Gold’ made a prediction about it

Elliot Mazer produced Harvest , one of Young’s most important records. During a 2011 interview with AnalogPlanet , Mazer revealed what he thought of “Heart of Gold.” “I knew ‘Heart of Gold’ was a hit when Neil played it,” he said. “He wrote it on piano and performed it on some solo shows. His songs are generally an overpowering feeling.”

Mazer discussed working alongside other musicians while Young crafted “Heart of Gold.” “Kenny, Drummond, Ben, Teddy and I are in the control room,” he said. “Small space. 12 feet by 20 feet. And Neil plays ‘Heart of Gold’ and I look up and Kenny and I both at the same time put our fingers up as No. 1. We knew it.”

Neil Young recorded another classic around the same time

Mazer said he had one goal during that period of time. “From then it was only a matter of time to get the thing done properly and out,” he said. “Neil’s singing and playing on it was magnificent. His tempo was perfect. It was great. All we had to do was make sure we didn’t mess him up.”

Around the same time, Young created another one of his indispensable tunes. “We did a few days during the ‘Heart of Gold’ sessions and we took a break,” Mazer recalled. “Neil and Jack Nitzsche went to London and did ‘A Man Needs a Maid’ and ‘There’s a World’ live with the London Symphony.” Afterward, Young did a take of his song “Old Man.” Mazer knew it was perfect because Young’s singing was so good. In Mazer’s recollection, he could tell when Young was doing a perfect take early in the recording process.

Why ‘Heart of Gold’ took over the world

“Heart of Gold” became Young’s only top 20 single in the United States as a solo artist. Even listeners who know next to nothing about Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young or Young’s solo career know the chorus to “Heart of Gold.” The track topped the Billboard Hot 100 for a single week. Perhaps the tune performed so well because it captured the soft-rock and country zeitgeists of the 1970s so well. It’s not too different from a Barbra Streisand or Dolly Parton track from that era.

“Heart of Gold” appeared on the classic album Harvest . That record reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, becoming Young’s only No. 1 album in the United States. It lasted on the Billboard 200 for 41 weeks. Harvest also produced Young’s second-biggest single: “Old Man.” That tune reached No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100, charting for nine weeks. Young wasn’t always a pop star per se, but the success of Harvest let him be a pop star again for a certain amount of time in the 1970s.

Mazer didn’t think that “Heart of Gold” was a perfect song but millions of classic rock fans beg to differ.