Neil Young is a musician.
Neil Percival Young , ( born November 12 , 1945 ) , is a Canadian singer-songwriter , musician , producer , director and screenwriter . Young began performing in a group covering Shadows instrumentals in Canada in 1960 . His gritty guitar work , especially with Crazy Horse , earned him the nickname `` Godfather of Grunge '' and led to his 1995 album Mirror Ball with Pearl Jam . The Shadows are a British instrumental rock group , and Cliff Richard 's backing band , with 69 UK chart singles from the 1950s to the 2000s , 35 credited to the Shadows and 34 to Cliff Richard and the Shadows .