Apparently, music is in the Young family’s genes. Neil Young’s older brother Bob dropped his first-ever single, “Hey America” with the Peterboroughs, at the age of 78.
(Neil is four years, er, younger.)
The tune, out on Shakey Pictures Records, features Neil Young on harmonica. “The filming of ‘Hey America’ was done in the Covid 19 environment,” Neil Young said in a statement.
“One shot where we’re all standing together, singing without masks was done in three separate shoots with the same background and assembled in post-production to look like three people singing together. Stay safe,” the younger Young added.
The shaggy folk anthem, which sounds like Homegrown-era Neil Young, was an inspired creation. “I didn’t set out to become a songwriter and singer at 78 years of age,” Bob Young said in a statement. “It was and is an organic event. I was watching Donald Trump on TV a couple years ago and wrote down a few lines. When I got home, I found I could play those lines on guitar.”
Close friends, including his brother, his brother’s wife Daryl Hannah, Carrie Alice Williams, the song’s co-author Diane Marshall, and Blue Rodeo’s Greg Keelo, encouraged him to continue.
“The recording process all happened at once. I had never done that either,” Bob continued. “It was a band performance that had spontaneity. In another session, some vocal harmony was added, and Neil played harmonica. My perspective is simultaneously that of a participant and spectator. I am watching myself do this. All you aging baby boomers out there, give it a shot,” the older Young said.
Watch the clip below.
“Hey America” was directed by CK Vollick with Bernard Shakey.
