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On this day, 63 years ago, one of the greatest musicians of all time hit the studio to record his first single.
July 23 is an important day in music history for numerous reasons. My Chemical Romance released their debut album in 2002, while Guns N Roses guitarist Slash was born in 1965. And in 2011, singer Amy Winehouse was found dead at the age of 27.
But 63 years ago today, on July 23, 1963, singer/songwriter Neil Young, still in high school, and his band The Squires hit a studio in Winnipeg, Canada, to record their first single called The Sultan.
However, Young's first single, with Aurora as the B-side, would not become a hit. In fact, it was only locally pressed in Winnipeg with roughly just 300 copies.
But it was still Young, at just 17 years old, who wrote The Sultan, while playing lead guitar, launching his music career.
Neil Young Went on to Become One of the All-Time Greats
Young went on to have a historic career, creating hits such as Old Man, Harvest Moon, Like A Hurricane and Rockin' in the Free World. But his lone No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 was the 1972 track Heart of Gold.
For that, Young has been widely considered one of the greatest musicians we have ever seen. Even Rolling Stone ranked him No. 34 on its 100 Greatest Artists.
However, according to Rolling Stone, Young's career doesn't quite live up to those of The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley, who rank as the top three on the list, respectively.
