First and foremost to Robert Rodriguez, who somewhat amazingly found me and my work online at Blogcritics, and decided that he actually wanted to work with me anyway. Robert helped me immensely by guiding me through the process of pitching this project to Hal Leonard and has also remained an invaluable resource since signing on the dotted line. He is also author of his own two excellent books in this very series, Fab Four FAQ and Fab Four FAQ 2.0. Thanks, Robert!
There is also no way I could have completed this without the invaluable assistance of a guy I still know only by the name of Thrasher after all these years.
Thrasher runs what is for my money the best Internet resource bar none for all things Neil Young at his site Thrasher’s Wheat (a.k.a. Neil Young News). You’ll find him at http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/.
This guy is an absolute fountain of information when it comes to Neil Young and a hell of a nice guy, too (at least for someone I’ve never actually met face to face and whose Christian name I have yet to learn). He was also an essential resource for this book—particularly in regard to some of the more obscure facts you’ll find within these pages. There may well have been a Neil Young FAQ without Thrasher, but it definitely wouldn’t have been anywhere near as “Neil-phyte worthy.”
Donald Gibson, my good friend, fellow music editor and co-conspirator at Blogcritics magazine also deserves my gratitude for serving as my unofficial editor for this project. Donald graciously loaned me his expert eyes not only to spot any errors I might have missed, but was also exactly the honest, objective, no-bullshit sounding board I needed. So thank you, Donald.
Since Neil Young FAQ also contains numerous unique pictures and images—many of which are seen here for the first time ever—it goes without saying that the photographers and private collectors who contributed them need to be acknowledged and thanked.
Foremost amongst these would be Jeff Allen, who provided our beautiful cover shot, which Allen snapped as a teen who was fortunate enough to be in the studio audience during CSN&Y’s TV taping for ABC’s Music Scene in 1969. This amazing photo of Neil Young in full shred mode, along with a few others seen in the book, has never been published nationally until now. You can view more of Jeff’s great work at http://cacheagency.com/scripts/IF/if.cgi?direct=Contributors/Jeff_Allen.
In addition to Jeff Allen’s photos, never-before-seen Neil Young photos were provided by Mary Andrews, Kim Reed, Constanze Metzner, Chris Greenwood, Ed Boutlier, Marc Chamberlain, Tony Stack, and Donald Gibson (yes, him again). My sincere thanks to all of you for these amazing photos.
The numerous images of rare, obscure, and out-of-print Neil Young LPs, 45 picture sleeves, sheet music, and memorabilia that account for more than half of those seen in Neil Young FAQ all come from the private collection of a single Neil Young fan, one Tom Therme. So Tom, many thanks, and be sure to alert me first if and when you ever decide to put your fabulous collection up for auction on eBay or elsewhere. Consider this my dibs on first bid.
I’d also be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge and thank the rest of the good folks at Blogcritics magazine. BC gave me an Internet platform to get my stuff out there at a time when a lot of folks had given me up for dead as a rock journalist—resulting in a journey that eventually led me to this very book.
So many thanks to Eric Olsen, Phillip Winn, Lisa McKay, Connie Phillips, and the rest of youse guys. Thanks for providing me the medium to launch my second act as a writer. They’ve also got some great, and mostly undiscovered writers there, including my good friends Greg Barbrick, Jordan Richardson, El Bicho, Kit O’Toole, and others (and if I forgot you, it’s probably ’cause I didn’t receive your check).
Check them out at http://blogcritics.org.
To wrap up the personal thanks, let’s go with Mom and Dad, all the fine folks at Backbeat Books and Hal Leonard Performing Arts Publishing Group, and of course my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (it may not be a Grammy, but it is my first book, after all).
Now without further adieu, and as Neil himself would say, “Let’s roll.”