Happy 75th Birthday Neil Young: 5 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Collaborations

Young’s relationship with the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame dates back to the first ceremony held in 1986 that saw Young induct The Everly Brothers as part of the inaugural class of performers. He also participated in the truly all-star jam led by Chuck Berry and featuring John Fogerty, Billy Joel, Jerry Lee Lewis, Keith Richards, Steve Winwood and others. Above, watch the incredible assemblage of rock royalty performing “Roll Over Beethoven” on January 23, 1986, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

Booker T. & the M.G.’s were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1992. Young attended the ceremony to induct The Jimi Hendrix Experience, who was also part of the ‘92 class. Young and Booker T. & The M.G.’s toured together in 1993 and recorded the collaborative LP, Are You Passionate? in 2002. At the 1992 Rock Hall ceremony, Young was onstage for the all-star jam that featured Booker T. & The M.G.’s instrumental classic “Green Onions.” Directed by Paul Shaffer, the lineup of musicians included Booker T. Jones on Hammond B3 organ, The M.G.’s guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn, as well as U2 guitarist The Edge, The Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, Blues Traveler harmonica player John Popper and others. Young takes a somewhat awkward solo at around the three-minute mark in the video above.

Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder inducted Neil into the Rock Hall when he first went in with the 1995 class. Pearl Jam and Young, who released the joint 1995 album Mirror Ball, collaborated during the performance part of the ceremony on January 23, 1995, which was the last held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel following the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Museum’s opening in Cleveland later that year. Young and Pearl Jam collaborated on “Act of Love” and “Fuckin’ Up,” both of which are captured in the video above.

Legendary rockers Led Zeppelin were also among the 1995 class of Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductees. Young sat-in with the surviving members of LZ, vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones, who were joined by drummer Michael Lee in place of the late John Bonham. The rock icons came together for “When The Levee Breaks,” which can be seen above.

A decade later, Young was again recruited by the Rock And Hall Of Fame, this time to induct The Pretenders (he inducted Paul McCartney in 1999 and would also induct Tom Waits in 2011). Young was also recruited by The Pretenders to sit-in with the band during their performance. Neil can be seen alongside frontwoman Chrissie Hynde on “My City Was Gone” in the above video.