Neil Young was feeling “really sick” and “drained” before he formed the Chrome Hearts, according to his longtime bandmate Micah Nelson.
Nelson – son of country legend Willie Nelson – played with Young with Promise of The Real and Crazy Horse before becoming part of the Chrome Hearts line-up – and he’s revealed the Harvest Moon legend, 79, went through a very tough time after his 2024 tour with Crazy Horse was halted due to a number of health issues within the group.
He told Rolling Stone magazine: “I knew how bummed out Neil was. He wasn’t feeling like making music. He was really sick. He was trying to get over that, and just get his energy back.
“And then he was really bummed out about what happened, and how it all went down. And that just kind of drained him a lot, and doused this flame.
“I was like: ‘Is Neil fading away? This is unacceptable’.”
Nelson admitted he was determined to get Young back on track so he did his best to lift his spirits and convince him to get back to music.
He added: “I’d call him a lot and check in on him and remind him how he’s not old. I was like: ‘Do whatever you got to do, man. Take your time. I get it. Recharge. The tank has got to fill back up, and that can take time, but whenever you want to do the thing again, just call me up and I’m ready to go’.
“I kept that idea going and reminding him that he didn’t play for four years, and he felt the rust. And then it took a few years once he started again to really, really get back in the groove.”
Young went back on the road solo and then put the Chrome Hearts together featuring Nelson and his Promise of the Real bandmates Corey McCormick and Anthony LoGerfo as well as organist Spooner Oldham for a huge 2025 tour.
Nelson added of the band: “It took a minute of sort of just micro-dosing with this idea of: ‘We don’t have to stop. I know you’re not done.’
“And then the natural organic process of seasons of inspiration, how they come around. But I was just planting those seeds so that when that started coming around, he had something to pick out of the ground and harvest.
“That’s what became the Chrome Hearts … It just feels right.”