NEIL!

Thanks for that link, Ray. I’m enjoying C.D. II – – God bless, NEIL! 🙂

This Day In Music History … (from Associated Press)

In 1963, 17-year-old Neil Young performed his first professional date at a Winnipeg country club.

And…

In 1949, RCA Victor introduced the 45 rpm record. It was designed as a rival to Columbia’s 33-and-one-third rpm long-playing disc, introduced the previous year. The two systems directly competed with each other to replace 78 rpm records, bewildering consumers and causing a drop in record sales. By the end of 1949, all the major companies, except RCA, had committed themselves to the LP record, seemingly putting an end to the 45. Even RCA itself announced it would issue its classical library on 33-and-one third rpm discs.

Enjoy the show, RZ 8)
Hope you’ll share a review here next week…

http://origin.mercurynews.com/businessheadlines/ci_9179048

“Reminded that many music fans these days download and play songs on portable MP3 players, Young said: ‘My heart goes out to them.'” 🙂

Young still voice of change
Rocker Neil Young pushing benefits of electric cars
By AP

WICHITA, KAN. — Neil Young, the rocker who provided some of the soundtrack to Vietnam-era protests, is trying to change the world again — with his car.

Young has teamed up with Johnathan Goodwin, a Wichita mechanic who has developed a national reputation for re-engineering the power units of big cars to get more horsepower but use less fuel.

The two are looking to convert Young’s 1959 Lincoln Continental convertible to operate on an electric battery. Ultimately, they said, they want the Continental to provide a model for the world’s first affordable mass-produced electric-powered automobile.

“Johnathan and this car are going to make history,” Young told The Wichita Eagle. “We’re going to change the world; we’re going to create a car that will allow us to stop giving our wealth to other countries for petroleum.”

Young has poured about US$120,000 so far into the project, Goodwin said.

What’s more, the prototype power system worked during a 19-kilometre test drive of the car last week — albeit with a few glitches.

“She was awesome,” Young said of the battery-operated car. “Her acceleration was incredible, she moved with hardly a sound”

The drive almost ended in disaster when Goodwin, who controls acceleration with a knob in the back seat, twisted it the wrong way while approaching an entrance ramp and the vehicle lurched toward the rear of another car. Young, in the passenger seat, was able to hit the brakes in time.

“Still needs work,” said Goodwin, 37.

Young, 62, said he came across taped interviews of Goodwin eight months ago on the Internet, including a segment for the MTV show Pimp My Ride. Goodwin’s clientele includes California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had Goodwin work on his Hummer.

Young said he set out wanting his car to be able to use biodiesel, but later asked Goodwin whether they could instead power it with batteries and use it as a template to make electric cars more mainstream.

“The technology to make a practical and affordable electric cars has been around for a long time,” Goodwin said. “There are all sorts of ways to work out how to make it work on a national scale.”

For Young, the project may complete a mission he set for himself with his music.

“You know, I thought long ago you could change the world by writing songs,” he said. “But you can’t change the world by writing songs. But we could change it with this car.”

Wear your seatbelt, Neil!