Biography
It seems scarcely credible that Rick James and Neil Young ever shared a stage, yet in the opening months of 1966 the two musicians found themselves in the same Toronto-based ensemble known as the Mynah Birds. Bassist Bruce Palmer, who would soon team with Young in Buffalo Springfield, had invited the guitarist to join the already established group that January. At the time Young had been trying without success to launch a solo career and welcomed the steady employment, even though the band initially ignored his own material and leaned instead toward a gritty R&B approach reminiscent of the Rolling Stones, as he later recalled in John Einarson’s 1992 volume Neil Young: The Canadian Years: Don’t Be Denied. The frontman and principal vocalist was Rick James, still performing under the name Ricky James Matthews; Young has noted that the pair collaborated on several songs during their brief overlap.
Motown, venturing for one of its earliest forays into rock, quickly signed the Mynah Birds and the musicians laid down sixteen tracks before the sessions collapsed. James was arrested for going AWOL from the U.S. Navy, a fact the rest of the group had not suspected despite knowing he was American. The band dissolved that March. Although the members had signed an extended contract with the label, the agreement was voided, freeing Young and Palmer to head west without legal hindrance.
Years later the long-lost recordings resurfaced in Motown’s archives, misfiled and unnoticed until a musicologist located them. According to the same Einarson book, the tapes contain almost none of Young’s distinctive guitar or voice; he sang on none of the tracks, and his instrument sits so far back in the mix that it is nearly inaudible. The most prominent element is Matthews’s lead vocal. Only a single James-Young composition, “I’ll Wait Forever,” received an official copyright, though Young has also mentioned writing “It’s My Time” with his bandmate.
Despite the abrupt ending, the Mynah Birds episode yielded tangible benefits for Young and Palmer. Band supporter millionaire John David Eaton replaced Young’s twelve-string acoustic with a new Rickenbacker electric and supplied amplifiers for the entire lineup. When the musicians sold the gear, the proceeds financed their journey to California in search of Stephen Stills, whom Young had encountered in 1965. They located him in a fabled roadside encounter, then joined forces with Richie Furay to form Buffalo Springfield. In the early 1970s Eaton obtained a court order attaching Young’s earnings from a Toronto performance until the debt for the equipment was settled; Young paid the sum in full.
Motown, venturing for one of its earliest forays into rock, quickly signed the Mynah Birds and the musicians laid down sixteen tracks before the sessions collapsed. James was arrested for going AWOL from the U.S. Navy, a fact the rest of the group had not suspected despite knowing he was American. The band dissolved that March. Although the members had signed an extended contract with the label, the agreement was voided, freeing Young and Palmer to head west without legal hindrance.
Years later the long-lost recordings resurfaced in Motown’s archives, misfiled and unnoticed until a musicologist located them. According to the same Einarson book, the tapes contain almost none of Young’s distinctive guitar or voice; he sang on none of the tracks, and his instrument sits so far back in the mix that it is nearly inaudible. The most prominent element is Matthews’s lead vocal. Only a single James-Young composition, “I’ll Wait Forever,” received an official copyright, though Young has also mentioned writing “It’s My Time” with his bandmate.
Despite the abrupt ending, the Mynah Birds episode yielded tangible benefits for Young and Palmer. Band supporter millionaire John David Eaton replaced Young’s twelve-string acoustic with a new Rickenbacker electric and supplied amplifiers for the entire lineup. When the musicians sold the gear, the proceeds financed their journey to California in search of Stephen Stills, whom Young had encountered in 1965. They located him in a fabled roadside encounter, then joined forces with Richie Furay to form Buffalo Springfield. In the early 1970s Eaton obtained a court order attaching Young’s earnings from a Toronto performance until the debt for the equipment was settled; Young paid the sum in full.
Singles
