Today marks the 35th anniversary of Neil Young performing “Rockin’ in the Free World” on Saturday Night Live, which he’s said was one of the few of his rare TV performances that he liked doing.
While Young himself didn’t perform the song during his two-night stand with The Chrome Hearts at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, New York a week ago, a couple of artists who often break out "Rockin' in the Free World" live did so over the weekend.
During her performance at The Bellwether in L.A. on Saturday, Lucinda Williams, who teamed with former Heartbreaker Mike Campbell on seven songs later in the evening, closed out her first set with "Rockin' in the Free World."
Even more notable was Pearl Jam, who at Eddie Vedder's Ohana Festival in Dana Point, California the same night brought out a slew of guests for it: Neil, Liam, & Elroy Finn of Crowded House, Bret Domrose and Robert Mailhouse of Dogstar, Jaime Wyatt, and Zach Irons, son of onetime Pearl Jam drummer Jack Irons.
Zach had joined Pearl Jam earlier in the encore for the band's live debut of "The Whale Song," a Pearl Jam deep cut written and sung by Zach's father during sessions for 1998's Yield album, but not released until a year later on the ocean conservancy benefit album M.O.M. III: Music for Our Mother Ocean. Introducing Zach, Vedder told the crowd that they'd invited Jack to sing it, but that he was unable to make it to the show.
You can find fan-shot videos of both Saturday's "Rockin' in the Free World" and "The Whale Song" on YouTube. There's also a clip from Young's rehearsal for his SNL performance. (Spin)
IN OTHER NEIL YOUNG RELATED NEWS.....
Neil Young is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his album “On The Beach.” He’s releasing a special reissue to mark the occasion. The special edition will be pressed on clear vinyl, with “50” added to the front cover. “On The Beach” was Young’s fifth studio album, and was recorded with a ton of music greats including Billy Talbot, Ralph Molina, David Crosby, Graham Nash, and more. The album will be released on November 8th.
Check out his original post about it here from Neils official Instagram page.