Hey Hey My My
Neil Young, 1979, from Rust Never Sleeps. Solo by Neil Young.
Hey Hey My My is Neil Young and Crazy Horse at their loudest, and the solo is a storm of distortion and feedback. Young stays near a few notes, hammering and bending them while the amp roars and squeals around him. The raw, messy sound was a deliberate rejection of polished late-1970s rock, and it pointed toward the noisy guitar sound of later alternative and grunge bands. Old Black's tone here is thick, overdriven and on the edge of collapse. The solo is less about melody than about sheer force and texture. Listen for the moments where feedback takes over and Young seems to wrestle with the sound rather than play notes, letting the guitar's own noise become part of the music.
Hey Hey My My by Neil Young is ranked #223 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Neil Young and the song was released in 1979. It appears on 1 lists, placing as high as #12 (NME).
In our lists
Sources
Who played the guitar solo on Hey Hey My My?
Neil Young played the solo on Neil Young's Hey Hey My My (1979).
What guitar was used on the Hey Hey My My solo?
A gibson les paul (old black), according to widely reported accounts.
Where does Hey Hey My My rank among the greatest guitar solos?
#223 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 1 of them.