1. Fred Neil was an American folk singer-songwriter active in the 1960s and early 1970s.
22 Facts About Fred Neil
1. 2.
In 1942, the Morlock family moved to St Petersburg, Florida, where young Fred Neil started singing when he was in first grade, coached by his mother, she claimed.
3.
Fred Neil's parents had separated in 1945, divorcing in 1949, and his father returned to Cleveland.
4.
Fred Neil had worked at Grey Advertising until her pregnancy compelled her to quit her job.
5.
When Fred Neil moved to Woodstock, New York, in 1969, he met and married Judy Cruickshank, and they lived in a cabin in Saugerties, NY on the same road as Big Pink, home of Rick Danko and other members of The Band.
6.
Judy and Fred Neil had two sons, Justin and Tyson Neil.
7.
Fred Neil wrote songs that were recorded by early rock and roll artists, such as Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison.
8.
Fred Neil met Vince Martin in 1962, and they formed a singing partnership; his first LP, Tear Down The Walls was recorded with Martin.
9.
In particular, Jefferson Airplane considered Fred Neil a major influence, and he was a frequent visitor to their Haight-Ashbury house at 2400 Fulton Street in San Francisco.
10.
Fred Neil reminded Grace Slick of Winnie the Pooh, and her nickname for him was "Poohneil".
11.
Blues and folk singer Lisa Kindred credits Fred Neil with being her mentor in the early 1960s.
12.
Increasingly involved in that pursuit, Fred Neil progressively disappeared from the recording studio and live performance, with only occasional performances in the rest of the 1970s.
13.
Fred Neil left Woodstock in the mid-1970s and spent his remaining decades on the shores of southern Florida, involved in the Dolphin Project.
14.
Fred Neil performed with John Sebastian on harmonica, Harvey Brooks on bass, and Peter Childs on guitar at the Montreux Jazz Festival in July 1975.
15.
O'Barry said he produced the first of the recordings in Miami, and that Fred Neil was joined by Pete Childs on guitar, John Sebastian on harmonica, and Harvey Brooks on bass.
16.
The second album was more fully arranged, with Fred Neil accompanied by the New York session band Stuff and some old friends, including Slick Aguilar.
17.
In June 1987, in Miami, he was involved in an accident that killed Christine Purcell, his girlfriend, when she hotwired her camper truck, which had a defective starter, and called for Fred Neil to start the vehicle.
18.
Fred Neil was reported to have died of natural causes, and to have left a written will on his nightstand.
19.
Fred Neil gained public recognition in 1969, when Nilsson's recording of "Everybody's Talkin" was featured in the film Midnight Cowboy; the song became a hit and won a Grammy Award.
20.
Fred Neil was one of the pioneers of the folk rock and singer-songwriter musical genres, his most prominent musical descendants being Tim Buckley, Stephen Stills, David Crosby and Joni Mitchell.
21.
Fred Neil played guitar on the demo version of Bobby Darin's 1958 hit "Dream Lover", and was a demo singer on a late-1950s Elvis Presley movie soundtrack session.
22.
Fred Neil recorded "One Heart," a song by Doc Pomus and Scott Turner.