Danny Whitten
| Danny Whitten | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Danny Ray Whitten |
| Born |
May 8, 1943 Columbus, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | November 18, 1972 (aged 29) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Hard rock, country rock, blues-rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1962–1972 |
| Labels | Liberty, Valiant, Loma, a division of Autumn, White Whale, Reprise |
| Associated acts | Danny & The Memories, The Psyrcle, Bonnett & Mountjoy, The Rockets, Crazy Horse, Neil Young |
| Website | www |
Daniel Ray Whitten (May 8, 1943 – November 18, 1972) was an American musician and songwriter best known for his work with Neil Young's backing band Crazy Horse, and for the song "I Don't Want To Talk About It", a hit for Rod Stewart and Everything but the Girl.
Whitten was born on May 8, 1943, in Columbus, Georgia. His parents split up when he was young. He and his sister, Brenda, lived with their mother, who worked long hours as a waitress. His mother remarried when he was 9 and the family moved to Canton, Ohio.
Whitten joined Billy Talbot and Ralph Molina among others in the doo-wop group Danny and the Memories. After recording an obscure single, "Can't Help Loving That Girl of Mine", core members of the group moved to San Francisco where they morphed into a folk-psychedelic rock act called The Psyrcle. Whitten played guitar, Molina drums, and Talbot played bass and piano.
By 1967, the group took on brothers George and Leon Whitsell on additional guitars and vocals, as well as violinist Bobby Notkoff, the sextet calling themselves The Rockets. They signed with independent label White Whale Records, working with producer Barry Goldberg for the group's self-titled album in mid-1968. The album sold poorly.
Songwriter Neil Young, fresh from departing the Buffalo Springfield, with one album of his own under his belt, began jamming with the Rockets and expressed interest in recording with Whitten, Molina and Talbot. The trio agreed, so long as they were allowed to simultaneously continue on with The Rockets. Young acquiesced initially, but imposed a rehearsal schedule that made that an impossibility. At first dubbed "War Babies" by Young, they soon became known as Crazy Horse.
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